Mathematics educators from across Tennessee and other parts of the country will gather Thursday and Friday, Feb. 11-12, for the 10th annual Tennessee STEM Education Research Conference.

The event will be held at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 1850 Old Fort Parkway, in Murfreesboro.

Candice McQueen

STEM is the acronym used for the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. Scheduled keynote speakers addressing STEM-related topics will include:

• Dr. Candice McQueen, commissioner of education with the Tennessee Department of Education in Nashville. She is scheduled to bring a Tennessee K-12 Education Update from 3:40 to 4:45 p.m. Feb. 11.

McQueen’s goals include continued rapid improvement and the state ranking in the top 25 in the U.S by 2019; an average ACT score of 21, allowing more students to earn HOPE scholarships; and a majority of Tennessee high school graduates earning a certificate, diploma or degree.

• Dr. Dale McCreedy, director of gender, adult learning and community engagement at the Franklin Institute of Science Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the 6-8 p.m. Feb. 11 banquet keynote speaker, she will discuss “Cascading Influences: Long-term Impacts of Informal STEM Experiences for Girls.”

• Dr. Sheryl Sorby, professor in teaching and learning administration in the Engineering and Education Innovation Center at Ohio State University. She is scheduled to speak from 2:20 to 3:25 p.m. Feb. 11 on “Gateway to STEM: Improving 3-D Spatial Skills.”

• Dr. Rich Lehrer, the Frank W. Mayborn Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at Vanderbilt University. He will discuss “Grounding K-5 Mathematics Education in Experience of Space” from 1 to 2:05 p.m.

A number of morning breakout sessions will help end the conference Feb. 12.

Dr. Tom Cheatham is director of MTSU’s Tennessee STEM Education Center, which is located in the Fairview Building just off Greenland Drive.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)