MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University faculty with the Tennessee STEM Education Center on campus recently hosted a daylong orientation for the first cohort of educators participating in the newly funded LEADS initiative to improve data science education and instruction in K-12 classrooms.

LEADS, which stands for Leaders in Education Advancing Data Science, is an initiative that aims to bridge the gap in educators and education by providing fully funded Ed.S. graduate degrees to specially selected math and science teachers from Midstate school districts in Bedford, Cannon, Warren and Williamson counties and Murfreesboro City Schools.

The National Science Foundation awarded MTSU nearly $3 million to fund the five-year program for 17 Master Teacher Fellows within the College of Education. The LEADS initiative aims not only to improve data literacy within middle-level grades, but also train teachers to become better leaders both in and out of the classroom.

The Ed. S. program is built around an existing degree program in education leadership from the College of Education and will be a hybrid on-campus experience. The first two years of the program will focus on coursework required for the fellows to obtain their graduate degree, so then in three to five years these teachers can implement their knowledge into their classrooms and their districts. 

Watch a short recap of the orientation below:

The LEADS team principle investigators include Greg Rushton, director of MTSU’s Tennessee STEM Education Center; Keith Gamble, director of MTSU’s Data Science Institute; Ryan Seth Jones, associate professor and member of MTSU’s Integrated Data Research Team; Kevin Krahenbuhl, director of MTSU’s Ed.D. Program; and Kate Miller, research associate with The Concord Consortium. In total, the team is comprised of 14 members.

LEADS Research Project Manager Aspen Malone touches on the importance of educators staying in positions that benefit students’ learning, rather than move to higher positions.

“So, one of our main things that we want is we want a 100% teacher retention for the program. And so, we’ve noticed that a lot of times, you have these really good teachers in the classrooms and then they leave and become great principals or great district leaders,” Malone said.

“The goal with this is to keep these really great teachers in their classroom. And so, we’re hoping this program will equip them with the skills to do that, such as our teacher leadership skills, to feel empowered as a teacher, to lead from their classroom. As well as our data science skills to learn new ways to teach math and science with data science concepts.”

The program is designed to coordinate with teachers’ schedules, granting substitute teachers during any required class time.

Fifth grade math teacher JoEllen Schubmehl from Scales Elementary in Williamson County looks forward to the opportunities that can be provided through her extended learning.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to continue my education. I’m a learner every day in my classroom, but this is a different type of learning and I’m excited about that,” Schubmehl said. “I know that the things that I learn, I’m going to be able to bring back not only to my classroom, but to share with the other teachers in my building and my district.”

To learn more about the LEADS program, visit their website at https://sites.google.com/view/leads-program/home?authuser=0.

— Karli Sutton (Karli.Sutton@mtsu.edu)