UTC faculty team up with area high school teachers to spark STEM learning

UTC recently played host to a four-day professional development session for area high school math and science teachers. The workshop took place at the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Photo by Angela Foster.

A University of Tennessee at Chattanooga-led team is bringing real-world science into high school classrooms through support from community partners, hands-on professional development and a problem-based learning unit designed to spark curiosity around the rise of electric vehicles.

Funded through the UT System’s Grand Challenges initiative, the project centers on thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries—a dangerous phenomenon that can cause batteries in phones, scooters and electric vehicles to overheat and catch fire. The classroom-ready unit is being built to help high school chemistry students understand the science behind thermal runaway, engineer prevention solutions and communicate public safety messaging.

As part of the grant funding, the team recently hosted a four-day professional development session at the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science for area high school math and science teachers. The goal: equip educators with the tools and support needed to bring problem-based learning, known as PBL, into their classrooms.

“This isn’t a ‘one-and-done’ kind of thing. We’re building something that teachers can use right away and then grow from,” said Dr. Stephanie Philipp, an associate professor in the UTC School of Education and interim director of the University’s STEM Education Program.

Philipp is one of four collaborators on the UT Grand Challenges project, which received funding through the initiative’s Advancing K-12 Education track. She is joined by Dr. Bradley Harris, an associate professor and interim head of the UTC Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering—and the grant’s principal investigator; Ethan Schubert, an education and training specialist with UL Research Institutes and a former Hamilton County Schools chemistry teacher; and Dr. Peng Zhao of the UT Space Institute.

Brainerd High School teacher’s Danielle Floyd (chemistry) and Stephanie Browning (algebra) were among the participants in the problem-based learning professional development workshop.

The grant supports the development of a standards-aligned PBL unit structured around three student deliverables: a small-scale apparatus to prevent thermal runaway; an electrochemical device that fits inside the apparatus; and a public safety message on lithium-ion battery use.

Each step gives students the opportunity to learn from community partners—including UL, formerly known as Underwriters Laboratories—while exploring chemistry, engineering and public communication through a real-world lens.

The inspiration came from a Brainerd High School classroom.

Two years ago, Schubert was teaching chemistry at Brainerd when he reached out to Harris to ask if UTC could help expand a classroom activity into something bigger.

“This unit sounds cool. Let’s do it,” Harris recalled of the initial outreach.

They piloted the thermal runaway module with about 30 Brainerd students. UTC faculty and students visited the high school to give presentations and help students design and build battery prototypes. The high schoolers then visited UTC for lab tours and hands-on learning.

When the UT Grand Challenges program launched last year, Harris submitted a proposal to grow the collaboration.

“This whole opportunity came about pretty organically,” Harris said. “We want to reach groups of students who may have never considered a career in engineering or technology and show them how science connects to things they already encounter in their daily lives.”

The project expanded to reach 50 Brainerd students in year two, with chemistry teacher Danielle Floyd stepping in for Schubert after he joined UL Research Institutes.

The project’s scope grew again this summer when seven high school teachers from Brainerd, Howard and East Ridge high schools participated in the professional development program at UTC.

“We had environmental science, chemistry, math, computer science and even special education represented,” Philipp said. “These are high-needs schools, and their students don’t always see how math and science are relevant to them. This is about making it relevant.”

Ethan Schubert is an education and training specialist with UL Research Institutes.

The teachers spent the week exploring problem-based learning, sharing resources and developing classroom projects centered around the thermal runaway theme.

One plan uses sports to teach quadratic formulas. Another focuses on electronic waste.

“Everyone felt like they appreciated the time set aside to learn something new and do something with it,” Philipp said. “These weren’t just practice plans. They’re real. Some of them will be implemented as early as the start of the school year.”

Philipp and Harris plan to visit classrooms, continue supporting teachers and explore ways to keep the collaboration going.

“One teacher said even if students just meet someone who uses math in their job, it makes a difference,” Philipp said. “They don’t always believe the teacher, but hearing it from someone else—that’s powerful.”

Schubert has already seen it happen.

“The first year we ran this project, we had multiple kids apply to college because of it,” he said. “Multiple students switched their intended majors to engineering or STEM-related fields. That’s the goal.”

Harris and Schubert have been discussing ways to extend the program, including a potential scholarship opportunity to support students who participate in the unit and want to pursue engineering.

“We want this to be sustainable,” Harris said. “If we can turn this into a workforce pipeline and keep reaching more students each year, that’s the next step.”