It's not just about the teaching, Tennessee Tech is about the learning

TTU’s experiential learning methods provide new ways to teach real-world skills

What if a music teacher told you how to play but never handed you an instrument? What if a basketball coach only lectured about the fundamentals but sent you to the court alone each day to practice? What if you went to college and attended lectures and labs but never learned to connect theory and practice?

Though the first two never happen, chemical engineering professor Joe Biernacki says the described college experience is too likely to occur. But more and more Tennessee Tech faculty members are creating learning environments that look and feel dramatically different from the traditional lecture/lab model.

Labeled experiential learning, the method encourages marrying theory and practice in whatever way a teacher finds effective. Experiential learning also describes opportunities for undergraduate research, service learning, internships, cooperative education and out-of-classroom projects. But it’s in the STEM fields — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — where breaking from tradition is bold.

All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely students

Two Tennessee Tech instructors gave their students a learning experience that transcends both traditional teaching methods and classroom boundaries. The diverse group of 25 freshmen simultaneously enrolled in Andrew Smith’s writing and Mark Creter’s introduction to theater courses have found that the professors’ integrated ‘learning community’ approach to the material means they’re learning more than just rote terms and concepts.

Carnivorous dinosaurs in Cookeville?

"There are dinosaur bones in Cookeville, and I am getting to work with them!” Tennessee Tech University zoology student Kyla Anderson of Jamestown, Tenn., summed up her amazement with the opportunity she and TTU students have begun at the recently opened Highlands Prehistoric Museum. More than a half-dozen TTU undergraduate students say they never envisioned working with real dinosaur bones in their own backyard.

But they and dozens of other university students, including TTU art and drama majors, are big reasons the museum can offer a glimpse of prehistoric life and the processes it takes to find, prepare and showcase dinosaur bones.

Balancing teaching and research leads to student success

Can a small academic department find a balance between research and teaching that produces extraordinary student success?

It can happen; it is happening now in Tennessee Tech’s Department of Chemical Engineering, according to a core group of seven faculty members who are championing a new team modeling approach to serve students.