STEM from the Start: Welcoming All Learners into Wonder and Exploration
Date: August 14th, 2025
Time: 9am-11amCST/ 10am-12pmEST
Description: Kick off your year with curiosity! In this session, we’ll explore how early STEM experiences—rooted in inquiry, play, and everyday moments—can support learning for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, including children with and without disabilities. Grounded in welcoming, developmentally appropriate practices, we’ll share strategies for sparking engagement across those with a variety of abilities and settings. No matter what kind of program you’re in, you’ll leave with practical ideas to create STEM-rich environments. Participants will reflect on their own settings and plan how to integrate STEM experiences that invite all children into joyful discovery.
*This training is catalogued with Train TN as a Health & Safety ECE licensure training in accordance with TN Department of Human Services Licensure Rules for Child Care Agencies.
Presenter(s): Amie A. Perry, M.A. & Alissa A. Lange, Ph.D.
Amie A. Perry, M.A.
Amie is a graduate student at East Tennessee State University pursuing a doctoral degree in Early Childhood Education and she works as the Center Coordinator for the Center of Excellence in STEM Education (CESE) where she coordinates a variety of birth-to-career STEM programs. Additionally, in her role of Assistant Director for EC STEM Lab, she facilitates and organizes innovative professional learning programs for preschool educators. With a career focus on infants and toddlers, Amie is passionate about early STEM and currently leads a program for children and families to connect with one another and the Earth at Seedkeepers Forest School, called The Morning Glory Program, which serves children birth-3. Amie lives in Jonesborough, TN with her husband and daughter.
Alissa A. Lange, Ph.D.
Alissa is the Director of the Early Childhood STEM Lab, the Center of Excellence in STEM Education, and the Northeast Tennessee STEM Innovation Hub at East Tennessee State University. She has led research and professional development efforts in early childhood STEM for over 16 years, with more than $3M in grant and contract funding. Alissa is one of two authors for the “Early Years” column in Science & Children, published by the National Science Teachers Association, she co-authored Teaching STEM in the Preschool Classroom, and she co-facilitates NAEYC’s Early Math Interest Forum. She also leads national projects like Libraries Count and consults with organizations such as the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. Alissa lives in Jonesborough, TN, with her husband and three children and enjoys playing soccer when she gets a chance.