Community of Practice for IHE Faculty

Alissa A. Lange, Ph.D., is a Professor of Early Childhood Education and the Director of the Early Childhood STEM Lab and the Center of Excellence in STEM Education at East Tennessee State University. Alissa has led and co-led early math, science, and integrated STEM teaching and learning research and program initiatives for over 18 years, with funding of over $3M. She is the co-PI of the Early-Elementary STEM Collaboration, a pre-service teacher preparation model focused on early and elementary science and integrated STEM. She has more than 100 presentations and publications, including as an author of the “Early Years” column for NSTA’s Science & Children, “Teaching STEM in the Preschool Classroom: Exploring Big Ideas with 3- to 5-Year-Olds,” published in 2019 by Teachers College Press, and the Open Educational Resource (OER) textbook, “Teaching Early and Elementary STEM.”

Amie A. Perry, M.A., is a graduate student at East Tennessee State University pursuing a doctoral degree in Early Childhood Education and she works as the Center Coordinator in the Center of Excellence in STEM Education (CESE) where she coordinates a variety of birth-career STEM programs. Additionally, in her role of Assistant Director for EC STEM Lab, she facilitates and organizes innovative professional learning programs for educators and collaborates with them to highlight their STEM work in a variety of ways. Amie’s prior degrees are both in Early Childhood Education and throughout her career her work has focused on infants and toddlers. She currently leads a program for children and families to connect with one another and the earth at Seedkeepers Forest School. She lives in Jonesborough, TN with her husband and daughter.