SIUE Research Centers Spotlight: The STEM Center
Posted July 16, 2025
Discipline(s): All
SIUE Research Centers Spotlight: The STEM Center
Dr. Sharon Locke
slocke@siue.edu stemcenter@siue.edu
The STEM Center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides a variety of programming and services to broaden STEM education throughout the region. From organizing and hosting engaging STEM events to developing and testing innovative curricula, our team of researchers, educators, and creators works to define best practices in STEM initiatives. With everything we do, we strive to learn what makes STEM education work no matter the setting or audience.
From teaching youth how to conduct environmental health research to developing innovative curriculum advancing computational thinking, we engage communities to broaden STEM teaching and learning in southwest Illinois. Our research is as diverse as our activities! From learning sciences to robotics, we strive to understand how people best learn and teach STEM in formal and informal settings. Visit our Research and Outreach pages for a complete list of our current activities. Support the STEM Center with a donation. Please take the time to designate that the donation is for the STEM Center.
Research: STEM Center faculty and staff are nationally recognized STEM teaching and learning researchers. We study innovations in teaching and publish models for effective STEM education at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels. We have investigated curriculum design to integrate computational thinking, best practices for mentoring first generation college students, flipped teaching, and ways to bridge STEM and humanities to better prepare students for employment and the careers of the future. We specialize in supporting SIUE faculty to test new approaches in their classrooms and examine student outcomes. If you are interested in partnering with our research team, please connect with us!
Outreach: The STEM Center has longstanding partnerships with schools, libraries, Boys and Girls Clubs, and many other St. Louis area organizations. We are always looking for new opportunities to partner and our staff is always busy working towards helping STEM thrive in the region. The list below shows the programs currently underway in the STEM Center. These are exciting programs that involve long-term partnerships and efforts. If you would like to partner with us, please contact us.
Resources: The STEM Center supports learners of science, technology, engineering, and math for everyone in southern Illinois and the St. Louis metro area. Whether you’re a classroom teacher at any level, a homeschool family, a motivated student, a youth group leader, or anyone else who could use help with learning more about a STEM topic then we encourage you to stop by! We have captivating lessons and programs we can bring to you with some of our great resources, as well as focused, ongoing campus programs such as our summer Odyssey Science Camps. Our staff is eager to problem-solve with anyone and everyone to support STEM learning throughout the region!
