Teacher Feature: summer 2023

Melissa Green

Marshall Road Elementary, Fairfax County Public Schools

1. What drove you to write your poem about Black women in aviation? 

I am fascinated by the power and grit of women in aviation.  The first Black woman and Native American to hold a pilot license was Bessie Coleman.  The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean was Amelia Earhart.   Both of these women faced a lot of backlash and challenges in a field that was strongly dominated by men.  Nobody believes you until you can show them that you are more than capable. 

There are a vast variety of stories from many people around the world regarding their aviation journey, but we don't always get a chance to hear those stories.  There are many women who are doing so many incredible things with wings (aerospace/aviation), it was important to write a poem about it.

2. When did you decide to become a STEM teacher, and what led you to this career?

I LOVE technology.  I love having the opportunity to create, build, reconstruct and build again.  I like when we can be creative critical thinkers who work like engineers to design a product that ultimately solves a problem.  I find that students tend to be more engaged with a topic if they are working interactively with it.  If I am teaching the difference between an independent and dependent variable, I think it would be awesome to give students an activity that shows what that looks like, feels like and etc. before we even touch a paper and pencil.   In essence, I love being a STEM/STEAM teacher because it affords me the opportunity to help minds grow, to encourage students to think beyond their normal capacity, and to improve this incredible world we all are a part of.

3. What has been your favorite lesson or activity that you've shared with students in the past year? 

I have several lessons that I really liked, and all of them involved math.  I tend to SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Re-arrange/revise) my classroom to model something real world and tangible so students can relate to.  I scampered my classroom to look like Ocean City, Maryland as we looked at ways to reduce pollution and plastic in the ocean.  I scampered my classroom to look like a restaurant as we utilized taxes, tips, and percentages.  I have also utilized my classroom to be a market as we worked with other co-teachers on composting, gardening, food science, and the importance of building community awareness around nature. 

My favorite lesson that involved astronomy allowed students to work with EVOBOTS.  Students created games that challenged participants to measure the distance between planets while answering questions pertaining to the universe.  

4. What is one resource (online or print) that has totally changed the way you teach? Or, what is something that you have found inspirational as you plan out projects or lessons for students?

Actually, I am excited about the resources that were given at STLA.  The website shared with teachers is AMAZING and has a ton of resources I plan to use with my students this year. 

5. What does the future of STEM look like to you?

Creativity, Spatial Reasoning, Flexibility, Collaboration and Math.  The future of STEM will involve not relying on the traditional methods of schooling.  We have a new generation of learners who need to be in a variety of learning spaces in order to stretch their thinking about the world around them.  The future of STEM is knowing how to meet individualized needs of students and challenging them to learn, apply and assess.

Thank you so much, Melissa! Thanks for joining our inaugural cohort at the STEM Teacher Leadership Academy!