Who am I?
My name is Melanie Dexter. I am a teacher, wife, daughter, friend, coach, sister, advisor, mentor, dorm affiliate, athlete, partner, student, animal lover and leader.
I grew up in Connecticut, attending both public and private schools. After attending Loomis Chaffee for four years, I developed a passion for learning and more importantly an appreciation for those who teach. I had a great experience at Loomis and many amazing faculty members to thank for that.
After graduating from Loomis, I attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and ultimately graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. The fan favorite question is, "What is industrial engineering?" Industrial engineers deal with the efficiency and optimization of processes, from a production line to truck routes to ergonomics. I eventually decided that engineering wasn't for me, but I did realize something about my own educational experiences.
Even though I had amazing teachers along the way, I never learned about many of the possible careers in STEM fields. My goal in changing career paths was to educate students on how traditionally required math and science courses can turn into exciting, innovative, world-changing careers. I set out to not just "teach" my students math procedures, but to develop meaningful enduring understandings by linking the lessons to real-world situations in a variety of ways from a variety of places and disciplines.
While working at Miss Porters School in Farmington, CT, I also received a Masters in Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania through the Penn Residency Masters in Teaching (PRMT) program. For more information on my masters project, click here. At Porters I was a teacher of math, science, and computer science; a dorm parent; a coach of varsity field hockey, JV softball, swimming lessons, and winter jogging. After my two years at Porters, I worked for two years at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA in the math department. I worked closely with the department chair and other members of the department to create a flipped mastery curriculum for Math I and Math II. At Lawrence Academy, I was also a dorm affiliate, varsity field hockey coach, JV field hockey coach, varsity ice hockey coach, and JV ice hockey coach.
I currently work at Talcott Mountain Science Center doing a lot of different things. I teach a wide variety of technology course; I work with colleagues and outside partners to develop new courses to engage youth in STEM (and STEAM) topics; I teach some physics; and I am working on writing grants to improve our learning and teaching spaces as well as reach more students to show them science is cool!
My name is Melanie Dexter. I am a teacher, wife, daughter, friend, coach, sister, advisor, mentor, dorm affiliate, athlete, partner, student, animal lover and leader.
I grew up in Connecticut, attending both public and private schools. After attending Loomis Chaffee for four years, I developed a passion for learning and more importantly an appreciation for those who teach. I had a great experience at Loomis and many amazing faculty members to thank for that.
After graduating from Loomis, I attended Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and ultimately graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering. The fan favorite question is, "What is industrial engineering?" Industrial engineers deal with the efficiency and optimization of processes, from a production line to truck routes to ergonomics. I eventually decided that engineering wasn't for me, but I did realize something about my own educational experiences.
Even though I had amazing teachers along the way, I never learned about many of the possible careers in STEM fields. My goal in changing career paths was to educate students on how traditionally required math and science courses can turn into exciting, innovative, world-changing careers. I set out to not just "teach" my students math procedures, but to develop meaningful enduring understandings by linking the lessons to real-world situations in a variety of ways from a variety of places and disciplines.
While working at Miss Porters School in Farmington, CT, I also received a Masters in Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania through the Penn Residency Masters in Teaching (PRMT) program. For more information on my masters project, click here. At Porters I was a teacher of math, science, and computer science; a dorm parent; a coach of varsity field hockey, JV softball, swimming lessons, and winter jogging. After my two years at Porters, I worked for two years at Lawrence Academy in Groton, MA in the math department. I worked closely with the department chair and other members of the department to create a flipped mastery curriculum for Math I and Math II. At Lawrence Academy, I was also a dorm affiliate, varsity field hockey coach, JV field hockey coach, varsity ice hockey coach, and JV ice hockey coach.
I currently work at Talcott Mountain Science Center doing a lot of different things. I teach a wide variety of technology course; I work with colleagues and outside partners to develop new courses to engage youth in STEM (and STEAM) topics; I teach some physics; and I am working on writing grants to improve our learning and teaching spaces as well as reach more students to show them science is cool!