Educator Directory

Name:	Dee McLellan
Works For:	Home Office Andover, MN
Email:	Click here to Email Dee.

Biography:
How-do! That's an old Minnesota way of saying hello. Yes, I come from a northern state where it is possible to view the Aurora Borealis. I am a native of Minnesota. I was born and grew up in Minneapolis. I am a graduate of the University of Minnesota in education; this makes me a golden gopher. I was a classroom teacher until my oldest son was born. I then took the time to teach my four children at home for 9 years of home education. During this time I also was involved with a variety of teaching opportunities at the University of Minnesota's Bell Museum of Natural History and other smaller collages around the Twin Cities. I taught science and math enrichment courses for middle school students. For the past 10 years I have been back in the classroom teaching 7th and 8th grade science and math. I became involved with NASA as first a STARDUST educator in 1999 and then a Solar System Educator as the program developed. Besides the SSEP, I am part of a remote sensing pilot program with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and have attended training there. I have also attended workshops at JPL, Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, and Kennedy Space Center. I am part of the JASON Project, one of NASA's partners, as a lead trainer. I am pleased to have a part in NASA's vision to "Inspire the next generation of explorers as only NASA can."

Quote: "The materials from the SSEP have transformed my middle school classroom into a dynamic learning environment in which my students are engaged and excited about space education. In workshops with other teachers, I have been able to share these tools and experiences. The positive response to this program has helped me form partnerships with colleges to advance space education in our schools.

"When I used the SSEP materials to teach the NASA missions, my solar system curriculum became personal to the students. Suddenly they were traveling along with Voyager 1 and 2, Viking, Pathfinder, Galileo, STARDUST and other missions to discover new knowledge beyond the textbook. An example of the impact of the program in my school can be found on the STARDUST web site. As the students learned of the STARDUST mission, they applied this knowledge in their art class to product an impressive mural which was displayed at NASA headquarters."