Lee Martin (BEd ’12), a Brock Faculty of Education graduate and instructor, has been awarded a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence.

Since 1993, the Prime Minister’s Awards for Teaching Excellence have recognized more than 1,700 exceptional elementary and secondary school teachers for achievements in education.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau presented Martin and 17 other educators with Certificates of Excellence at a national awards ceremony in March. Another 46 educators will receive Certificates of Achievement at upcoming local events.

Lee Martin, recipient of a Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence in STEM; Shannon Welbourn, Library and Media Services Supervisor for Brock’s Hamilton Campus Instructional Resource Centre; Dino Giancola, Computer and Media Support in the Faculty of Education; and Kim Pelchat, Manager of the Instructional Resource Centre. As a Spotlight Speaker at the 2018 CONNECT Conference, Martin inspired educators to become daredevils and conquer fear in the classroom.

Martin is among the first to be recognized with a new category of awards honouring science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) teachers for engaging students in STEM learning and contributing to a culture of innovation in Canada.

As a Grade 3 homeroom teacher at Central French Immersion Public School in Grimsby, Martin is known for creative teaching approaches that empower students to be problem solvers and responsible digital citizens.

“I don’t want my kids to see content in isolation. I want them to think about math during social studies and science in literacy,” Martin says of his decision to move his classroom away from a more traditional schedule. “I do my best to integrate all STEM subjects into our day based on real-world problems that are meaningful to my kids.”

Through maker education, Martin’s students get hands-on experience with 3D design and printing, traditional hand tools, circuitry, cooking and measuring. Martin introduced coding to his students a few years ago and has seen improvements in student engagement, communication, critical thinking, collaboration and mathematics understanding.  

For those needing extra support with math, he dons a Jedi costume and guides students through Star Wars-themed lessons about difficult concepts.

Beyond his classroom, Martin contributes to STEM education across the country.

He organizes the annual C3 Conference, one of Canada’s largest K-8 learning and technology conferences. The event gathers students, educators, administrators and technology specialists to explore coding and computational thinking in education.

Three years ago, he founded Computers4Change to provide STEM resources and support to students and educators. The initiative has raised more $80,000 and recently started working to support Indigenous communities in northern Canada.

Martin launched his teaching career at Brock, completing his Bachelor of Education in 2012. Since graduation, he has remained an active part of the Faculty of Education as a speaker and instructor in the Concurrent Teacher Education program.

“In 2017, Lee Martin delivered a presentation on his unique pedagogical approaches to faculty members in the Department of Teacher Education,” says David Hutchison, Professor and Chair in the Department of Teacher Education. “His love of learning, instructional innovation and dedication to his students was infectious, motivating faculty to expand our thinking as to how technology and teaching can interface in the K-12 classroom.”

As an instructor, Martin instills in Brock teacher candidates the importance of fostering 21st century competencies in the classroom.

“I want them to design a learning environment that fosters collaboration, critical thinking, communication and creativity.”

He encourages teacher candidates to nurture empathy and innovation in their students by exploring the curriculum through the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals using design thinking.

“Technology is a tool that connects my students to the world, enables them to evaluate and recognize problems and design and fabricate the solution,” he says.

Martin isn’t afraid to step out of his comfort zone in the classroom to support students.

“It is about acknowledging we do not have to be the expert in the room and can learn with our students,” he says while explaining his daredeviledu philosophy that encourages educators to take risks and conquer fears in the classroom.

“My confidence in STEM has come from regularly trying new things, making mistakes and learning from them. I share this framework with my students at Brock throughout the year. If they are willing to do what is best for kids, they are willing to adapt the daredeviledu mindset and take the risks necessary to support learning for all.”