Dr. Melanie E. Carden-Jessen


Department

Schl of Earth Enviro and Sustain

Role: Faculty
Campus: Springfield

Postal mail

Missouri State University
Schl of Earth Enviro and Sustain
901 S. National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65897

Biography

Melanie Carden-Jessen has taught everything from diapers to degrees, from daycare to elementary, from middle school to university. Her BS in ed Earth Science and an MS in Resource Planning landed her with the Missouri Department of Conservation for 15 years, first as an education consultant and then as a nature center manager. She has served on the resource advisory council for the Department of Agriculture for the Mark Twain National Forest and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education committee for the Math and Science conference. Returning to MSU in 2018 as an Earth Science Instructor, she is Secondary Science Education Program Coordinator and Science Student Teacher Supervisor. Melanie’s committee work includes a Diversity Initiatives and Educator Provider Preparation Committee. She is part of a team working through a National Science Foundation grant to study gender equity in higher education faculty. She defended her dissertation titled “Persistence Overcomes Resistance: The Journey of Women in STEM to Full Professor” in 2023 to complete her doctorate through the University of Missouri-Columbia.


Details

Education

  • EdD, Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, 2023, University of Missouri - Columbia
  • MS, Resource Planning, 1998, Missouri State University
  • BSEd, Earth Science Comprehensive, 1996, Missouri State University

Teaching

  • GRY 240 Earth Science for Educators
  • SCI 783 Internship in Teaching Secondary Science I
  • SCI 784 Internship in Teaching Secondary Science II
  • SCI 404 Teaching Middle School Natural Science
  • GRY 399 Internship for Museum Studies Geoscience Track

Professional experience

  • Interface Math and Science Education Conference Steering Committee and Selection Committee
  • GSA Short Course Session Chair North Central/South Central Joint Section Meetings
  • Science Teachers of Missouri
  • Missouri State Teachers Association
  • Association for Women Geoscientists
  • Geological Society of America
  • National Association of Geoscience Teachers
  • Writer for Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
  • Science Olympiad Regional and State Writer/Judge
  • National Association of Interpretation
  • First Aid/CPR Wilderness Instructor/Trainer

Research and professional interests

  • Missouri Learning Standards and Assessment
  • Earth Science Education
  • Teacher In-service Professional Development
  • Women in STEM in Higher Education
  • Gender Equity in STEM

Awards and honors

  • Excellence in Service, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 2023.
  • CNAS Students for Faculty Excellence, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 2023.
  • Curtis P. Lawrence Excellence in Advising Award, Missouri State University, 2023.
  • Excellence in Teaching, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 2022
  • CNAS Students for Faculty Excellence, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 2020.
  • Excellence in Service, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 2020
  • Governor's Award for Recycling and Recycling Education, State of Missouri, 2008
  • Outstanding Service Award, Boy Scouts of America 2004
  • Missouri Hunter Education Instructor of the Year, 2005
  • Springfield News-Leader Environmental Trailblazer, 2004

Additional resources