Back to Team

Hannah Lakin

STEM Education Specialist & Coach

MMSA Title:STEM Education Specialist
Hometown: Portland, ME
Pronouns: she, her, hers
Education: B.A. in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Merrimack College; M.S. in Educational Leadership (Mathematics Leadership) from University of Maine at Farmington
MMSA Title: STEM Education Specialist
Contact Info:
  • (207) 626-3230 x122
  • hlakin@mmsa.org

Projects:

  • Afterschool Coaching for Reflective Educators in STEM (ACRES), Partnership for Rural Women in Math Careers (Includes), Numeracy in Nature, Math Consulting
About Me:
Something you’re proud of at MMSA: I’m proud of how we cultivate community among staff and our partners, and how closely linked research and practice are in our everyday work. I’m also proud of how we’ve used instructional technologies to transform learning opportunities.
What is your teaching/learning philosophy:My teaching and learning philosophy tends to align with constructivist values where learning is grounded in exploration and creativity. Learners build their own understanding as they experience new things and reflect on their experiences.
STEM passion area: I love creatively using mathematics to inform and affect change within our communities. How can math help us understand the housing shortage? How can we use math to better respond to natural disasters?
What do you like most about your role at MMSA:I enjoy the daily opportunities to collaborate and innovate with colleagues and educators.
Favorite STEM-related memory: Building and racing Soap Box Derby cars as a kid, I remember experimenting with the position of weights in my car to increase my speed.
What did you do before you worked at MMSA: After college, I served for a year as a full-time volunteer teacher and afterschool educator through Augustinian Volunteers. I went on to teach middle school math and science in San Diego, California, before moving back to Maine where I taught high school math at Coastal Studies for Girls.

What do you like to do in your free time: I enjoy exploring the outdoors via mountain biking, hiking, backpacking, canoeing, and skiing. A good board game with friends or family is the key to my heart.

What memory from your childhood would you like to share that exemplifies why you do the STEM education related work that you do:One of my favorite memories of doing STEM was during an “outdoor survival” project I experienced in fifth grade. Of course, one of the tasks involved gathering fresh water, during which we learned how we could desalinate water using the water cycle. Looking back I think about how skilled our educator was at giving us opportunities for productive struggle and “just-in-time” learning.

My Biography

Hannah Lakin joined Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance in January 2016 as a STEM Education Specialist. With a passion for bringing depth and authenticity to learning, Hannah supports STEM educators through programs, coaching and consulting. She works closely with the ACRES Project Team to bring professional development coaching and resources in STEM to afterschool educators in rural regions. She leads the Experiential STEM Project that leverages student voice and place-based learning to enact community change; and supports middle and high school mathematics educators in teaching through meaningful, project-based experiences. Hannah is a graduate of Merrimack College, where she earned a degree in mathematics and secondary education. She also holds a Masters in Educational Leadership with a certificate in Math Leadership from the University of Maine at Farmington. She is a certified 7-12 mathematics teacher, and previously taught middle school mathematics and science and high school mathematics in California and Maine. In addition to teaching and learning, Hannah enjoys traveling, spending time with family, and getting outdoors.

Share this page

Project Funders

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grants No. DRL 17131341 and DRL 2115229, as well as the Noyce Foundation, the STEM Next Opportunity Fund, and the Davis Family Foundation.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders listed above.

stem next opportunity fund
noyce-foundation logo

Coaches Corner

Welcome, here you will find access to the resources you need to succeed.

Join our community.

Subscribe for updates and resources.

Name

Use this form to email your feedback about the attendance system

Your feedback will help us make improvements to the system that will benefit future educators. 

Your Name
Enter your email address so that educators know where to send a reply if needed.
Type the message you'd like to send here...
Drop files here or
Accepted file types: jpg, png, gif, pdf, doc, docx, pptx, ppt, xls, xlsx, Max. file size: 100 MB, Max. files: 5.

    Terms of Use

    Except where otherwise noted, ACRES modules and resources are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

    This means, you are free to share and adapt the ACRES resources, under the following terms:

    • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

    • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.

    • ShareAlike — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

    ACRES is a project of:

    Maine Mathematics and Science Alliance
    343 Water Street, Augusta, ME 04330

    This material is based upon work supported by the Noyce Foundation, STEM Next, the Davis Family Foundation, and the National Science Foundation under Grants No. DRL 17131341 and DRL 2115229. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders listed above.
    noyce-foundation logo
    stem next opportunity fund