2025
Melanie Bloom
“I met Melanie several times during the course of the project to discuss open publishing and creative commons licensing for the BEESTINGZ curriculum. Each time, she asked thoughtful questions about intellectual property. She was willing to experiment with the OER Commons as a new tool. She considered the needs of teachers and the students. The final curriculum includes an overview and seven lessons that include teacher materials, student materials, and Google Classroom integration. The grant began at 18 schools and 4 states. Now that the curriculum is in the OER Commons, it has the potential to impact students and communities across the country and around the world.”
-Jenni Breems, Director of Library Services, Dordt University
About the BEESTINGZ Curriculum
BEESTINGZ is an open-source curriculum developed by a cohort of secondary science and agriculture educators from four states (Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, and South Dakota) funded by a USDA grant directed by Dr. Duane Bajema, Professor Emeritus at Dordt University.
The curriculum focuses on honey bees and their role as pollinators in an environment, providing classroom activities and projects leading students to investigate bee anatomy, behavior, management, issues, and products. The curriculum is structured into seven lessons, totaling 40-54 blocks of instructional time, each lesson suggesting instructor preparation activities, interest approaches, evaluation tools, materials lists, slides, and student documents.
Link to Resources:
Bio:
Melanie Bloom has been a secondary agricultural educator at Sioux Central CSD in Sioux Rapids, Iowa, and an independent curriculum contractor since 2002, focusing on student-centered inquiry methods. She enjoys providing opportunities for students to explore careers and participate in the agriculture industry. Bloom holds B.S. degrees in Agricultural Education and Animal Science and an M.S. degrees in Agricultural Education from Iowa State University; she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Agricultural Education and Leadership Development through the University of Missouri – Columbia focused on curricular development and implementation. Bloom has been honored to serve as the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year. Hailing from five generations of Northwest Iowa farm families, Bloom draws content knowledge from her experiences in agriculture including those with husband and farmer, Stephen, and three daughters.
