Steven Martell

Martell’s innovative teaching idea, “Soar Into Math,” is focused on providing mathematics education in a fully immersive flight-training environment by engaging students in hands-on activities directly related to flight. Students not only learn core mathematics concepts, but also how those concepts relate to real world situations. Those situations will range from flight planning and principles of flight to managing resources and running a virtual airline. Martell believes the program will be a great benefit for students who struggle with finding real-world connections to concepts such as slope, integers, and systems of simultaneous equations. By providing opportunities to use mathematics in a controlled but engaging hands-on environment, he hopes students will succeed in understanding the importance of math in the world around them.