Science Modeling Talks: Recent Episodes
Mark Royce
Science Modeling Talks is a podcast series that introduces you to top science Modeling teachers and thought leaders in a relaxed and conversational interview format. In our episodes, you'll hear stories and ideas that help the science education community learn and grow as effective classroom teachers. Visit our website for show note, links and more info about our guests: sciencemodelingtalks.com
This episode starts out with Tom's advice to teachers who are just getting started with modeling instruction. He and Mark discuss the differences in teaching physics and chemistry using modeling methods. They also discuss the changes Tom noticed when switching from traditional to modeling methods, as well as key takeaways from modeling workshops.GuestTom Pfeiffer
Tom Pfeiffer studied biology and chemistry in college. In graduate school, he chose to switch directions and become a teacher. In his teaching career, Tom taught Physics, Chemistry, 10th-grade Biology, Advanced Biology and Physical Science. When he began to learn about modeling methods, he says it greatly improved student engagement in learning. He is now retired after teaching for 40 years.Facebook | InstagramHighlights[17:40] Tom Pfeiffer "when I think of my students when I was modeling, they were much more engaged and seemed to enjoy the class more."[19:55] Mark Royce "When they walk away from my class, regardless of the content they carry with them, they are learning how to learn, and that will always go with them in their life ahead."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 74 Transcript
Mark talks with Matt Oney about his introduction to modeling instruction and how he uses modeling methodology in the university setting. They talk about the importance of fostering, as opposed to squashing, the curiosity that all children have. Modeling instruction is designed to train students to use their curiosity to pursue answers, and students are engaged in that learning. Additionally, they discuss ways that teachers may be inadvertently killing students' curiosity. They talk about the importance of modeling the student-centered approach in the professional development that we offer to teachers because we want their classrooms to be student-centered.GuestMatt Oney
Matt Oney is the Associate Director for Integrated Secondary Science at Michigan State University in the Center for Integrated Studies in General Sciences. His primary focus is on preparing future science educators. In addition, he is the College of Natural Science coordinator for the Certification in College Teaching Program. Matt earned master’s degrees in plant biology and education from MSU. Prior to joining MSU as a faculty member, Matt was a high school chemistry and physics teacher in the Upper Peninsula.Highlights[2:33] Matt Oney: "what the myth busters are currently doing of just like taking these general curiosities that they have about the world and identifying ways that they can answer those curiosities. I was like, that's what I want my students to do. But I had no idea how to do that related to physics."[23:42] Matt Oney: "I would argue that all subject matters should be inquiry based and that our students should be learning through their own curiosities,"[25:13] Matt Oney: "Learning is not necessarily, fun. It's challenging, but it's engaging. And we have such a huge responsibility to make sure that we are not killing the curiosity of our students."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 73 Transcript
Mark talks with Lynn about her introduction to modeling instruction right at the beginning of her teaching career and how modeling works so well with the specific AP physics areas of focus. Lynn reminds us that when we are the only teachers of a certain STEM subject at our school, it is incredibly important to find community beyond the walls of our school. They talk about gender equity in our science classrooms. As always, Mark asks his guest to share her best modeling tips for teachers. Finally, they talk about adapting to the annual requests for doing some new thing in all classrooms.GuestLynn Jorgensen
After graduating from BYU with a degree in Physics Teaching, Lynn Jorgensen took a few years off to raise her family. She then began her teaching career in 2015 at Gilbert High School. As a singleton teacher finding a community of support and relevant PD became her primary focus. These searches led Lynn to the Arizona section of AAPT and STEMteachersPHX. Serving as vice president for AzAAPT for a number of years. She started working with Arizona State University’s modeling instruction program as she earned her Masters of Natural Science (physics) degree. Working with the Modeling community lead her to serve on the executive board of AMTA. She has also served on the K-12 task force with AAPT, as well as a teacher fellow on the InterAmerican Teacher Education Network.In every opportunity Lynn has looked for ways to strengthen her teaching skills and to try to reach as many students as she can each year.Highlights[4:17] Lynn Orgensen "you might know physics, but modeling helps you understand how to actually get your information across to your students."[8:44] Lynn Orgensen "modeling really helps fill that gap with AP to really help students understand how things are connected and that there's these relationships. Not just an equation, but we can focus on the graphs. There's multiple forms of representation, which is all of the kind of things AP loves to hear and to see"[18:27] Lynn Orgensen "there is absolutely something to be said for having a community of like-minded people wanting to just help each other be better."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 72 Transcript
Mark and Chance talk about ways to make workshops more accessible to teachers, given the limited amount of time we all have in the summertime. They talk about CESAME at Cal Poly, which works to recruit more science and math teachers for K12 education. They talk about how AI may impact modeling classrooms, including some ideas he has about how to use the power of AI to get to the physics principles, even in high school, that are usually pushed until students have 2-3 years of college math.GuestChance Hoellwarth
Chance Hoellwarth, a professor of physics at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), serves as the director of Cal Poly’s Center for Engineering, Science, and Mathematics Education. This center’s primary focus is on recruiting STEM teachers and providing support to inservice K-12 science teachers. One of their initiatives is organizing Modeling Workshops in biology, chemistry, and physics every summer. Highlights[5:24] Chance Hoellwarth "It's so much easier to edit than to pull from scratch."[26:23] Chance Hoellwarth, on letting AI do some of the complicated data analysis to let students "see" the physics: "it's about the physics. How do we get to the physics more and not all the calculations we need to do to do the physics kind of thing."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 71 TranscriptLinksCESAME Website
This month, Mark talks with Emma Mitchell, the chair of the science department at the Ethel Walker School in Connecticut. They talk about her background working in labs, often as the only female. They talk about Emma's experience teaching at an all-girls' school, and then about how she came across modeling instruction when trying to figure out how to teach physics in a pandemic. She completely changed how she teaches by bringing modeling to her ninth graders and to her advanced physics students. They talk about the way students become the ones doing the heavy lifting during class, as opposed to sitting back and receiving the information through lecture.They talk about Peter Liljedahl's book, Building Thinking Classrooms, and how similar the author's ideas for math instruction are to the ideas of modeling. They spend time talking about the benefits of vertical whiteboarding for students' thinking.Emma finishes with her best tips for starting a new school year well.GuestDr. Emma Mitchell
Emma Mitchell teaches introductory- and advanced-level physics and is the Science Department Chair at The Ethel Walker School, an independent boarding and day school for girls in Simsbury, Connecticut. She holds a BA in Physics from Vassar College and a Ph.D. in Engineering Physics from University of Virginia. Emma participated in her first workshop in Modeling Instruction in 2020 and has been involved in the AMTA ever since. She is currently the Vice President of the AMTA Executive Board. She is excited about the transformative change that Modeling has brought to her classroom and loves any opportunity to discuss pedagogy with other science teachers.X | BlueskyHighlights[4:18] Emma Mitchell "And so introducing modeling just brought this joy and this, it just made me love teaching even more. And that was scarce in 2020. So I felt really appreciative that I found this new way of teaching at a time when teaching was so hard because it made it easier actually."[5:26] Emma Mitchell "Science is built off of iterative mistakes, right? And science is built off of collaboration."[20:54] Emma Mitchell "So students have a tendency if you go straight from lab to equation, at least for my ninth graders, they would think about it really algorithmically. And so they would just sort of revert to this kind of plug-and-chug way of solving problems. And by making them go through the step with the diagrams, it's actually harder in a lot of ways because they have to wrap their minds around what's really going on. And they have to apply, new situations and applying that to the graphs and that to these diagrams, is asking them to do a lot more thinking."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 70 TranscriptLinks[27:02] Building Thinking Classrooms
In this episode, Mark talks with Ray Howanski, CEO of the AMTA. They talk about the origins of AMTA, the big ideas behind modeling instruction, and how the modeling community has changed over time. They talk about the plans that are ahead for AMTA, including a new website and easier ways to connect teachers to one another. They finish with talking about efforts to include data science in the modeling framework and to keep science involved in the larger discussion of data science in education.GuestRay Howanski
Ray Howanski worked for Ridley School District teaching Chemistry and Biology for 22 years and then as a Curriculum Director for the next 13 years. He worked with their science department to grow modeling instructional practices during which time they inverted the science sequence to offer a Physics - Chemistry - Biology progression. Ray is currently serving as the executive officer for AMTA. Highlights[10:35] Ray Howanski "I think that's really what modeling does. It gives teachers that really foundational piece of resources that they can then go and blossom in each of their teaching environments."[41:52] Ray Howanski "now I can improve my understanding and accept information like evidence-based thinking and the ability to change your mind. Just those things. Learning how to have a face-to-face conversation. And learn from each other. These are things I think that whether you're a science person or not, I think we would all recognize that these are things we want people in our society to be able to do."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 69 TranscriptLinksGet Involved! amtaexec@modelinginstruction.org
In this episode, Mark talks with Beth Burns, who is a modeler and modeling workshop leader who teaches chemistry to both high school and college students. They talk about her journey from working in industry to teaching, and to modeling instruction. They talk about how whiteboarding is so importing in modeling instruction as part of giving students autonomy in their own learning.GuestElizabeth Burns
Elizabeth Burns has been teaching Advanced Placement Chemistry as well as Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA) Forensic Science at Fairport High School in western New York State for over 20 years. She is also an adjunct professor of General Chemistry at Nazareth University. She has a BS in Chemistry and an MS in Education. She took her first modeling workshop in 2019 and has been using the Modeling Instruction pedagogy ever since.X | BlueSkyHighlights[5:02] Beth Burns "Why do we know what we know and do we just trust or do we do some investigations and kind of create that knowledge as we're learning?"[16:03] Beth Burns "I always tell my students, I'm like, when you go off to college and you go on and get a PhD and you discover a better picture of what the atom looks like, you're gonna come back and tell me what it is, and then I'll teach it to my students."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 68 TranscriptLinks[5:22] Building Thinking Classrooms by Peter Liljedhal
In this episode, Mark talks with Ray Howanski, CEO of the AMTA. They talk about the origins of AMTA, the big ideas behind modeling instruction, and how the modeling community has changed over time. They talk about the plans that are ahead for AMTA, including a new website and easier ways to connect teachers to one another. They finish with talking about efforts to include data science in the modeling framework and to keep science involved in the larger discussion of data science in education.GuestRay Howanski
Ray Howanski worked for Ridley School District teaching Chemistry and Biology for 22 years and then as a Curriculum Director for the next 13 years. He worked with their science department to grow modeling instructional practices during which time they inverted the science sequence to offer a Physics - Chemistry - Biology progression. Ray is currently serving as the executive officer for AMTA. Highlights[10:35] Ray Howanski "I think that's really what modeling does. It gives teachers that really foundational piece of resources that they can then go and blossom in each of their teaching environments."[41:52] Ray Howanski "now I can improve my understanding and accept information like evidence-based thinking and the ability to change your mind. Just those things. Learning how to have a face-to-face conversation. And learn from each other. These are things I think that whether you're a science person or not, I think we would all recognize that these are things we want people in our society to be able to do."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 67 TranscriptLinksGet Involved! amtaexec@modelinginstruction.org
In this episode, Mark and Geoff talk about how Geoff learned about modeling methods and the various mini-labs he has developed to help illustrate student thinking about new phenomena. They talk about the challenges presented by increasing the number of topics covered in a course without increasing the number of instructional days, necessitating the instructor to determine what can be cut to save time while remaining true to the ideals of modeling. Finally, Geoff describes some of the tools he has published on his website and they ways they can be use.GuestGeoff Nunes
Geoff is in his ninth year teaching at St. Joseph's Prep, an all-boys Jesuit high school in Philadelphia. He came to high school teaching after 15 years in research and development at Dupont, and before that, eight years on the faculty at Dartmouth College. He learned about Modeling Instruction while he was still at Dartmouth, but had to wait until the summer of 2017 to take his first workshop. As a hobby, he maintains a website full of modeling-friendly software for student use, including a graphing program, an electric field simulator, and a video analysis tool.WebsiteHighlights[5:22] Geoff Nunes "It's so important that the lab be accessible to the students and actually correctly show them the physics you're trying to teach them."[7:50] Geoff Nunes: "I'm trying to build as many aha moments into the class as I can."[13:34] Geoff Nunes "nobody can teach anybody anything. People have to teach themselves. And so what you as a teacher have to do is provide the environment in which the students can teach themselves. And that's what modeling does."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 66 TranscriptLinksNora Gulfa
In this episode, Mark talks with Cynthia Passmore, who is a professor of science education at the University of California, Davis. They talk about the differences between the approach to modeling developed at ASU and UC Davis, which seem to be more and more similar as time goes by. They talk about how all of our understanding in scientific study is based on models, even if we do not specifically hold those up as "models" per se. We use mental models to explain the world around us and to better understand how and why certain interactions happen the way they do. They talk about modeling instruction and the Next Generation Science Standards and how modeling really gets students to do the thinking as scientists and make the connections between what we see and the explanations for what we see. They talk about Cynthia's new book, even get to talk about some of Cynthia's recent research on effective teaching using modeling methods in the high school biology classroom.GuestCynthia PassmoreCynthia Passmore is currently a Professor specializing in science education in the University of California, Davis School of Education. She did her doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and prior to that she was a high school science teacher. Her research focuses on the role of models and modeling in student learning, curriculum design and teacher professional development. She investigates model-based reasoning in a range of contexts and is particularly interested in understanding how the design of learning environments interacts with students’ reasoning practices. She has been the principal investigator of several large grants and is the lead on a collaborative curriculum design project that has created a full-year high school biology course. A key practitioner publication is the edited volume: Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices from NSTA Press.Highlights[2:44] Cynthia "I think the inclusion of modeling as a practice in the next generation Science standards has also brought a lot more people to the work of modeling than used to be the case."[3:25] Cynthia "Models are the functional unit of scientific thought."[7:51] Cynthia "The depiction is important. I'm not trying to say it's not, but if all we're doing is asking kids to reproduce representations and depictions of things, then we're losing the modeling practice, in my view."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 65 TranscriptLinksModeling Based Biology - Living Earth
In this episode, Mark talks with Brooke Jenkins about her early teaching career, her time at ASU, and then as an adjunct instructor at Estrella Mountain Community College, where she was introduced to modeling instruction. They talk about her work with BYU Idaho, and her move to Utah, where she has helped to develop concurrent enrollment classes for high school students to take the course at their high school while earning college credit at Weber State University. She has been creating professional development for the high school teachers who administer the concurrent enrollment chemistry classes. She uses labs from the modeling materials and walks the high school teachers through how to do each lab in the way that modeling instruction would administer those labs. They talked about a grant she has been able to secure to fund the modeling instruction workshops through state funds, and another grant she is working on to provide stipends for teachers who attend the workshop.GuestsBrooke JenkinsBrooke studied Chemistry Education and Physics teaching at Brigham Young University before going to Arizona State University where she earned her Masters in Chemistry. Her research in Chemistry specifically addressed assessment of conceptual understanding in chemistry. She has taught chemistry at the high school, community college and now at the university level. Since 2018 she has taught at Weber State University where she gets to mentor students working towards their licensure and has revamped the concurrent enrollment program. This redesign of the concurrent enrollment curriculum has allowed her to incorporate more modeling ideals into the labs and classroom. Hosting a modeling workshop in Utah has been on her bucket list since moving away from Arizona. She is very excited that this is the year this workshop will become a reality.Highlights[19:19] Brooke Jenkins "we go through an accreditation process to make sure that our concurrent enrollment program is in fact accredited. And one of those things is, you have to make sure that, what we're doing on campus is the same as what they're doing in the high schools, and that includes professional development for our teachers that are doing the program."[24:26] Brooke Jenkins "the way it works here in Utah is you get your license and then you get endorsed in different areas that you can teach in. And if a teacher is working towards an endorsement, then they can have their tuition covered for taking that class."[30:51] Brooke Jenkins "So if there's something in your state that can happen for your teachers, trying to figure out that incentive system may be a really big part to making your workshop successful."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 64 TranscriptLinksModeling Instruction Website
In this episode, Mark talks with Kathy Harper, a senior lecturer in engineering education at The Ohio State University. She tells us about how she found her way to a modeling workshop half her lifetime ago, and how modeling has changed her life. They also talk about the work that Kathy has done bringing modeling workshops to Ohio, and then having workshops to develop small activities to bring tastes of engineering to our science courses. We hope you enjoy listening!Guest BiosKathy HarperKathy Harper is a senior lecturer in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University, teaching in the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors program. Her involvement with Modeling Instruction began in 1995. She has directed dozens of workshops for Ohio science teachers in Modeling Instruction, piloting the first workshops to incorporate engineering content into the Modeling framework. Her research includes an array of educational topics, but most recently centers on assessing classroom-level innovations. She has made conference and workshop presentations on topics such as problem solving, cooperative learning, reflective journaling, first-year engineering courses, and, of course, Modeling.FacebookHighlights[26:05] Kathy Harper, talking about starting to develop engineering content using a modeling framework "what if we offer a one-week workshop for people that have already taken a modeling workshop to come in and we'll just work through ways that we can add engineering into an existing modeling curriculum. ...But one of the things I really remember was one teacher said "My advanced students are usually debating between a career in medicine or a career in engineering. And they all feel like they understand what medicine is. And so I think they're more likely to choose that, but they don't really understand what engineering is." ...So we worked then as a group to think about some activities that we could add, just to introduce students to engineering design that were largely independent of content."[40:01] Kathy Harper, talking about funding for modeling workshops and state funding for professional development "we need to do something to get those mechanisms back in place so that we can support these state-level, or at least, you know, portion of state-level workshops, where again, like-minded teachers can get together, talk about the content and the pedagogy. Where we can teach these workshops for the people who teach these workshops are real K-12 classroom teachers. Not university people like me; people that teach in very similar circumstances to the people attending the workshops. Those are key."ResourcesTranscriptEp 63 Transcript
This week, Mark talks with Phil Root about the differences he sees between teaching using modeling methodology at the high school level and the college level. They talk about Phil's experience helping to adapt modeling materials for physical science to the Next Generation Science Standards, and how much he enjoyed building a storyline for those units. They talk about the advanced modeling workshops, including the new materials Phil helped to develop for them, and the various topics covered. They finish with Phil's advice for folks just starting out on a modeling instruction journey.GuestsPhil RootPhil Root taught high school chemistry and physics at Chandler High School from 2004-2013, and has been teaching chemistry at Scottsdale Community College since 2013. Phil teaches using modeling methods at the college level, and also leads modeling workshops. He helped to develop the physical science curriculum for Next Generation Science Standards and worked with Levi Torrison to develop a thermodynamics modeling workshop and extend the Chem 2 workshop to a full three week course.Website Highlights[11:05] Phil Root: "AMTA was actively engaging students before it was cool."[17:08] Phil Root, on advanced modeling workshops: "you will have activities, labs, facilitation experience that you can take with you directly back to your classroom the next year and put it to place right away to build your storyline in your classroom and make it stronger."[19:13] Phil Root: "My goal now isn't to get my students to solve a problem a certain way or to get an answer. It's to probe their thinking about the relationships that they're using or how are they making sense of the mathematical relationships they're using or the conceptual frameworks that they're building."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 62 Transcript
This month, Mark talks with the executive officer of the AMTA, Ray Howanski. They talk about the importance of getting at student thinking and effective student-led discussions, and the transformation that happens when students start being the scientists rather than just looking to the authority figure for the "right answers." They talk about the difference between modeling workshops and distance learning courses and the value of time spent face-to-face, especially for a teacher's first or first in-depth experience with modeling instruction. They discuss what the AMTA has been working on and what's coming soon as well as ways to get involved in the work that the AMTA is doing to improve curricular materials and set the standards for some new technology.GuestsRay HowanskiRay Howanski worked for Ridley School District teaching Chemistry and Biology for 22 years and then as a Curriculum Director for the next 13 years. He worked with their science department to grow modeling instructional practices during which time they inverted the science sequence to offer a Physics - Chemistry - Biology progression. Ray is currently serving as the executive officer for AMTA. Highlights[4:34] Ray Howanski "The one thing I'd say that I'd really emphasize and where I think is really impactful about modeling instruction is the listening. Is the learning where the student thinking is."[7:24] Ray Howanski "So when the students are all figuring out whatever it is they're looking at whatever event they're investigating, it's the evidence that speaks. It's the data that speaks."[23:22] Ray Howanski "That's why it has to be really centered around sensemaking and having the students gather information in the lab, and then work together with each other to kind of make sense of it, present it, and that's the -ing in modeling"ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 61 TranscriptLinksGet Involved! amtaexec@modelinginstruction.org
This month, Mark talks with F. Joseph Merlino about the work he has done using grants from the National Science Foundation to reform math and science education. They talk about his work in Egypt overhauling their whole education system, working with the decision-makers to identify their biggest challenges and then how they can design school around preparing students to solve those big problems. They talk in particular about the success of the government-funded STEM schools and the role that modelers played in training the educators. They talk about formative assessment, and how it is not only for the benefit of the teacher, but also the New Era-New Urgency: the Case for Repurposing Education. They talk about the purpose for education or for teaching the particular things we teach, and the "shadows" that every teacher or reform person must confront even before walking into a school.GuestsF. Joseph MerlinoF. Joseph Merlino's academic background is in chemical engineering and cognitive developmental psychology. He is the president of the 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education (17 years). He has been a PI and project director of numerous large-scale NSF, IES, and USAID projects, including a Targeted Math Science Partnership involving 45 school districts and 13 colleges and universities. For the past 12 years, he has been directing a STEM project for the Egyptian Ministry of Education establishing 21 New STEM high schools and new STEM teacher prep programs in 5 Egyptian universities. He has employed many modelers as consultants on these projects. He is co-author of a new book entitled NEW ERA-NEW URGENCY: The Case for Repurposing Education by Lexington Books (2024)Highlights[4:47] F Joseph Merlino "Actually, this idea that physics instruction and science instruction could be different, goes back to the 1880s."[17:01] F Joseph Merlino "we had to use the assessments as a foot in the door as a way to open the door to then introduce a different pedagogical approach."[24:06] F Joseph Merlino "the idea of the formative assessment that we talk about is that if you're cooking something, for example, if you're cooking, a dish, a stew, for example, you sample it along the way, and then you add ingredients as you need in order to suit it to the taste."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 60 TranscriptLinksNew Era - New Urgency Website
In this episode, Mark talks with Patrick Daisley, long-time modeler and science teacher. They talk about challenges he had when a beginner modeler, good advice that he took and made part of his own routine, and developing a modeling instruction framework and curriculum for integrated science, physics and chemistry. They talk about the origin of the AMTA and Patrick's part in it.GuestsPatrick DaisleyPatrick taught physics, science and mathematics for 29 years, including freshman level integrated science, physics, AP-1 physics and AP-C physics. Patrick earned a Masters Degree in Science Education in 1998 and became a National Board Certified Teacher in 2008. He earned a doctorate in Educational Leadership at Washington State University in 2016.Patrick's first experience with Modeling was as a phase 3 participant in the Leadership Modeling Workshop at UC Davis during the summers of 1998 and 1999. He continued to be involved, spending several summers at ASU working with other modelers on integrated physics-chemistry modeling and attending an Advanced Modeling Workshop in 2005. He co-led a Physics Modeling Workshop at ASU in 2008 and another in Spokane, Washington in 2010. He was one of the modelers who founded AMTA in 2005, serving as its first president from 2005-2006 and then serving on the board as Treasurer and Founding Board Member until 2010.FacebookHighlights[11:34] Patrick Daisley "Invite [parents] to come in where he could then show them some of the things that the students were doing, like with the labs and things of that nature, and maybe even some of the work that they had on whiteboards, and explain what it meant to be in a modeling class."[24:55] Patrick Daisley "It's a pedagogy for how to teach students. And the materials are just sort of secondary to that. I just wish I had known how powerful it was."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 59 Transcript
In this recast episode from July 2021, Mark talks with Marta Stoeckle, who teaches physics and other science courses outside St. Paul, Minnesota. They talk about the improvements Marta experienced in her teaching after attending a modeling workshop. This led to their discussion of Marta's research in STEM education. Finally, they talk about the new way for modelers to connect -- the AMTA Discord server.Guest BioMarta Stoeckle Marta Stoeckle has been teaching science at Tartan High School just outside of St. Paul, Minnesota since 2009. She teaches mostly Physics and AP Physics 1, with occasional sections of other courses including basic chemistry and 9th grade physical & earth science. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in the University of Minnesota’s STEM education program where she is studying how classroom experiences influence science identity, especially for underrepresented students. Marta has served on the communications committee for AMTA's board and helped get the Discord server started.Website | TwitterHighlights[10:16] Marta "Labs came up with almost every single student as something really important. What was really interesting to me is I had a lot of students who talked about the guided inquiry labs and the paradigm labs that are an important part of modeling as something that really helped them feel like a science person. And when they were able to see how the data they took led to that physics knowledge, they felt a really strong sense of ownership over their learning and really started to feel good at physics"[21:21] Marta: "I was introduced to this idea of activity before concept and then concept before vocabulary...No matter what phrasing they use to describe it, but my experience has been, especially with ELL kids and especially with kids who have learning differences, especially around reading, that's been really beneficial because by the time that we get to that technical word, they have something in their head to attach it to, instead of trying to cram in all of these complicated words before they really have any meaning."ResourcesTranscriptEp 58 TranscriptOriginal Interview LinksArticle: Musings on Instructional ShiftsArticle: Gender Self-assessment in Classroom Experiences in AP physicsPivot InteractivesUpdated LinksPaper: Gender differences in classroom experiences impacting self-efficacy in an AP Physics 1 classroomArticle: Strategies for Supporting Equitable Group Work
Mark talks with veteran physics teacher and proponent of physics first in high school. He talks about how the connecting thread of energy should start in middle school and continue through 12th grade.They talk about the Cactus Caucus, advocating to get funding for more teacgers to get state certified to teach STEM classes in Arizona. Then they talk about the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project, which brings on teacher fellows each year. One benefit of this program for all teachers is the free content produced by their STEM fellows, including some modeling-friendly materials in their lesson plan archive.GuestsMike VargasMike Vargas is a 20-year veteran Physics teacher who is a founding member of the Cactus Caucus, a group of Arizona Physics teachers who helped pass legislation to advance science teacher education in Arizona. This effort led to the Arizona Department of Education’s “Get Set for STEM”program which aimed to increase the number of higher-level STEM teachers state wide. This initiative helped increase the number of physics teachers in Arizona by nearly 20%. Mike is also a founding member of STEMteachersPHX and has extensive ties to the Arizona Science Teachers Association, the American Modeling Teachers Association, and the American Association of Physics Teachers. Mike served as a board member to the Northern Arizona University K12 Center and has been an active participant in the Arizona Education Foundations efforts to promote STEM education with its “TeachSTEM” program. Mike has served on the Air Force Association National Aerospace Council for the last few years and co-led the Space Force’s first national education outreach project, “STEM to Space”. Mike served on the Federal Coordination in STEM’s Interagency Working Group for Strategic Partnerships (IWG-SP) and served as a Department of Defense Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow to the Department of the Air Force K12 STEM National Office as well as the Department of Defense’s Strategic Manufacturing Education Workforce Development program. His policy and strategic partnership experience has been essential for the creation of Arizona State University’s newest initiative - The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project. He is currently the Co-Principal investigator and Senior Program Manager for ASAP.X | LinkedInHighlights[3:44] Mike Vargas "You should really start in middle school and have that energy thread going through all the way up through senior year, because you can tie that to all the sciences, right?"[20:05] Mike Vargas "we're curating a website. It's STEM Teachers@asu.edu, and there's gonna be about 2000 lessons on here, at the end of the day. They're all curated, they're all made by teachers, for teachers. It's kinda like teachers pay teachers, but free"ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 57 TranscriptLinksArizona STEM Acceleration ProjectWebsite | Facebook | Instagram
Mark and Amanda talk about her background as a middle school teacher, the STEM master's program she took at ASU, which introduced her to modeling instruction and eventually led her to found the Cactus Caucus, which advocated for funding for teachers to recertify to teach physics, chemistry and other high-needs areas in Arizona schools. They talk about her move from teaching to the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project at ASU, how this project works, and about building community among our teachers.GuestsAmanda WhitehurstAmanda Whitehurst spent thirteen years teaching third through eighth grade in Arizona Schools with a Masters of Engineering in STEM for Middle School from ASU. She was a founding board member as well as former Vice President, President, Past President, and Executive Officer of STEMteachersPHX, an Arizona based professional development non-profit that works to de-silo teachers in STEM subjects and develop communities to support high-quality teaching in classrooms. Amanda Co-Founded the Arizona Cactus Caucus which successfully developed a coalition for $1.2M in legislative funding for the 3-year STEM Teacher Professional Development Pilot Program which the Arizona Dept. of Education adopted as the “Get Set for STEM” scholarship program to increase the number of high school physics teachers in Arizona and increase the access of students of all grade levels to high-quality STEM education. She is currently the Co-Principal investigator and Senior Program Manager for the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project; a $10M grant from the Arizona Department of Education which in its first year supported over 450 STEM teachers across Arizona and impacted almost 90K students.Highlights[6:05] Amanda Whitehurst, on modeling at the middle school level compared to high school level: "there's a lot more scaffolding that has to go on in terms of getting kids to do that discourse and that dialogue. But there are fewer bad habits that you have to break from them from as well."[7:57] Amanda Whitehurst "I would say that modeling really gave me the tools to teach in the way that I'd always wanted to teach, but couldn't figure out how to implement effectively. "[21:24] Amanda Whitehurst "if teachers have connections to each other and they feel supported, that they're more likely to stay in the profession."[29:14] Amanda Whitehurst "one of the values of this project is that so much that teachers do, and so much the professional development organizations do is for the love of students. But that always ends up to mean they're doing it for free. And one of the values was that your time is worthwhile and you deserve to be paid for your time."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 56 TranscriptLinksArizona STEM Acceleration ProjectWebsite | Facebook | Instagram
In this episode, Mark talks with Paul Sasso, a physics and astronomy teacher from Maine. They talk about Paul's experience as a new teacher and his introduction to modeling instruction, and later to the new modeling astronomy materials. After taking the modeling astronomy workshop and returning as both participant and "intern," Paul was invited to attend modeling workshop leader training. They talk about that experience and then dive into more thoughts on the astronomy and exoplanets materials, the virtual course, and engaging hands-on activities for the students.GuestsPaul L. SassoPaul L. Sasso is a high school Science teacher in Maine and for the past 13 years has been teaching all levels of Physics, and more recently Astronomy. He also directs the STEM Makerspace at school, which is a hub for 3D printing,and robotics (supporting students projects schoolwide). Paul has been a Modeler since 2017 when he took his first workshop in Physics Mechanics. He comes to teaching from a career in Engineering with Motorola, Siemens and General Dynamics. Restoring old VWs, remote camping, stargazing, photography and keeping up with his wife keep Paul busy the rest of the time.Highlights[15:32] Paul Sasso "[In the astronomy modeling class] There are people that have been teaching astronomy for a long time, but I believe the course has so much to offer, and just the different approach to it and the use of real data and the use of very current, real relevant, data science activities for the students. So there's a lot to be had, a lot to be taken away from it, no matter what your level."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 55 TranscriptLinks[8:37] Unistellar Citizen Science[14:41] Current Astronomy Modeling with Exoplanets course, already underway
In this episode, Mark talks with chemistry teacher Scott Milam. They talk about his interest in the history of chemistry thinking and the development of models in chemistry as far back as hundreds of years ago. They talk about how Scott thinks about teaching chemistry, and the questions he is focusing on right now. This leads them to talk about setting up assessments so he focuses very intentionally on key goals in each unit. They also talk about his chemistry content, his YouTube Channel, and Scott's book Teaching Introductory Chemistry.GuestsScott MilamScott Milam currently teaches chemistry and IB chemistry HL at Plymouth High School in Michigan. Scott holds a BS and MS in Chemistry. He completed his initial training in Modeling Instruction pedagogy in 2015, and has led workshops in 2018, 2020, and 2021. He helped lead the Intro to Modeling Instruction workshop 3 times and led the Chem I follow-up workshop this fall. Scott was the 2017 Michigan Science Teacher of the Year and was a 2019, 2021, and 2023 PAEMST finalist. Scott is the recipient of AMTA's 2023 Malcolm Wells Award Leadership and published "Teaching Introductory Chemistry" in 2022.Youtube | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter)Highlights[2:32] Scott Milam "I find that me being able to add stories of the smartest people in the world at this time, having these thoughts that were incorrect into my instruction is really powerful for students in that it shows them it's okay to not be at perfection, that as long as you're progressing and moving up, that you're doing something useful and productive."[15:45] Scott Milam "what I try and do is listen very carefully to what my top students are doing that's getting them to make sense of these different things, share that with all of the students."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 54 Transcript
In this episode, Mark talks with Mark Lattery, professor of physics at University of Wisconson, OshKosh. He has taught using modeling methods since 1999. He does research in experimental particle physics and modeling methods. They talk about modeling physics in Mark Lattery's college-level physics course for non-majors, and how Mark first learned about modeling early in his teaching career.GuestsMark LatteryMark Lattery received a Ph. D. degree in experimental particle physics and a M.Ed. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Minnesota/Twin Cities. He is Distinguished Professor of Physics, the 2021 David Hestenes Award for Exceptional Contributions to Modeling Instruction recipient, and President of Modeling Teachers International, a new subsidiary of the American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA). Lattery is also an experimental particle physicist and a member of the PANDA Collaboration at FAIR. For excellence in teaching, Lattery was named UW-System Wisconsin Teaching Scholar and Wisconsin Teaching Fellow. His research interests include physics education, experimental particle physics, and the history and philosophy of science. The author of many peer-reviewed research articles, Dr. Lattery has published in such diverse journals as Physical Review Letters, The Physics Teacher, School Science and Mathematics, Physics Education, and Science & Education. Dr. Lattery is author of the book, Deep Learning in Introductory Physics: Exploratory Studies of Model-Based Reasoning (Information Age Publishing, 2017).WebsiteHighlights[8:13] Mark Lattery "I guess the most important thing I've learned about modeling theory is the richness and diversity with which one can describe the scientific modeling process, and how we use that process to learn new things."[32:34] Mark Lattery "if I give a two-day workshop, I come up with the simplest possible content that I can think of. So the focus is not on the subject matter content, but on the pedagogical aspects about models and modeling."[34:22] Mark Lattery "within the modeling community, there's this open invitation, please join us and be part of creating what modeling in the classroom might look like in the future."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 53 TranscriptLinksUWOSH - Next Generation Modeling Courses for Teachers[1:00] PANDA[17:43] Deep Learning in Introductory Physics, Information Age Publishing[28:54] Modeling Teachers International
In this episode, Mark talks with Karle Delo about how teachers could use AI tools to generate ideas for connections between topics of study and areas of interest for their students. She talks about how to get started using AI and discusses the importance of not ignoring it entirely. She has many good resources and encourages teachers to take a look and see what could help them improve their practice or even streamline the sub plan building process.GuestsKarle DeloKarle Delo is the Curriculum Director and an instructional coach at Ovid-Elsie Area Schools in Mid-Michigan. Before becoming a coach, she taught middle school science for ten years and used Modeling Instruction in her classroom. In her current role, she provides support and training to teachers on how to build 21st-century skills among students. She is also a frequent speaker at education conferences, and in 2023, she was named one of the top 30 K-12 EdTech Influencers to follow by EdTech Magazine. On her TikTok and Instagram channels, @coachkarle, she creates videos about Canva, Google for Education, and the latest AI tools for teachers.Linktree | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | TikTokHighlights[10:35] Karle Delo "one great way to use [AI] that I've found is coming up with ideas for lesson hooks, for ideas to relate the content to your students specifically."[26:47] Karle Delo "If you wanna use it to think for you, that's not gonna be a great product. If you're using it to make you a better thinker. And as that thought partner brainstorming buddy, it's going to have a much bigger positive impact on what you do."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 52 TranscriptLinks[10:49] Magic School.ai[12:35] EduAide[14:39] AI for Education[15:47] Chat GPT[16:08] Google Bard
In this episode, we hear from Larry Dukerich, one of the key people who developed modeling resources for chemistry instruction. He talks about how modeling changed the way he taught and expands on the three main ways that modeling differs from a traditional lecture-style classroom.GuestLarry DukerichLarry Dukerich received his B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan State University and his Masters of Natural Science from Arizona State University. He taught high school chemistry and physics, including regular, honors and AP courses, in Michigan and Arizona for 34 years. He was a Woodrow Wilson Dreyfus Fellow in Chemistry in 1986 and a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Science Teaching in 2000. Since 1995, he has conducted numerous summer workshops for physics and chemistry teachers as part of the Modeling Instruction Program at ASU, and later in Pennsylvania, N Carolina, Tennessee, New York City, Missouri, California and Colorado. He has also made presentations about and conducted workshops on Modeling Instruction at NSTA, ChemEd and BCCE conferences. He is one of the lead contributors to the curricular materials used in Modeling Instruction in chemistry.Highlights[11:00] If you go to a workshop, you’re going to be exposed to a reform pedagogy, which is going to require you to change the way you manage your classroom. If you are looking for a way to improve your instruction then this is going to be something for you.[16:10] When you go to a workshop, teachers play the role of student as they run through the experiments, collecting data, analyzing it, having to interpret it, and explain what’s going on. And same thing with worksheets, tests and quizzes, that sort of thing. And they get the feeling for how modeling instruction differs from their traditional classroom practice.[32:33] It’s a culture, not a cult. I have just found, once I started teaching with modeling that I found the experience in the classroom much more satisfying. My students found the course enjoyable and wanted to take more science. Places that have been implementing modeling have seen science enrollment grow, an increase in the number of advanced courses that students take. It’s something that I think people can be excited about.ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 51 TranscriptLinks[24:59] - Assessment of Basic Chemistry Concepts or “ABCC”AMTA members can download it (as well as the Excel item-analysis workbook) at the AMTA website, modelinginstruction.org , in the members-only section.Non-members can email Larry Dukerich: ldukerich@mac.com[26:33] – paper that Larry wrote for J. Chem Ed in 2015(Users must log in to read the whole paper. The abstract is available without logging in)
In this episode, Mark talks with Deanna Cullen, about her work as a teacher, how she came to modeling, and how it changed her teaching. They talk about the work she is doing now with the Journal of Chemical Education and with ChemEdX, the Chemical Education Exchange. They also talk about Target Inquiry, a 2 1/2 year long professional development program which gives teachers the opportunity to do research and develop labs to build inquiry skills. They talk about summer conferences for chemistry teachers and the benefit of that kind of professional development.GuestsDeanna CullenDeanna Cullen is the High School Editor for ChemEd X the Chemical Education Exchange, Adjunct professor at Grand Valley State University, spent over 25 years teaching chemistry, science & biology - primarily high school - through June 2017. She is the former associate editor with the Journal of Chemical Education. For two years she was a chemistry laboratory technician. She regularly attends state, national and international science conferences. Deanna is passionate about supporting science teachers and working with authors.TwitterHighlights[8:15] Deanna Cullen "One of the posts (on ChemEdX) that gets a lot of views during modeling instruction courses is one that Erica Posthuma posted about build-a-boat and developing culture in your classroom"[28:55] Deanna Cullen "we teach students to be scientists. Scientists make observations, they analyze data and they form conclusions. And we know that scientists make further observations that will cause them to reanalyze and reformulate a conclusion. And that's what our students do in modeling instruction. So they're learning to be a scientist."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 50 TranscriptLinksJournal of Chemical EducationChemical Education ExchangeTarget Inquiry
In this episode, Mark talks with Kathy Malone about her first exposure to modeling instruction methodology through the very first modeling physics workshop. They talk about Kathy's role in working to create the initial biology modeling materials, her research and work in Kazakhstan, and finally the research she has just recently published.GuestsKathy MaloneKathy holds undergraduate degrees in biology and physics education and master's degrees in Science Teaching and Instructional Science. She took her first course in physics modeling at ASU in 1995. She has since taught physics using modeling at both the high school and college levels, and started co-leading physics modeling workshops in 1998. Her developing interest in modeling led Kathy to earn a Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in physics education based on research on physics modeling at the high school level. Her research focused on the cognitive and metacognitive skills developed by students in modeling classes. After teaching for about 30 years at the high school level she moved to the college level in 2014 teaching graduate and undergraduate education courses. Her research focused on curriculum development and research in modeling but she shifted her focus to biology modeling which at the time was in its infancy. She has also taught graduate-level education in Kazakhstan for several years. She "retired" from teaching education courses in 2022 and then started teaching at the University of Hawaii at Hilo in the Physics and Astronomy department. She is currently using modeling techniques in her physics and astronomy classes.Highlights[12:07] Kathy Malone "teaching, especially modeling, is very much a jazz performance to me, because what it is, is that it's not me. It's the whole class, right? So we're performing together, trying to reach a goal."[23:04] Kathy Malone "I can see as the years progressed I was no longer a teacher of science. I had become more of a teacher of thinking... because models are all around us, they're not just science."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 49 TranscriptLinksScience Modeling Talks Episode 31 Anita SchuchardtKathy Malone's Research Gate Page
In this episode, Mark talks with Mitch Sweet, who teaches using modeling methodology at Scottsdale Community College. They discuss his journey with modeling, and the many workshops he attended before becoming a workshop facilitator. They talk about building a community of modelers and the differences between high school and college. Finally, they talk about the work that Mitch and others have done researching the effectiveness of using proportional reasoning to get students to link about how changing one variable would affect the other, rather than just blindly plugging numbers into an algorithm.GuestsMitch SweetMitch has been teaching, primarily chemistry, for the past 15 years at both the high school and college level. He took his first Modeling workshop in 2010 and began co-leading Chemistry Modeling workshops in 2016. Mitch currently teaches Fundamental Chemistry and General Chemistry I and II at Scottsdale Community College. Highlights[7:37] Mitch Sweet "the idea is, no matter what it is we're doing in life, we're constantly building models in our head of how we think things work. And that's sort of inherent in the nature of learning."[11:44] Mitch Sweet "we're trying to build a culture with our students where they're really responsible for their own learning, and we're trying to get them to be independent thinkers and to be able to engage with their fellow classmates."[33:41] Mitch Sweet "so getting students to share, getting students comfortable with putting things out there that they're maybe not a hundred percent sure of is a really important part of building the culture within the class. And we found it is more than worthwhile, that investment of time"ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 48 TranscriptLinks[Paper] David Hestenes - Wherefore a Science of Teaching
In this episode, Mark talks with Dr. Brant Hinrichs, associate professor of physics at Drury, a small university in Missouri. He talks about his studies in physics, his introduction to research on physics education, attending a workshop on Remodeled University Physics, and his own work in physics education research. They talk about the similarities and differences in the modeling approach between high school and college or university settings. They spend time talking about System Schema and energy, especially how we talk about this in a physics classroom. Brant teaches physics, but the discussion would be helpful for teachers of other disciplines as well. Guests Brant Hinrichs
Brant Hinrichs grew up in Michigan, studied electrical engineering and then physics at the University of Michigan, and then went to graduate school in Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Did a traditional physics PhD in non-linear dynamics - trying to model local field potentials from the brains of awake behaving pigeons. Followed by a two-year post-doc in Tokyo, Japan, again in non-linear dynamics. When he returned to the States, he was introduced to Physics Education Research. Over the following years, he got interested in research - trying to find evidence that his teaching was effective, and he has been doing that ever since. He and his wife are parents to two children, adopted as infants from Japan, and have found their lives to be greatly enriched by their addition to the family. Highlights [12:38] Brant Hinrichs "I think textbooks talk about system, but actually visualizing it and seeing what's inside the system and what's outside, and thinking explicitly about where energy is stored... System schema is very useful for visualizing that."
[18:09] Brant Hinrichs ""Where is energy stored" has been a fundamental question to ask students and have them think about, and help them to coordinate with all their representations."
[33:31] Brant Hinrichs "predictions only ever happen after students have some subset of models from which to grab a prediction and apply." Resources Download Transcript Ep 47 Transcript Links
[Paper] Using the System Schema Representational Tool to Promote Student Understanding of Newton’s Third Law
[Paper] Sharp Initial Disagreements Then Consensus in a Student Led Whole-Class Discussion
[Paper] Social positioning correlates with consensus building in two contentious large-group meetings
[Paper] Do I belong here?: Describing identities of participation and non-participation in a contentious “board” meeting
[Paper] Writing Position Vectors in 3-d Space: A Student Difficulty With Spherical Unit Vectors in Intermediate E&M
[Paper] Changing the notation that represents a force changes how students say it
[Paper] Analyzing students’...
This episode is a conversation with Dr. David Hestenes. Dr. Hestenes talks about his own education and work in various universities and departments. He talks about his graduate education and then goes in-depth about the research that led to developing the ideas and methodology underlying modeling instruction in physics and later other sciences and mathematics. Guest Bio David Orlin Hestenes, Ph.D. (born May 21, 1933) is a theoretical physicist and science educator. He is best known as chief architect of geometric algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, and as the founder of Modelling Instruction, a research-based program to reform K–12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. For more than 30 years, he was employed in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Arizona State University (ASU), where he retired with the rank of Research Professor and is now emeritus. Highlights [18:21] David Hestenes quoting Malcolm Wells:
“It’s not enough to know that the students have alternative conceptions or if you will, misconceptions about how the world works because they interpret everything in terms of those. The question is how do you get the students to have the scientific view of what’s going on in the world rather than the common sense everyday world.”
[19:15] David Hestenes: “my theoretical view is that science is fundamentally about making and using models of the real world.”
[36:55] Dr. Hestenes: “Well, okay, so what is it that is going to make an effective teacher? The trouble with especially physics teachers is that they’re not connected to anybody. Usually the physics teacher is the only physics teacher in the school…” building up local communities
[41:02] Mark Royce: “What in your mind is the reason that modeling is successful?”
[46:00] Dr. Hestenes: “Without private funding, I don’t think that there can be any substantial STEM education reform.” Resources 51:15 http://geocalc.clas.asu.edu David Hestenes – transcription
In this episode, Mark talks with Phil Culcasi, a science and math teacher from Illinois, about his experience using modeling methodologies and leading workshops. They talk about asking questions to get at the students' thinking, grading without points, and whiteboarding. They also talk about Phil's work with aspiring teachers and his current project to bring whiteboards and discussion into the precalculus classroom.GuestsPhil CulcasiPhil Culcasi has over 25 years of experience as a math and science teacher, and has taught at Wheaton Warrenville South High School since 2002 and served as science department chair since 2012. He is an active leader and participant in professional development sessions and workshops regionally and nationally, and also serves as assistant girls basketball coach at WWSHS. Culcasi is also an adjunct professor at the University of St. Francis, teaching graduate level education courses. Culcasi received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, an M.A. in secondary education from Lewis University, and administrative certification from Aurora University. In addition, Culcasi is a 2022 Golden Apple Fellow and was a Presidential Award Winner in Mathematics and Science Teaching in 2017. He is also National Board Certified.TwitterHighlights[8:55] Phil Culcasi "I think those are the ways to get better as a teacher and to get better at modeling is to watch other teachers, to record yourself and watch yourself, and then think about what you're gonna ask the kids, because it does take time and practice."[20:11] Phil Culcasi "The most difficult part, especially in the new world that we're living in, is getting kids to try the problems before we have the discussion."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 45 TranscriptLinksBook Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics
In this episode, Mark talks with Kelli Warble, long-time modeler and now works at Arizona State University primarily in physics education. They talk about her early exposure to modeling instruction and the new units for modeling in the middle school math classroom that they're working on, including this summer's bite-size workshops in middle school math. They also talk about several of Kelli's top tips for teaching in the modeling classroom - most of which would be excellent tips for any classroom.GuestsKelli Warble Kelli Warble became hooked on teaching after securing a part-time job running mathematics and science activities for 2nd through 9th graders at an after-school program in central Phoenix. She received early exposure to physics education research via the Methods of Teaching Physics course at Arizona State University, which was (and still is) anchored in Modeling Instruction pedagogy.In 1994, Kelli started teaching mathematics and physics in the Phoenix metropolitan area. She spent 18 years as a high school teacher, primarily at Title I schools. As a high school teacher, Kelli constantly strived towards integrating the Modeling Instruction pedagogy embedded in her science courses into her mathematics courses as well. In fall 2012 she became the full-time Physics Teacher in Residence for Arizona State University.At Arizona State, Kelli currently teaches courses focused on physics education, runs the Learning Assistant program, and is a member of the APS IDEA team focused on diversity and inclusion initiatives. Kelli is also consulting on a new initiative, funded by the Arizona STEM Acceleration Project, to develop curricular materials for Modeling in Middle School Mathematics. She currently serves on the board of the American Modeling Teachers Association as past president, and is also on the board of the American Association of Physics Teachers as president elect.Website | Twitter | Discord: Kelli W#4784Highlights[5:12] Kelli Warble "One of the ones that we're working on is a modeling workshop in middle school mathematics. ...and we will be leading our first workshops this June 2023 in Mesa, Arizona."[29:23] Kelli Warble "I've learned that you have to give kids freedom, but not more freedom than they can handle."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 44 TranscriptLinksSTEM Teachers Phoenix eventsNext Generation PET
In this episode, Mark talks with Jon Anderson, a physics teacher at the high school and college level, and modeling workshop leader. They discuss the differences he sees in student engagement and understanding when exploring phenomena using the modeling instruction methodology. He also talks about how even veteran teachers look at teaching with a new perspective during and after modeling workshops.GuestsJon AndersonJon Anderson has an M.Ed. in Physics Education and has taught physics for 36 years at both the high school and college levels. Currently, Jon is a Physics Instructor at the University of Minnesota, as well as a Clinical Supervisor of science student teachers. He also works as a consultant for the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) as the PhysTEC Teacher-in-Residence (TIR) Coordinator and as the PhysicsBowl Academic Coordinator. Additionally, he has spent 24 years as a member of the "Physics Force," an outreach team from the University of Minnesota and 20 years as a QuarkNet Lead Teacher. He has been a physics modeler and leading physics modeling workshops since 2008.Highlights[11:32] Jon Anderson "I love seeing, particularly veteran teachers, look at teaching physics from a different perspective...taking a different approach to teaching it than, perhaps they had felt comfortable doing before or maybe weren't aware that it was an option."[28:31] Jon Anderson "I always figure if they can't look at the world without seeing physics, then I've been successful."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 43 Transcript
In this episode, Mark talks with experienced modeler Frank Novakowski about the key changes to his teaching when he began using modeling instruction. They talk about the importance of the storyline in modeling, and how Frank and others are working to make the ideas in biology fit together in a cohesive story. He talks about what teachers do during workshops and how that helps them understand what students might be thinking as they go through activities.GuestsFrank NovakowskiFrank Novakowski has been teaching for 24 years, using modeling instruction methodology since 2003. He is the science curriculum leader at Lake Park High School in Roselle, IL. Frank teaches modeling workshops, including one coming up this summer at Cal Poly.Twitter Highlights[25:41] Frank Novakowski: "I mentioned the importance of going through the materials so that you kind of know what the sequence is and how, and why they were developed that way. But it's also important for teachers to know that there's flexibility and they need to...make modifications to best fit their students."[29:14] Frank Novakowski: "that joint session, I learned, I think as much as any of the participants in the workshop, just talking about that cross-cutting concept of energy and how it's approached in physics, chemistry, and biology, and what are some of the ways that we can try to work together across those three core content areas so that when students take biology and they take chemistry and they take physics, they're getting a similar treatment of, okay, here is how we talk about energy. And it makes sense in all three of these core content areas."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 41 Transcript
In this episode, Mark talks with Karle Delo and Erica Posthuma, both of whom work on the social media presence of AMTA. They talk about the various ways to find AMTA resources and other teachers online as well as which places are particularly geared toward sharing modeling ideas with administrators or others new to modeling instruction, and which places are most geared toward talking about putting the methodologies into practice. There are so many ways to connect online. Find AMTA where you already spend time online!GuestsKarle DeloKarle Delo taught middle school science for 10 years, and has been a Modeler since 2016. Currently, she is an Instructional Coach and Technology Integrationist in Mid-Michigan, and leads Middle School Modeling distance learning courses. Karle noticed the transformation in quality discussions, depth of knowledge, and student ownership of learning through the adoption of Modeling Instruction. As the new Director of Marketing for AMTA, she aims to expand AMTA's audience, and introduce more educators to the transformative nature of Modeling.InstagramErica PosthumaErica Posthuma has been a science educator since 2001, teaching in both public and private school settings. She attended her first modeling instruction workshop after ten years of teaching, and it completely changed her way of teaching. Erica serves on the board of AMTA and is very active on social media, supporting and sharing ideas with others from all over. Erica is also an associate editor for the Journal of Chemical Education's ChemEdXchange.TwitterHighlights[3:19] Erica: "We started this connectED conference in response to the pandemic when we were unable to meet in person for our summer conferences. And we were trying to provide the community a way to connect, even virtually... Now in the upcoming one in February, I know we have four different breakout sessions, and we were very deliberate in our choices for those so that we span all the disciplines. We have biology, we have physics, we have astronomy, we have chemistry. We have something for everybody.[12:09] Karle: "Summary tables are a great tool for organizing information. I know that, a lot of times when we use modeling instruction, there's no textbook. So, what do the kids go back to? A summary table is a great way to give students a concrete thing to go back to where they are recording their learning throughout the process. So George Nelson does a great job of walking you through how to use that and where to find resources (on our YouTube Channel)"ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 41 TranscriptLinksRegister for ConnectED virtual conferenceModeling Chemistry - Facebook GroupModeling Mechanics - Facebook GroupModeling Biology - Facebook GroupAMTA on FacebookAMTA on TwitterAMTA on InstagramAMTA on YouTubeAMTA Discord invitationChemEd Exchange
In this episode, Mark talks with Dwain Desbien, a physics instructor at the community college level, about his research in physics education, methods to get students thinking deeply, and ways that we may consider why we teach what we teach as well as things we could add to improve our students' understanding.GuestsDwain DesbienDwain Desbien teaches physics at the community college level. His research interests include classroom management, alternative problem solving techniques, assessment, goal-less problems, and alternative problem formats. He leads modeling instruction workshops and is always looking at ways to develop and evaluate materials for use in the Modeling approach to Physics. His materials are continually being developed and are currently in use at various institutions across the country.Website | EmailHighlights[21:21] Dwain Desbien "The other thing that I introduced was what I call goalless problems ...What I mean by a goalless problem is there's no question asked. So, you know, I might walk into the classroom and say, I'm gonna drop this marker from two meters high. Tell me everything you can. Go."[25:40] Dwain Desbien "you're getting the students to think about problem solving concepts in a way that makes them not just go to equations, but they have to critique, they have to think, they have to decide..."ResourcesDownload TranscriptEp 40 TranscriptLinksAMTA Teachers on YouTube
In this episode, Mark talks with middle school modeling teacher George Nelson. They talk about the importance of building skills, rather than just focusing on making it through the assigned topics. Additionally they talk about the importance of classroom community and connecting with students. Guest George Nelson
George has taught middle school since 2009, and has been using modeling methodology for the past seven years. George became acquainted with Modeling Instruction from the 3rd Masters of Natural Science program at Arizona State University under the leadership of Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz. George takes pride that his students learning science by doing science. To summarize George’s experience, “Seeing my students talking about science has led them to conceptual understanding. While at the same time, they appreciate the actual process of science, which has been one of the most rewarding experiences as an educator.”
Twitter | Email: nelsong@wilmette39.org Highlights [14:41] George Nelson on content vs. skill building in middle school "that's what I try to sell middle school teachers on is I think we look so much on pacing and trying to cover the curriculum and getting all this content. I think if we just ... lead these kids off with solid, fundamental models of forces in motion, particle models, life science... I think they'll pick it up. They'll take it to the next level in high school."
[22:40] George Nelson "in order to get kids to learn, you gotta be able to connect with them and build that environment where everyone feels safe." Resources Download Transcript Ep 39 Transcript Links Talk Science Primer, PDF
In this episode, Mark talks with Dan Peluso about his time teaching physics and astronomy and the work he has done to help develop the modeling instruction materials and workshop for astronomy modeling (the next one is coming up in January!) They talk about the work he is doing at the SETI Institute with citizen science and bringing access to scientific data and telescope images to classrooms as well as ways that teachers can use astronomy in an inquiry-driven way. Guests Dan Peluso
Daniel Peluso is an astrophysics PhD candidate with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) and Education Associate (STaCS Principal Investigator, Unistellar Education Associate, and UCAN Assistant Director) for the SETI Institute. Peluso’s PhD project is multi-disciplinary focusing on NASA TESS exoplanet follow-ups and astronomy education research. For astronomy education, Peluso is developing an astronomy citizen science network for education using remote and easy-to-use digital telescopes (Unistellar eVscopes) so teachers and students can observe celestial events and learn science by doing science (e.g. Modeling Instruction Astronomy). Peluso holds a Master of Education in Science Curriculum Development and years experience as a high school science teacher and recently developed a new graduate level inquiry-based astronomy education course for teachers with the American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA). Peluso is also an outspoken advocate for mental health, a singer-songwriter, and regularly performs and releases original music under the stage name, Conner Eko.
Dan Peluso https://astropartydan.com/ (Website) | https://www.twitter.com/astropartydan (Twitter) | https://instagram.com/astropartydan (Instagram)
Connor Eko https://connereko.com/ (Website) | https://www.instagram.com/connereko/ (Instagram) | https://open.spotify.com/artist/66O2vJWC5AJdypvZHgi2Sq (Spotify) Highlights [34:14] Dan Peluso "So this, this telescope, the Unistellar eVscope is a consumer telescope that's really easy to use, fits in a backpack, and it can collect the data...We can even observe exoplanets, which are planets around other stars. And that data can come to be research level that is actually publishable and it has been publishable. ... And what we're doing is putting these telescopes into the classroom...I work directly with the professors and helping them learn how to use a telescope and also implement it into their curriculum, into their teaching. And I try as best as I can to introduce them to modeling and I even tell them about modeling and invite them to modeling workshops and, you know, encourage them to do more inquiry-based, practices which this telescope can allow them to do. "
[39:09] Dan Peluso "So we did this the last iteration of the course, and we're gonna do it again, where teachers and their students, if they want to as well, will actually say, Oh, we want to get an observation of this exoplanet. We wanna plan an exoplanet observation. So I'll then, put that notice up on our communication boards with the Unistellar network around the world and say, Oh, I have a teacher in Maine, or a teacher in, in New Jersey or in California, and their students and the teacher, they wanna get an exoplanet. So then the network will observe it for them and we'll get the data for them and we'll teach the teachers how to do this in their classroom. So not only we're doing modeling, but we're also combining it with like this really focused project-based learning experience where they're literally doing science and learning from it. And sometimes this can even result in publishing or being involved in a published journal article. Which has happened already." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SMT-Ep38-DanPeluso-Transcript.pdf (Ep 38 Transcript)
Links
Science Modeling Talks Episode 2: https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/episodes/colleen-test/ (Colleen Megowan - Collaborative...
In this episode, Mark talks with Ariel Serkin and Brenda Royce about improving student mathematical reasoning. They have given a workshop and a webinar on the topics, and have been working on these ideas for the last few years and have great examples for getting at the thinking needed for students to understand the math involved in the sciences we teach. Guests Ariel Serkin
Ariel Serkin has been teaching since 2001, most recently as chemistry teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School.
When Ariel started teaching chemistry after a decade as a history teacher, she looked for ways to take her skills as a historian and bring chemistry alive. Through Modeling Instruction, Ariel’s enables students to develop conceptual models through experimentation, whiteboarding, and class discussions.
Trained as a Modeling Instruction leader in 2018, Ariel has led numerous workshops for American Modeling Teachers Association, STEMteachersMassBay, New England Association of Chemistry Teachers and at local, regional, and national conferences on Modeling Instruction, standards based grading, and equity in the science classroom.
Ariel currently serves as president for STEMteachersMassBay, and has served as regional representative for American Association of Chemistry Teachers, AACT and on the executive board of the NEACT. She also writes for ChemEdXchange.
https://www.twitter.com/aserkin (Twitter) | https://instagram.com/ariel.serkin (Instagram) | https://www.facebook.com/ariel.serkin/ (Facebook)
Brenda Royce
Brenda Royce has her B.A. in Chemistry from California State University, Fresno and M.A. in Education from Fresno Pacific University. She has taught high school chemistry and physics for 27 years after a 14-year career as an environmental analytical chemist and research assistant. She has been using Modeling Instruction in her classes since 1998. Brenda has conducted numerous training workshops in the practices of Modeling Instruction for pre-service and in-service teachers since 2000 in California, Arizona, Texas, and Pennsylvania as well as made presentations about Modeling Instruction at NSTA, WRNC, ChemEd, and BCCE conferences. She has been one of the lead contributors in the development of curriculum materials for Modeling Instruction in chemistry. Highlights [4:16] Brenda Royce: "students, if you ask them, how does this compare to that? They will always subtract the two values, just about 90% of the time"
[4:33] Brenda Royce: "When they wanna know if they know something, they look to see if they got the right answer, but not the reasons behind it. Whereas of course, scientific community is the why. And ...what caused it to be that way. That's our definition of knowing."
[9:58] Brenda Royce "we're distinguishing quantities that are single measurements and relationships that have two different measurements that are intricately linked to one another. "
[14:52] Ariel Serkin "So our goal here is to take these abstract concepts and to make them a little more concrete and to put back these diagrams and actual manipulatives, ... to help build their conceptual understanding. And at the same time, they're building their mathematical confidence in what we're doing" Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/SMT-Ep37-ArielSerkin-BrendaRoyce-Transcript.pdf (Ep 37 Transcript)
Links
https://www.bcce2022.org/ (Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE))
In this episode, Mark talks with Jim Stenkevitz, retired modeler, about his 25+ years of teaching physics using the modeling approach, as well as his experience leading workshops and being on the board for AMTA. Guests Jim Stankevitz
Jim Stenkevitz majored in physics and earned his masters degree in physics education. He was introduced to modeling at the University of Illinois Chicago in 1995. He used modeling for the rest of his career as a physics teacher. Additionally, he led physics workshops, helped to bring modeling instruction to other teachers in his school and district, and served on the board and as president of AMTA.
https://www.twitter.com/jimstanke (Twitter) | https://instagram.com/jimstanke (Instagram) | https://www.facebook.com/jim.stankevitz (Facebook) Highlights [17:25] Jim Stankevitz "I think I became pretty good at questioning and leading whiteboard discussions without giving answers. ...And I think that was, it was the thing I found at the very beginning was hardest for me to do. So I think I really pushed myself to focus on that. And I think I got pretty good at it after a while."
[31:29] Jim Stankevitz - encouragement for new modelers "stick with it, be open about what you're doing and why you're doing it and give it time. And if you do, I think you'll be amazed at what your students are able to accomplish." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SMT-Ep36-JimStankevitz-Transcript.pdf (Ep 36 Transcript)
For this episode, Mark caught up with physics modeler Bryan Battaglia, during a modeling instruction workshop on computational modeling, physics first with bootstrap. They talked about Bryan's teaching journey and how modeling meshes quite well with the IB curriculum. They spend time talking about things we may do as teachers that actually stand in the way of student understanding, and talk about things we can do that help lead students to deeper understanding. Guests Bryan Battaglia
Bryan Battaglia is a 24 year science teacher from Macomb, Michigan. He earned a B.S. in Genetic Biology from Purdue University intending to go into cell biology or marine biology in grad school, but his journey took him to teaching, first middle school, and now high school physics. He has led modeling workshops and has helped to develop the computational modeling physics first with bootstrap curriculum.
https://www.twitter.com/brybatt (Twitter) Highlights [8:00] Bryan Battaglia "I had considered myself to be a constructivist style teacher, but I didn't actually know what that really meant until I took my modeling workshop and I'm like, oh, this is how you do that."
[18:32] Bryan Battaglia "being able to think about energy and develop some sort of useful model for energy that we can use in all contexts is way more important to me than Newton's second law."
[19:55] Bryan Battaglia "one of the things that I strive to do in class is develop that culture where kids feel safe to bring up ideas. We celebrate incorrect answers as much as we celebrate correct answers because it's through disproving ideas that we have more confidence in what we eventually deem to be the correct answer." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/SMT-Ep35-BryanBattaglia-Transcript.pdf (Ep 35 Transcript)
Links
https://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/ (International Baccalaureate)
In this episode, Mark talks with Dr. Gloria Kreischer Gajewicz about her experience finding modeling instruction as a veteran teacher, about shifting to standards-based grading, and about her Ph.D. research into improving student outcomes through modeling instruction. Guests Dr. Gloria Kreischer Gajewicz
Dr. Gloria Kreischer Gajewicz has been a high school science educator for more than 23 years, teaching various science courses in Ohio including Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, Physics, Earth Science, and Chemistry. Currently, she teaches Chemistry and AP Chemistry at Ottawa Hills High School in Toledo Ohio. She began using Modeling Instruction in 2011 after taking a workshop at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. She earned her doctorate in education in 2019 from Bowling Green State University.
https://www.facebook.com/ggajewicz (Facebook) | https://www.instagram.com/gkreischergajewicz (Instagram) | https://www.twitter.com/ggajewicz (Twitter) Highlights [25:50] Dr. Gloria Kreischer Gajewicz: "a lot of our content knowledge as science teachers really comes from our training at the university level as an undergrad. The trick is then how do we take that content knowledge and turn that into something that's understandable for our students." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/SMT-Ep34-GloriaKreischer-Transcript.pdf (Ep 34 Transcript)
In this episode, Mark talks with Earl Legleiter about what it is like to be a science teacher in a rural school, and how modeling instruction helped Earl to improve his skills both in physics and as a physics, chemistry, and biology teacher. They talk about ways Earl helps students to think on their own, rather than waiting for a teacher to tell them what to think, and they talk about the work Earl is doing training teachers. Guests Earl Legleiter
Earl Legleiter has taught various science courses for over 20 years in rural schools, some of those years as the sole member of the science department. Earl Legleiter is the director of the Science and Math Education Institute at Fort Hays State University improving STEM instruction and learning in western Kansas. He provides NGSS and Modeling Instruction professional development for in-service teachers throughout the nation. He also coordinates the STEM Noyce Scholars Rural Education Program, and teaches a Rural STEM Education Seminar at FHSU. Highlights [13:57] Earl Legleiter: "I think, for teachers, it's a journey. It is a process where by you can get started with modeling and you can implement it in your classroom, but it takes repeated practice to become good at it."
[16:51] Earl Legleiter: "what you're doing is you're developing and using models, which is one of those science and engineering practices from NGSS. And they come to realize, this is what science instruction is supposed to be like. " Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/SMT-Ep33-EarlLegleiter-Transcript.pdf (Ep 33 Transcript)
In this episode, Mark talks with Jeff Steinert, a physics modeler with 24 years of experience with modeling instruction. They talk about building a storyline for the course and about changing lab activities to better suit the students you have at a given time. They also talk about the way students learn and some of the latest research in science education. Guests Jeff Steinert
Jeff first became aware of physics education research in 1990. He read about the research, finding topics discussed to be the very topics he found to be most challenging in his own classroom. Jeff was able to be part of a cohort of teachers trained in modeling instruction in 1998 and 1999. He has continued to teach, learn, lead modeling workshops, and modify labs ever since.
https://www.facebook.com/jeff.steinert.9 (Facebook) Highlights [34:47] Jeff Steinert "it's good for students to actually have algorithms for doing things because when they're learning the concepts, ... they need more of their working memory for those concepts. They can't be figuring out process at the same time, but if they practice the process while they're applying the new concepts and the process is laid out for them on paper they learn better]." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SMT-Ep32-JeffSteinert-Transcript.pdf (Ep 32 Transcript)
Mark talks with Anita Schuchardt about her experience teaching using modeling methodology in biology at the university level. They talk about the value of having students develop mathematical models as well as pictorial representations of concepts they study. They also talk about the development of the modeling curriculum resources for biology as well as the research happening today for biology education. Guests Dr. Anita Schuchardt
Anita Schuchardt is an assistant professor of biology education research in the Department of Biology Teaching and Learning at the University of Minnesota. Anita has received a Ph.D. from Columbia University in genetics and development and from the University of Pittsburgh in learning sciences and policy. After receiving training in Modeling Instruction in physics at ASU, Anita and her colleagues at Shady Side Academy developed Modeling Instruction in high school biology. She participated in refinement of the Modeling Instruction in biology units through the MoBILiSE program led by Dr. Kathy Malone. Modeling Instruction principles continues to inform Dr. Schuchardt’s work and teaching. She has published articles on the effect of mathematical modeling curriculum on students’ problem solving and conceptual understanding in statistics and genetics. Her research interests include developing and understanding student sensemaking in biology and mathematics and creating and assessing model-based interventions that promote sensemaking.
https://schuchardtresearch.wixsite.com/research (Website) | https://twitter.com/animar14anita (Twitter) Highlights [27:03] Anita Schuchardt "I try to give them lots of different tools and lots of different representations and lots of different ways to access the material. "
[33:13] Anita Schuchardt "the reason that's so important is because it's been shown that when students do connect science ideas with mathematics ideas, that's when they're better able to solve problems." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/SMT-Ep31-AnitaSchuchardt-Transcript-v2.pdf (Ep 31 Transcript)
Links
https://schuchardtresearch.wixsite.com/research (Schuchardt Research Group)
In this episode, Mark talks with Jess Dykes and Melissa Girmscheid, who are both modeling instructors and have spent time developing the modeling curriculum for Computational Modeling Physics First with Bootstrap, CMPF-B. They talk about that project as well as a number of other things going on in their schools and at AMTA. Guests Melissa Girmscheid
Melissa has been a fan of Modeling Instruction since she learned physics through Modeling in high school. She is a graduate of Arizona State University where she was fortunate to learn Modeling as her teaching methods course and has since returned to earn a Masters of Natural Science. In 2017, Melissa became part of the Computational Modeling in Physics First with Bootstrap project and has worked since as a curriculum developer and workshop leader for the project. Melissa is a board member for STEMteachersPHX, the High School Representative for the Arizona section of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and currently serves as the AMTA Board President.
https://twitter.com/mrsgphysics (Twitter)
Jess Dykes
Jess started teaching in 2000 in NJ. When switching schools, he was hired to teach freshmen physics, and the school district hiring him decided to send him to an intensive 5 day - 9 hours per day crash course in modeling instruction. The following summer he went to ASU for three weeks of modeling instruction training. In 2017, he attended the CMPF-B development workshop. The CMPF-B course went through a massive revision and Jess and Melissa were selected as primary editors and trainers. They held the first training in Chicago in 2018, followed by training at ASU in 2019. They also have now led two online versions, one during the Spring Semester through NC State University, and one last summer through AMTA. Highlights [15:02] Melissa Girmscheid, on E&M in the modeling curriculum: "I love the electricity and magnetism portion we have because I think it lends itself so well to a great partnership with what students are learning in chemistry. So when they have a chemistry modeler, and they've learned E&M from a physics modeler, the depth that students are able to explore, with how particles interact, I think is, pretty powerful."
[32:12] Jess Dykes: "there's something really cool about programming something into the computer and having it break the law of physics because you told it to, and then you go back and you get the computer to follow the laws of physics, which shows that you actually understand the laws of physics." Resources Download Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/SMT-Ep30-MelissaJess-Transript.pdf (Ep 30 Transcript)
Links
https://www.pasco.com/products/lab-apparatus/electricity-and-magnetism/circuits-and-components/em-8624 (CASTLE (Capacitor-Aided System for Teaching and Learning Electricity))
Mark talks with Jamie Vesenka, "Dr. V." to his students about modeling instruction at the university level, developing a physics course for students who intend to pursue life science careers, challenges of pandemic learning, and a sensor tool that has been incredibly useful for physics instruction even while studying remotely, iOLab. Finally, they talk about gaps in student learning over the years, and challenges they see teaching higher-order skills today. Guest Bio Dr. James "Jamie" Vesenka
Dr. James Vesenka, "Jamie" or "Dr. V" to his students, is a professor of physics at the University of New England. In 1995, Jamie was appointed to his first assistant professorship at California State University Fresno, where his research focus was the characterization of quadruplex DNA using the atomic force microscope (AFM). AFMs can now image individual atoms. Figuring out how to reliably image DNA became the dominant theme in Jamie's publication record, now about 60 articles long. At tge University of New England since 2000, Jamie has enjoyed teaching undergraduates. This year, he is spending his sabbatical in Germany working on research and taking some time to talk with college professors about modeling instruction.
https://www.facebook.com/UNESMaPS/ (Facebook) | https://www.une.edu/people/james-vesenka (Website) Highlights [28:39] Jamie Vesenka, about physics for life science majors: "to do a good introductory physics for life science course, you want to get rid of those things that aren't gonna be necessary and cover things that really are"
[36:38] Jamie Vesenka, about the iOLab: "having an inexpensive, physics in a box unit is essential for good hands-on learning and to do it remotely. And this is exactly the perfect tool for it. And so yeah, I'm a big advocate for it because it really takes very high-quality data and it's easy to operate and the software does a lot of great stuff." Resources Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/SMT-Ep29-JamieVesenka-Transcript-v2.pdf (Dr. James Transcript)
Links
https://iolab.science/ (iOLab Science)
https://store.macmillanlearning.com/us/product/iOLab-Version-2.0/p/1464101469 (MacMillan store for iOLab)
In this episode, Mark talks with middle school teacher David Bates about his experience with modeling instruction at the middle school level. They talk about how middle schoolers are developing as individuals and as learners, and they talk about how modeling gives each student a voice, regardless of their prior experience with science education. Guest Bio David Bates
David Bates is an educator who has served in a variety of educational settings over his 34 year career. He earned a BS in Special Education and MA in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University. He has taught Special Education CI adult classes, 1st grade, 3rd grade and 5th grade, served as summer school principal, elementary foreign exchange teacher, and has taught middle school science for the last 17 years in the Dearborn Public Schools. He served on the Board of education for the Ypsilanti Public Schools from 2006 to 2014. Training in Reading Apprenticeship program in 2015 and in Modeling for Science in 2016 have had the most significant impact on his educational philosophy and practice. Highlights [12:28] David Bates "I find that... Kids are amazingly honest, at least maybe middle school kids are amazingly honest, brutally honest, sometimes even about whether or not they really understand something or they don't. And that, as a teacher, that's your best feedback in terms of where you are in your own instruction, and what direction you need to go in next. "
[30:23] David Bates: "the environment that that I'm trying to create is an environment where students walk in and bring their curiosity with them"
[31:43] David Bates: "our goal really needs to be not to find out who the smartest kid is in the classroom. But our goal really needs to help everybody in the classroom be the smartest kid in the classroom, by sharing our thinking, sharing our questions, encouraging each other, and supporting each other. And that requires building up a very, very high trust environment" Resources Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/SMT-Ep28-DavidBates-Transcript.pdf (David Transcript)
This month, Mark talks with John Baunach, a modeler and teacher of ninth-grade physics. He talks about his career journey as well as the ways that modeling changed his teaching. They talk about computational modeling in physics first using code to help students understand mechanics. They also talk about the flow of courses at John's school and the newest modeling workshop, modeling astronomy. Finally, they talk about tips for new modelers and advice to all teachers. Guest Bio John Baunach
John has been teaching for nearly a decade, in public, private, and parochial high schools (and briefly in a university setting). He was born and raised in Louisville, KY, before attending Vanderbilt for his Bachelor's in Physics and Astronomy. He taught briefly after graduation at a local public high school, before returning for a Master's in Physics, where he was blessed to volunteer at NASA's Langley Research Center while finishing his thesis on space radiation protection modeling. He returned to education in the Nashville area, and in 2014 he attended a modeling workshop at Western Kentucky University, which had a career-changing impact on his teaching philosophy. He worked for three years at a school with a Physics First curriculum and Modeling Instruction integrated at all levels of science.
He currently teaches Physics (9th Grade) and Statistics at Doane Academy, an independent K-12 day school in Burlington, NJ, just north of Philadelphia, where he is also the Science Department Chair and Director of Technology. He has led modeling workshops since 2020.
https://twitter.com/JohnBaunach (Twitter) | https://instagram.com/johnbaunach (Instagram) | http://www.workingtheproblem.org (Website) Highlights [13:13] John Baunach, on why computational modeling helps students to learn: "what I find is most important is that it changes how students see math and its relationship to physics. Because oftentimes we go from motion maps to graphs and then jump from graphs and kind of derive the equations of motion from a graph. And I find coding is another nice half step between that point. And it is a different way... it lets us look at the world in one more different way and one more useful way." Resources Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/SMT-Ep27-John-Baunach-Transcript.pdf (John Transcript)
In this episode, Mark talks with Jeremy Secaur, a modeling instructor and physics teacher from the Cleveland, Ohio area. They talk about his introduction to modeling, bringing modeling workshops to the Cleveland area, whiteboarding, and Socratic questioning methods. Jeremy talks about being aware of societal norms about "who does science," and how we need to be both careful and intentional about managing discourse in our classrooms. Jeremy's description of how he communicates to students the importance of every voice is particularly worth hearing. Finally, they talk about the importance of support systems, for both the beginning modeler and the experienced one. Guest Bio Jeremy Secaur
Jeremy Secaur has been teaching for 23 years, all at Elyria High School outside of Cleveland OH. He teaches Honors Physics and AP Physics C. Early in his career, Jeremy was introduced to the work of Lillian McDermott and others involved in active learning pedagogy in physics and that had a profound influence on his teaching philosophy and career trajectory. He finally took his first modeling workshop in 2015 and immediately found that it transformed his teaching for the better. Jeremy has led modeling physics workshops since 2019.
https://twitter.com/secaurphysics (Twitter) Highlights [11:57] Jeremy, on professional development: "I know in my own school district, our most popular professional development days are the ones that are teacher-led because teachers want to hear from other teachers, you know, like what ideas are you doing that work?"
[16:37] Jeremy, on whiteboarding: "So the mental processes are different if they're working on one shared space versus their own spaces. And also it's just so much easier to take intellectual risks on a whiteboard because nothing is permanent on a whiteboard." Resources Transcript
https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/SMT-Ep26-JeremySecaur-Transcript.pdf (Jeremy Transcript)
Links
https://inquiryproject.terc.edu/shared/pd/TalkScience_Primer.pdf (The Talk Science Primer) (22:43)
https://engage.aps.org/stepup/home (STEP UP) (31:39)
In this episode, Mark talks with Jane Jackson, who has worked on modeling instruction for the last 27 years. She gives us insight into the history of modeling instruction as well as the challenges we face funding workshops. She also talks about the importance of science education, and specifically physics education. Guest BioJane Jackson I grew up in rural Connecticut, married an Arizonan at age 19, and began study at Arizona State University as a sophomore. I earned a B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in physics at ASU, and loved the work. David Hestenes taught me two courses; he was one of my favorite professors. My husband and I taught at South Dakota State University until 1984, while raising our two children. Then we returned to Arizona, and I taught at Scottsdale Community College for 10 years. David Hestenes asked me in 1994 to be project director for his NSF grant for Modeling Instruction. "It'll only be part-time", he said. I still work nearly full-time on Modeling Instruction, 27 years later -- although mostly as a volunteer, because ASU requires our program to be self-supporting. Modeling Instruction is important in this portentous time of global climate change, for it helps people think with evidence while they connect with nature. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006483560280 (Facebook) Highlights[22:18] Jane Jackson, on becoming an expert: "research done by K. Anders Ericsson show that in any endeavor, it takes many years to become an expert. And you can't become an expert just by doing the job like teaching ...you have to do deliberate practice." [27:51] Jane Jackson: "they need modeling instruction type physics because modeling instruction teaches you how to think with evidence. And that's absolutely crucial for humanity to tackle these huge problems that we face like global warming, sea level rise, these huge storms that we're getting now, these days, you know, these destructive wildfires and all these other problems..." ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/SMT-Ep23-Jane-Jackson-Transcript.pdf (Jane Transcript) Links https://physics.asu.edu/content/modeling-instruction-program (Modeling Instruction Program) https://youtu.be/eoDzvuTgUdo (Talk Jane gave about funding for workshops) https://phystec.org/ (PhysTEC Physics Teacher Education Coalition)
In this episode, Mark talks with Kathy Harper, a senior lecturer in engineering education at The Ohio State University. She tells us about how she found her way to a modeling workshop half her lifetime ago, and how modeling has changed her life. They also talk about the work that Kathy has done bringing modeling workshops to Ohio, and then having workshops to develop small activities to bring tastes of engineering to our science courses. We hope you enjoy listening! Guest BiosKathy Harper Kathy Harper is a senior lecturer in the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University, teaching in the Fundamentals of Engineering for Honors program. Her involvement with Modeling Instruction began in 1995. She has directed dozens of workshops for Ohio science teachers in Modeling Instruction, piloting the first workshops to incorporate engineering content into the Modeling framework. Her research includes an array of educational topics, but most recently centers on assessing classroom-level innovations. She has made conference and workshop presentations on topics such as problem solving, cooperative learning, reflective journaling, first-year engineering courses, and, of course, Modeling. https://www.facebook.com/kathy.a.harper (Facebook) Highlights[26:05] Kathy Harper, talking about starting to develop engineering content using a modeling framework "what if we offer a one-week workshop for people that have already taken a modeling workshop to come in and we'll just work through ways that we can add engineering into an existing modeling curriculum. ...But one of the things I really remember was one teacher said "My advanced students are usually debating between a career in medicine or a career in engineering. And they all feel like they understand what medicine is. And so I think they're more likely to choose that, but they don't really understand what engineering is." ...So we worked then as a group to think about some activities that we could add, just to introduce students to engineering design that were largely independent of content." [40:01] Kathy Harper, talking about funding for modeling workshops and state funding for professional development "we need to do something to get those mechanisms back in place so that we can support these state-level, or at least, you know, portion of state-level workshops, where again, like-minded teachers can get together, talk about the content and the pedagogy. Where we can teach these workshops for the people who teach these workshops are real K-12 classroom teachers. Not university people like me; people that teach in very similar circumstances to the people attending the workshops. Those are key." ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/SMT-Ep20-Kathy-Harper-Transcript.pdf (Kathy Transcript)
In this episode, Mark talks with Karle Delo, who came to modeling as a middle school science teacher, and is now working as an instructional coach and technology integrationist in Michigan. She talks about the most important things that modeling has brought to her teaching practice and she talks about plans in her other new role in marketing for AMTA. Guest BiosKarle Delo Karle Delo taught middle school science for 10 years, and has been a Modeler since 2016. Currently, she is an Instructional Coach and Technology Integrationist in Mid-Michigan, and leads Middle School Modeling distance learning courses. Karle noticed the transformation in quality discussions, depth of knowledge, and student ownership of learning through the adoption of Modeling Instruction. As the new Director of Marketing for AMTA, she aims to expand AMTA's audience, and introduce more educators to the transformative nature of Modeling. https://instagram.com/msdelooe (Instagram) | https://twitter.com/thatteacherdelo (Twitter) Highlights[5:24] Karle Delo "I feel like especially now, the skill of mine that has improved the most would be questioning. So questioning students, in a way that gets them to think about the data in a different way, or to kind of help them like facilitate that discussion to help the class come to a consensus." [27:15] Karle Delo "You can tell when you walk into a classroom that has clear norms. I think that sometimes teachers underestimate the power of what they say, but words really do matter." ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/SMT-EP18-Karle-Transcript.pdf (Karle Transcript) Links http://bit.ly/amtasummer (AMTA Summer Course)
In this episode, Mark talks with Erica Posthuma and her student Molly Bickle. This conversation explores passing the torch to a next generation science instructor. Guest BioMolly Bickle Molly Bickle is a senior at University High School of Indiana. She is a varsity golfer in the fall and is heavily involved in her school’s musical in the spring. After taking three years of Chemistry, Molly is very excited to combine her love for the subject with her passion for and interest in education. Additionally, she spent January of 2020 student teaching for a Spanish 1 classroom. Although unsure of where she is going to study, she plans on pursuing an undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Spanish. Erica Posthuma Erica Posthuma has been a science educator since 2001, teaching in both public and private school settings. She attended her first modeling instruction workshop after ten years of teaching, and it completely changed her way of teaching. Erica serves on the board of AMTA and is very active on social media, supporting and sharing ideas with others from all over. Erica is also an associate editor for the Journal of Chemical Education's ChemEdXchange. ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/SMT-Ep16-Erica-Molly-Transcript.pdf (Erica and Molly Transcript)
In this episode, Mark talks with Dan Peluso, an astrophysics PhD candidate working on getting students and teachers to do citizen science in the classroom. He talks about how he became a teacher and became a part of the modeling community, and using modeling and astronomy in his physics classes. He shares his plans as he moves into working on his PhD full time this year as well as working with SETI to get telescopes into classrooms all over the world, enabling students to become part of the scientific community even at a young age. Guest BioDan Peluso Dan Peluso is an astrophysics PhD candidate with the University of Southern Queensland (USQ) studying/researching remotely from Vallejo, California. Dan’s PhD project is multi-disciplinary focusing on NASA TESS exoplanet follow-ups and astronomy education to develop a global exoplanet citizen science network at education centers. In addition to his PhD work, Dan has taught high school science and as the new SETI Institute Unistellar Education Associate is exploring creating an exoplanet citizen science curriculum for educators with the Modeling Instruction pedagogy combined with student/teacher gathered observations with Unistellar eVscopes. Dan also enjoys photography, music, film, and is an active singer-songwriter and musician. http://astropartydan.com (Website) | http://instagram.com/astropartydan (Instagram) | http://twitter.com/astropartydan (Twitter) Highlights[13:20] Mark Royce reads a quote from Dan Peluso's blog: "If we replace the education system into one that encourages and develops collaborative processes, creativity, problem-solving, curiosity, and other reasoning skills for all students, regardless of color or gender from the earliest age, through high school and beyond, I claim we would transform our society into a conveyor belt of movers and shakers, innovators, free thinkers, and happy driven citizens." [37:34] Dan Peluso: "The project that I'm really excited about is we have these telescopes they're called unistellar eVscopes. And this is a new consumer telescope. It's completely autonomous. It's controlled with your phone, takes all the guesswork out of like how to use a telescope... users of this eVscope can get an alert on their phone. And that alert will say, there's an interesting scientific target that you can go out and observe with your telescope in your backyard, in your garden such as an occulting asteroid or an asteroid flying by, or an exploding supernova star, or a transiting exoplanet, a planet that orbits around another star. And we've actually had success and this telescope can observe exoplanets, planets around other stars in our galaxy. " Notes[29:50] Science conference in Texas was the 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Dan presented and had a published abstract with them (linked below). While there he found out he didn't get into UC Davis for a PhD program This and the gentleman he met there who inspired him like an old wise Yoda led to Dan becoming a teacher. ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/SMT-Ep15-Dan-Transcript.pdf (Dan Transcript) Links http://handsonuniverse.org/ (Global Hands-On Universe) https://handsonuniverse.org/usa/ (Hands-On Universe, USA) Blog Post - http://astropartydan.com/blog/2020/9/22/how-i-plan-to-help-save-science-education-with-the-unistellar-evscope (How I plan to help save science education with the Unistellar eVscope!) http://www.hou.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2016/pdf/1789.pdf (Abstract #1789) - Abstract Dan published for the 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/conceptually-speaking/e/76669922 (Yong Zhao on a podcast discussing creativity in education) Article - https://www.edutopia.org/blog/yong-zhao-pbl-creative-confidence-suzie-boss (Yong Zhao: PBL Develops Students' Creative Confidence) - [07:53] Dan reads a quote from this article Video - https://youtu.be/tETcDafA7WY (The genius of science:...
In this episode, Mark talks with Fran Poodry and Matt Greenwolfe. They talk about how each one came to find modeling instruction and how their first modeling workshop changed their teaching. They also talk about tools and resources for the modeling classroom while we are unable to share lab equipment. These tools provide both lab data students can analyze and the opportunity to upload student-created videos and analyze the data. This is a very timely discussion, as many teachers are rethinking their plans for classes this year. Guest BiosFran Poodry Fran Poodry taught HS physics for 20 years in the Philadelphia region starting in 1993. In 1997 and 1998, she attended Modeling Instruction workshops at UW-River Falls with workshop leaders Rex Rice and David Braunshweig. She served on the AMTA board from 2010 to 2014, and as President of AMTA from 2012 to 2013. In her current position at Vernier Software & Technology, Fran interacts with instructors daily, supporting them in their use of Vernier technology. https://www.instagram.com/fpoodry (Instagram) | http://twitter.com/fpoodry (Twitter) Matt Greenwolfe
I have a bachelors degree in physics from Washington University in St. Louis, a PhD from The University of Michigan, and taught briefly as a college professor before taking a job teaching high school I thought as a transitional career move. My exposure to Modeling Instruction transformed my view of physics teaching and generated an interest and enthusiasm that has made high school physics teaching my career. I have been teaching at my current school, Cary Academy in Cary, North Carolina since 2000. In addition to the ongoing process of mastering modeling instruction in my own classroom, still a work in progress after 20 years, I have contributed numerous resources to the body of modeling instruction materials and knowledge, including the development of a robotic kinematics apparatus and other experiments, ideas for improving classroom dialogue, and adapting open-ended problems from the college level to high school modeling instruction. I have also taught modeling workshops in North Carolina and Ohio as well as serving on the founding board of directions and lates as the President of the American Modeling Teachers Association. Since Covid 19 forced us all into virtual or partially-virtual instruction, I have dedicated myself to attempting to match the high quality video labs available at Pivot Interactives and am helping to lead a group of modeling instructors creating modeling-friendly labs for the virtual classroom. This year, my physics team won the US International Young Physicists Tournament in our fifth attempt by presenting our solution to for difficult college-level problems after a year's worth of experimental and theoretical investigation. Highlights[7:13] Fran Poodry, talking about lessons from her first modeling workshop: "So I had been a physics major in college and kind of had it in my mind that I was going to be a teacher, but I wasn't, you know... I did my practice teaching with someone who is just a regular traditional physics teacher. I didn't really know how to innovate. I had not had much practice with literally having students collect data and create mathematical models. It was always like, okay, this is Newton's second law. Okay, let's do this experiment in which you will find out that this stuff matches up to Newton's second law. So my first surprise when taking the modeling workshop was that I still had physics to learn, which was embarrassing, and vital. And then the second thing I learned was this whole magic of graphing data and creating mathematical models, which I don't know how I ever did physics before that. It was, it was a revolution in my mind and it was amazing. And it just made me fall in love with teaching even more." [11:16] Matt Greenwolfe, on the change in his teaching practice when he started modeling: "And the main thing it did is it put the students at the center and got
In this episode, Mark talks with Mark Schober about his career as a physics teacher, how modeling changed his teaching, how that led him to using Standards Based Grading with Modeling Physics, and later how Mark was part of the group of experts developing the modeling materials for waves and light. Mark talks about how he loves making and sharing ideas for low-cost lab equipment. They end with talking about the importance of community for teachers.
In this episode, Mark talks with incoming AMTA president, Teresa Marx. They talk about the way Teresa's teaching looks different as a result of modeling instruction, starting the organization STEMTeachersMassBay, the recent virtual AMTA conference, and Teresa's ideas for the next year with AMTA. Guest BioTeresa Marx Teresa is a public school parent and a public school teacher. She has been teaching chemistry for 19 years in the Boston area. Although she has taught a variety of high school sciences, including physics, biology, biotechnology, engineering, organic and biochemistry, she is a chemistry teacher at heart. Teresa co-founded STEMteachersMassBay in 2017. She is the President-Elect of the AMTA Executive Board, and has been accepted into the Perrone-Sizer Institute for Creative Leadership's 2020-2021 cohort. https://twitter.com/teresamarx (Twitter) Highlights[18:35] Teresa Marx: "So I think we're going to try to get some workgroups together as a result of what we heard in the conference, just to get teachers in Zoom rooms, at least, with people in their discipline to kind of work through... Next school year feels like a lot of question marks. So I think to the extent that AMTA as an organization can be positioned to support teachers, to provide them with the tools, the resources, and just the person-to-person support that you need sometimes to get through that. I think that's a really big one." [33:06] Teresa Marx "[modeling] made me a better teacher in a lot of small ways, and it's made a big difference in terms of the overarching way that my classes operate. Students use our class time for thinking hard." ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SMT-Ep10-Wendy-and-Colleen-Transcript.pdf (Teresa Transcript) Links https://www.stemteachersmassbay.org (STEM Teachers MassBay) https://crtandthebrain.com/book (Culturally Responsive Teachers and the Brain book)
In this episode, Mark talks with Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz, AMTA's first executive officer and now senior fellow, and Rebecca Vieyra, who works through many channels to improve our systems of education. They talk about the value of teacher training in a workshop setting, where the instructor and participants all participate in building content knowledge. Rebecca tells us about some of the projects they have been working on, including the development of the computational modeling in physics first material and a new app that allows users to see magnetic field lines using augmented reality on a smartphone. Guest BiosRebecca Vieyra Rebecca is a coordinator of a multilateral effort to network ministries of education and education leaders to improve the quality of STEM teaching in the Americas. Until late 2018 Rebecca was the K through 12 program manager at the American Association of Physics Teachers. She managed collaborative grants from NASA and NSF and private foundations. She also served as an Albert Einstein distinguished educator, fellow placed at NASA aeronautics research mission directorate. She was awarded the presidential award for excellence in math and science teaching. Rebecca is currently pursuing her doctorate in science education at the University of Maryland College Park. https://sites.google.com/site/rebeccavieyraaef/ (Personal Site) | https://www.vieyrasoftware.net/ (Vieyra Software) https://www.facebook.com/people/Rebecca-E-Vieyra/22925947 (Facebook) | http://twitter.com/RVieyraAEF (Twitter) Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz Colleen was a long-time high school physics and mathematics teacher and Modeler in Sacramento CA. She moved to AZ in 2001 to do graduate studies in physics education research focusing on Modeling classroom discourse. In 2007 she completed her PhD under the direction of David Hestenes. In 2011 she became AMTA’s first Executive Officer. In 2014 she retired from ASU to devote her full attention to AMTA. In 2017 she “retired” from the XO position and became AMTA’s first Senior Fellow. Colleen continues to write grants, conduct research, teach occasional courses in modeling and cognition, train workshop leaders, and publish on Modeling Instruction.
Highlights[15:40] Rebecca Vieyra: "One thing that our teachers regularly talk about is the importance of representations within modeling instruction and we've got algebraic representations, graphical representations, we've got verbal representations vector and sometimes even physical three-dimensional representations. And this particular project now brings the computer program as one additional computational representation." [23:36] Colleen, talking about the app: "I think that's the big aha for people when they use the app, that if they want to know what the magnetic field is here, they can turn on their app and they can place a dot on the phone here and they can see exactly what that magnetic field is. And if they want to know how it changes as you move through space, they can do that. And if they want to take their phone and move somewhere else and look at the magnetic field, they just put over there, they can do it, they can see what it looks like from the other side or from underneath or from above because they can move their phone around and still look at that field... And the visualization for a three-dimensional thing like a field is a very big deal." ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/SMT-Ep11-Rebecca-Colleen-transcript.pdf (Rebecca and Colleen Transcript) Links https://www.aapt.org/K12/ (AAPT K12 Teachers Portal) https://www.aapt.org/K12/Computational-Modeling-in-Physics-First.cfm (AAPT - Computational Modeling in Physics First with Bootstrap) https://www.magna-ar.net (Magna AR) https://100kin10.org/ (100k in 10) - Rebecca mentioned this organization when talking about grants https://twitter.com/PhysicsToolbox (Physics Toolbox Twitter)
In this episode, Mark talks with Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz, AMTA's first executive officer and now senior fellow, and Wendy Hehemann, AMTA's national workshop coordinator. They talk about the beginnings of AMTA as an organization and about workshops, both in-person and virtual. They talk about the benefits of attending each kind of workshop as well as how workshop leaders are chosen. Guest BiosWendy Hehemann Wendy's background was in elementary education and she worked with English Language Learners. Wendy joined the second cohort of students in the Master's of Natural Sciences program at the modeling Institute at ASU. After starting training in modeling instruction, Wendy began to work for AMTA coordinating workshops. Now, Wendy promotes workshops and also coordinates AMTA's virtual events, including virtual happy hours, webinars, and courses. https://www.facebook.com/wendy.hehemann (Facebook) Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz Colleen was a long-time high school physics and mathematics teacher and Modeler in Sacramento CA. She moved to AZ in 2001 to do graduate studies in physics education research focusing on Modeling classroom discourse. In 2007 she completed her PhD under the direction of David Hestenes. In 2011 she became AMTA’s first Executive Officer. In 2014 she retired from ASU to devote her full attention to AMTA. In 2017 she “retired” from the XO position and became AMTA’s first Senior Fellow. Colleen continues to write grants, conduct research, teach occasional courses in modeling and cognition, train workshop leaders, and publish on Modeling Instruction. Highlights[28:16] Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz in response to how a virtual workshop will differ from an in-person workshop: "you don't have the lab equipment at home, so we have to figure out how to do those labs in a different way. We can coach you through doing some kitchen table chemistry or physics, but more likely we are going to have to show you a video of that lab and let you use video capture software to collect your data or send you to a PhET simulation." [31:49] Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz: "the distance learning courses that we have been doing were during the academic year, up to now. Now that it's pandemic time, we have decided to do distance learning courses this summer for the very first time. We will do introduction to modeling instruction in physics, chemistry, biology, middle school science. This is the first time we will be offering content courses for people who have never taken a modeling workshop before. So, an exciting new initiative that is brought to you by Covid-19 and AMTA's desire to meet teacher's needs in whatever situation those needs arise. " [34:59] Wendy Hehemann: "if you want to get excited about teaching again, take a modeling workshop. If you want to be around likeminded people, other teachers, take modeling workshop. If you want to address your own misconceptions and or your students' take a modeling workshop." ResourcesTranscript https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/SMT-Ep10-Wendy-and-Colleen-Transcript.pdf (Wendy and Colleen Transcript) Links https://www.modelinginstruction.org/professional-development/upcoming-workshops/summer-2020/virtual-summer-courses/ (AMTA virtual courses Summer 2020) https://phet.colorado.edu/ (PhET simulations)
In this conversation, Mark Royce talks with AMTA executive officer Bill Thornburgh about the challenges and ways to make the most of our time while working with students remotely. They talk in particular about how some aspects of modeling instruction are challenging in this environment, but how we can continue to do many of the things we find so valuable for our students and their learning. They also talk about connecting with others, finding resources for distance learning, summer workshops, and supporting AMTA Bill Thornburgh taught high school environmental science, biology, and chemistry over the course of 10 years. In his 7th year of teaching, he was introduced to the Modeling pedagogy by a colleague who had attended a workshop. The following year, he attended a modeling workshop... what an experience! The transition from traditional instruction to Modeling invigorated him and he found that his students were much happier! Since leaving the classroom, he received his Ph.D. in Science Education from the University of Louisville and he has been the Executive Officer of AMTA for the past two years. Bill says, "I miss teaching, but I'm happy that I get to continue working with such passionate and dedicated teachers!"
In this conversation, Christi Medoza and George Nelson talk about modeling at the middle school level. They talk about the challenges some teachers see in the variety of topics covered in middle school science, but the wonderful way that modeling instruction lets us adjust the way things are done in class, and let the students lead the way in discovering the way various phenomena work. They each share the biggest changes to their thinking or practice that came as a result of discovering modeling instruction.
In this episode, Mark talks with Ariel Serkin and Tanea Hibler, modelers who are passionate about building equity and dismantling racism in the classroom. They share reasons that they are passionate about the work and talk about big things and little things they do in their classrooms to increase representation for all of their students, create safe spaces, and open dialogue about race within the science classroom and in their school communities. Guest BiosTanea Hibler After having taught at international schools since 2009, Mrs. Hibler returned to teach in Phoenix in 2015. She previously taught in Bangkok, Thailand, and Shanghai, China. She earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from California State University – East Bay, a Master of Education from ASU, and a Master of Science in Teaching Earth Science from Wright State University. She advises the Brophy Culture Project, the Asian Culture Club, and the Zoology Club. Mrs. Hibler also serves as a member-at-large on the board of the American Modeling Teachers Association. Website: https://thibseducation.wordpress.com/ (https://thibseducation.wordpress.com/) Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thibler (thibler) Twitter: https://twitter.com/tanea_hibler (@tanea_hibler) Instagram: https://my.captivate.fm/instagram.com/darlingtomasa (@darlingtomasa) Ariel Serkin Ariel Serkin has been a high school teacher since 2001 teaching history and then science in a variety of school settings. She attended her first modeling workshop in 2015 and has been a modeler ever since. You can find Ariel teaching distance learning and in-person workshops for AMTA, writing for ChemEdXChange, presenting at conferences, helping out as a regional representative for AACT, and an executive board member for NEACT (New England Association of Chemistry Teachers). She is a 2019 Massachusetts finalist for the Presidential Award on Excellence in Mathematics Teaching. Ariel has a slight obsession with chemistry t-shirts and other articles of clothing. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariel.serkin (ariel.serkin) Twitter: https://my.captivate.fm/twitter.com/aserkin (@aserkin) Instagram: https://my.captivate.fm/instagram.com/ariel.serkin (ariel.serkin) Highlights[38:26] Ariel, talking about having a scientist of the week, "I would highlight people of color and women and people from other countries as well. So it's not just Europeans. You have people from all over and their accomplishments and their achievements need to be addressed. And so sometimes as simple as that because that representation in the classroom matters." [50:53] Tanea: "The kids ask me great questions and the best part is I tell them, I'm not telling you what to think. I'm asking you to think about why you think, what you think. And so they're forced to kind of wrestle with their thought process. And ultimately the goal is, that I'm not producing students that are going to hold on to racist ideas and concepts and then be a part of a racist system that is going to hold groups of people back. And so, I think if all teachers were working towards that end, we could push against racism a lot better than what we're doing now." [57:31] Ariel: "We have to be intentional about creating a safe, inclusive, and equitable place for all of our students and all of our learners and all of our teachers." [58:01] Tanea: "I would say you have to be willing to let go of the preconceived ideas that you have in your head about what it means to be a teacher and if you give yourself the freedom to let go and you're willing to try something new in your classroom, you probably are going to fall in love with modeling instruction and your students, if they haven't fallen in love with you already, they're probably gonna fall in love with you too." ResourcesTranscript Tanea and Ariel Transcription Mentions [26:45] Robin DiAngelo's book, https://robindiangelo.com/publications/ (White Fragility) [46:27]...
In this episode, we hear from Raymond Howanski from outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He talks about the reasons his district changed the order of their science classes to begin with physics before progressing to chemistry and finally biology. He talks about the additional topics they can cover in a biology course when students already understand the chemistry involved in processes. Ray also talks a lot about building community in the classroom and connecting with a community of like-minded educators. Guest BioRaymond Howanski has been an educator for 32 years, all of them in the Ridley school district outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He worked with a team of educators to transition his school to a physics, chemistry, biology sequence. He has been working for a number of years refining the capstone biology course to leverage students' knowledge of chemistry, and using modeling pedagogy. Highlights[4:14] Mark Royce, quoting Raymond Howanski: "Effective teaching is as much about knowing your students as knowing your content" [18:18] Raymond Howanski on what drives them in developing these modeling biology curricular materials: "it's really about that vision of saying, okay, what experience can we give these, these students to challenge their thinking and to give, give them opportunities to really practice and problem-solving and some effective communication skills and collaboration. How do we really challenge them to do that at a high level, uh, and kind of leading them into a path of success somewhere, somewhere down the road. " [29:16] Raymond Howanski: "thinking about modeling at the philosophical level, ...what can you do when you really work with open-minded, caring people, towards the goal of helping students learn science better. So that, kind of makes it all worthwhile." [31:56] Raymond Howanski: "It's a lot more than just modeling." [37:52] Raymond Howanski: "so then when you start connecting with other folks that have really innovative and thoughtful ideas about how we can rethink providing those learning environments for students and kind of breaking those barriers that are sometimes, somewhat confining, given students an opportunity to really explore and, and express their thinking about what they're looking at and setting a solid foundation so students don't have, so they have a clear path to a deeper understanding... so to remove some of the obstacles that we've sometimes placed in their way in terms of getting to deeper investigations of the physical world. And, a lot of that is trust. It's trusting that students will, in fact, fill in the gaps and they will figure things out that it's not about us giving them all the answers." ResourcesRaymond Howanski - Transcript
In this conversation with Erica Posthuma, we hear about her experience of going through her first modeling workshop and the "aha" moments that she experienced. Erica talks about how modeling instruction makes chemistry accessible to even students who do not perceive themselves as strong math students. She talks about how modeling instruction units align well with the big goals of NGSS. Finally, Erica also talks about the importance of community and support when teaching using modeling instruction. Guest BioErica Posthuma has been a science educator since 2001, teaching in both public and private school settings. She attended her first modeling instruction workshop after ten years of teaching, and it completely changed her way of teaching. Erica serves on the board of AMTA and is very active on social media, supporting and sharing ideas with others from all over. Erica is also an associate editor for the Journal of Chemical Education's ChemEdXchange. Highlights[5:03] Erica Posthuma: it was through that discussion that I started to realize I actually had agency over my own understanding and my learning and I didn't need to turn to someone who I felt was more of an expert or more knowledgeable. I didn't need that because if I could reason through my answer and I could provide evidence and I could discuss it with other teachers or with other colleagues, peers, students, and they could question me on it and I could defend it... I didn't need a book anymore. [23:53] Erica Posthuma: at my school, we have started to look at taking the standards outlined through NGSS and seeing how we already align with them and looking for opportunities to incorporate better alignment. ...Like students can formulate, refine, evaluate, testable questions. Students can synthesize and develop models. Students can analyze and interpret data. Students can construct explanations based on evidence. Like these are things that are tenants of modeling. They are ingrained in the curriculum in every unit throughout the entire year. [40:36] Erica Posthuma: Being a member of AMTA, the biggest benefit that I have received is the community that I have become a part of is that collaboration. It's the way they challenged me to think about things. They pushed me to be a better teacher and we also have a lot of fun together. ResourcesTwitter Accounts AMTA: https://twitter.com/amtateachers (@AMTATeachers) Erica Posthuma: https://twitter.com/eposthuma (@eposthuma) Hashtag: https://twitter.com/hashtag/chemmod (#chemmod) Links https://www.modelinginstruction.org/ (AMTA website) https://www.chemedx.org/ (ChemEdXchange) https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/funding-and-awards/grants.html (ACS Hach Grants) (Listed under "Education Grants" at the bottom of the page) - Mentioned at 32:38 Downloads Erica Posthuma - Transcription
In this conversation with Brenda Royce, we hear about the things she learned while going through two summer workshops in modeling instruction and then teaching physics and later chemistry using modeling methods. Brenda talks about becoming aware of student misconceptions as well as learning to help students think through the observations they are making. Finally, she shares feedback she has received from students about how their own thinking and approach to school is changed after taking her class. Guest BioBrenda Royce has her B.A. in Chemistry from California State University, Fresno and M.A. in Education from Fresno Pacific University. She has taught high school physical sciences for 25 years after a 14-year career as an environmental analytical chemist and research assistant. She has been using Modeling Instruction in her classes since 1998. Brenda has conducted numerous training workshops in the practices of Modeling Instruction for pre-service and in-service teachers since 2000 in California, Arizona, Texas, and Pennsylvania as well as made presentations about Modeling Instruction at NSTA, WRNC, ChemEd, and BCCE conferences. She has been one of the lead contributors to the curriculum materials used in Modeling Instruction in chemistry since the project began in 2004. Highlights[3:15]: Brenda Royce, describing a workshop experience, “In the workshop we got a chance to see the method in action with the way that our workshop leaders interacted with us experience what the students who would be experiencing here, what the big ideas are that are being emphasized.” [6:07] Brenda Royce: “one of the things that modeling did for me was give me ideas about what students might not understand, the way they would misunderstand it, competing ideas they may have. And then tools for finding those and helping me hear them and helping the students recognize that there is a better way to think about it than what they were thinking.” [8:11] Brenda Royce: “And there it was — all of a sudden I was being fulfilled as a teacher. It’s like there’s no turning back from that once you know what that’s like.” [13:26] Brenda Royce: “I want a method of teaching and helping them that actually produces deep enduring understanding. And I found the tools to move that direction with modeling instruction.”
Resourceshttps://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Brenda-Royce-transcription.pdf (Brenda Royce transcription)
This episode is a conversation with Dr. David Hestenes. Dr. Hestenes talks about his own education and work in various universities and departments. He talks about his graduate education and then goes in-depth about the research that led to developing the ideas and methodology underlying modeling instruction in physics and later other sciences and mathematics. Guest BioDavid Orlin Hestenes, Ph.D. (born May 21, 1933) is a theoretical physicist and science educator. He is best known as chief architect of geometric algebra as a unified language for mathematics and physics, and as the founder of Modelling Instruction, a research-based program to reform K–12 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. For more than 30 years, he was employed in the Department of Physics and Astronomy of Arizona State University (ASU), where he retired with the rank of Research Professor and is now emeritus. Highlights[18:21] David Hestenes quoting Malcolm Wells: “It’s not enough to know that the students have alternative conceptions or if you will, misconceptions about how the world works because they interpret everything in terms of those. The question is how do you get the students to have the scientific view of what’s going on in the world rather than the common sense everyday world.” [19:15] David Hestenes: “my theoretical view is that science is fundamentally about making and using models of the real world.” [36:55] Dr. Hestenes: “Well, okay, so what is it that is going to make an effective teacher? The trouble with especially physics teachers is that they’re not connected to anybody. Usually the physics teacher is the only physics teacher in the school…” building up local communities [41:02] Mark Royce: “What in your mind is the reason that modeling is successful?” [46:00] Dr. Hestenes: “Without private funding, I don’t think that there can be any substantial STEM education reform.” Resources51:15 http://geocalc.clas.asu.edu (http://geocalc.clas.asu.edu) https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/David-Hestenes-transcription.pdf (David Hestenes – transcription)
Colleen Megowan has extensive experience teaching in the classroom in California. She did her graduate work and eventually went on to teach at Arizona State University. Colleen was at ASU during the very beginning of the formation of AMTA and served as its first Executive Officer in 2011. Mark talks to Colleen about her early days in teaching using modeling instruction and what drives her to continue spreading the word about modeling and why she is still enthusiastic about it to this day. Guest BioColleen was a high school physics and mathematics teacher and Modeler in Sacramento CA. She moved to AZ in 2001 to do graduate studies in physics education research focusing on Modeling classroom discourse. In 2007 she completed her Ph.D. under the direction of David Hestenes. She was an assistant professor of science education at Arizona State University until 2011 when she transitioned to a half-time research scientist position to become AMTA’s first Executive Officer. In 2014 she retired from ASU to devote her full attention to AMTA. In 2017 she “retired” from the XO position and became AMTA’s first Senior Fellow. Colleen continues to write grants, conduct research, teach occasional courses in modeling and cognition, train workshop leaders, and publish on Modeling Instruction. Her current research interests are computational modeling, teacher leadership, out-of-field science teaching, and cognition in Modeling Instruction. Highlights([1:56]) “The thing I valued the most by the time I was done with that workshop was the whiteboards and the conversations that we had in constructing those whiteboard representations.” ([8:30]) “In order for something to happen in the classroom, it has to come from students… students realize that they don’t have to wait for the teacher to tell them the answer. They can figure out the answer themselves.” ([10:04]) “There was a huge jump in enrollment in science courses following the switch to physics first and the introduction of modeling instruction… we went from two thirds of the student body taking a science course in any given year to 120% of the student body taking a science course in any given year.” ([18:46]) “I think actually the very best way to deal with administrators is to get them to come and be in your classroom because when they can spend some time there and just watch the kids, and listen to the kids, and just soak up the energy in the room, and see the affect of those students, they will be completely sold.” ([21:52]) “Modeling instruction is an extremely effective method of helping students learn science, or any other subject, by building, testing, refining, and applying the fundamental conceptual models of that discipline.” ([35:18]) “Modeling instruction is a way of teaching that will help you be the very best teacher you can be.” ResourcesPhysics First: https://www.aapt.org (https://www.aapt.org) https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Colleen-Megowan-transcription.pdf (Colleen Megowan – transcription)
In this episode, we hear from Larry Dukerich, one of the key people who developed modeling resources for chemistry instruction. He talks about how modeling changed the way he taught and expands on the three main ways that modeling differs from a traditional lecture-style classroom. Guest BioLarry Dukerich received his B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan State University and his Masters of Natural Science from Arizona State University. He taught high school chemistry and physics, including regular, honors and AP courses, in Michigan and Arizona for 34 years. He was a Woodrow Wilson Dreyfus Fellow in Chemistry in 1986 and a Presidential Awardee for Excellence in Science Teaching in 2000. Since 1995, he has conducted numerous summer workshops for physics and chemistry teachers as part of the Modeling Instruction Program at ASU, and later in Pennsylvania, N Carolina, Tennessee, New York City, Missouri, California and Colorado. He has also made presentations about and conducted workshops on Modeling Instruction at NSTA, ChemEd and BCCE conferences. He is one of the lead contributors to the curricular materials used in Modeling Instruction in chemistry. Highlights[11:00] If you go to a workshop, you’re going to be exposed to a reform pedagogy, which is going to require you to change the way you manage your classroom. If you are looking for a way to improve your instruction then this is going to be something for you. [16:10] When you go to a workshop, teachers play the role of student as they run through the experiments, collecting data, analyzing it, having to interpret it, and explain what’s going on. And same thing with worksheets, tests and quizzes, that sort of thing. And they get the feeling for how modeling instruction differs from their traditional classroom practice. [32:33] It’s a culture, not a cult. I have just found, once I started teaching with modeling that I found the experience in the classroom much more satisfying. My students found the course enjoyable and wanted to take more science. Places that have been implementing modeling have seen science enrollment grow, an increase in the number of advanced courses that students take. It’s something that I think people can be excited about. Resources[24:59] -Assessment of Basic Chemistry Concepts or “ABCC” AMTA members can download it (as well as the Excel item-analysis workbook) at the AMTA website, http://modelinginstruction.org (modelinginstruction.org) , in the members-only section. Non-members can email Larry Dukerich: ldukerich@mac.com [26:33] – paper that Larry wrote for J. Chem Ed in 2015: https://doi.org/10.1021/ed500909w (https://doi.org/10.1021/ed500909w) (Users must log in to read the whole paper. The abstract is available without logging in) https://sciencemodelingtalks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Larry-dukerich-transcription.pdf (Larry Dukerich – transcription)