Science Connections

Angela Duckworth, Ph. D., the New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, recently joined Host Ana Torres on the Beyond My Years podcast to discuss her new landmark research on school cell phone policies. In this episode, Angela highlights the many complexities surrounding student cell phone use in schools and why there is a need to conduct research, such as h...

Host Ana Torres and Classroom Insider Eric Cross give you the first look at Season 2 of the Beyond My Years podcast, launching September 17, 2025. This trailer highlights what’s coming after an award-winning first season, including shorter episodes and more takeaways to help you extend your reach. Season 2 focuses on common classroom challenges, looking to the experts and to the research to get yo...

To close out the year, we’re revisiting some of our favorite moments from the first nine episodes of the Beyond My Years podcast – and looking ahead at some of what’s to come in 2025!  Listen to Beyond My Years:  Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Apple Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Spotify Listen to Beyond My Years via web browser

Hi Science Connections listeners! Here’s an episode from Amplify’s new podcast, Beyond My Years , that we think you’ll like. It features an incredible STEM educator from San Diego, California, named Khamphet Pease. Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres learns all she can learn from the life stories and lessons of Khamphet Pease. As a refugee from Laos, Khamphet shares the difficulty she experi...

Check out Amplify’s new podcast, Beyond My Years — host and educator Ana Torres seeks out educational insights and hard-won lessons directly from people who have thrived for decades in the classroom: seasoned educators. On this premiere episode, Ana soaks up wisdom from Joyce Abbott, an educator so passionate about her students that she inspired one of them to go on and write the hit show “Abbott...

Listen to this trailer for our new podcast, Beyond My Years , launching August 14th.  Every day headlines tout something “new” in education—the latest research, the hottest tech, the trendiest new hacks for organizing your classroom. However, beyond all the hype there’s one underestimated resource that’s truly deserving of our attention: educators who’ve been doing this for years . In this trailer...

Tune in to the finale of Science Connections with elementary educator and recipient of the 2023 Anton Banko Award for Excellence in Teaching Elementary Science, Kate Bala. In this episode, Kate shares teaching tips on how she seamlessly integrates science with other content areas to give students an engaging, phenomena-based learning experience. Listen to hear about Kate’s unique teaching style an...

Join us for a new episode with doctoral student and 2023 NSTA keynote speaker, Minerva Contreras. Listen as Minerva tells her story and discusses the benefits of storytelling in science education. And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study guide to track your learning and find additional resources! For more from Minerva, check out these resources: Watch the latest episode of Crash Cou...

Join us as we continue our discussion on the importance of integrating critical thinking into the science classroom with former teacher and current director of education at the Center for Inquiry, Bertha Vazquez. Listen as Bertha shares her experience with engaging students through identifying pseudoscience, and how developing these skills creates an identifiable impact on the real world. For more...

Join us as we sit down with Melanie Trecek-King, college professor and creator of Thinking is Power, to explore how much of an asset science can truly be in developing the skills students need to navigate the real world. You’ll learn about “fooling” students and the importance of developing critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy in the classroom. We’ll also share real strate...

In the latest episode of the Science Connections podcast, we explore using AI in the classroom and its impact on our students.  Listen as I sit down with teachers Donnie Piercey and Jennifer Roberts to discuss ChatGPT and how we can use it to build science and literacy skills in K–12 classrooms while preparing students for the real world.  And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study gu...

We’re continuing our investigations around science and literacy, with Doug Fisher, Ph. D., professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University. We talk about the importance of integrating science and literacy, as well as practical guidance for teachers who want to unite the two disciplines in their own classrooms. Listen as we discuss how science and literacy can be powerfu...

In our second episode of the season, we continue finding ways in which science is overlooked and how it can be better utilized in schools—and as an ally to other subjects! We sat down with Susan Gomez Zwiep, former middle school science teacher and senior science educator and staff advocate at BSCS Science Learning. She shared past experiences and research that shows the benefits of integrating sc...

Get ready for season 3 of Science Connections: The Podcast! In our first episode, we unpack the research around our season theme of science as the underdog with Horizon Research, Inc. Vice President Eric R. Banilower and  Senior Researcher Courtney Plumley. Eric and Courtney dive into the research they’ve found and their experiences as former educators to show how science is often overlooked in K–...

Listen to the last episode in our Winter Wrap-Up!  In this conversation from season 1, Eric sits down with Shad Lacefield, 2021 Kentucky Science Teacher of the Year. Shad shares his experience teaching during the first year of the pandemic, which included dressing up in over 100 costumes to create unique and engaging online learning experiences for his students. Shad also explains ways he connects...

While we’re hard at work producing the exciting third season of Science Connections: The Podcast , we’re continuing to share some of our favorite conversations from our first two seasons. This time we’re revisiting a popular episode from season 1: Overcoming adversity in the classroom featuring Joe McCormick, director of engineering at Splitspot. Hear Joe’s story about losing his vision at a young...

While we gear up for the next season of Science Connections: The Podcast, we're revisiting some of our favorite conversations from past seasons! In this episode, we join Eric Cross as he sits down with physicist and science education specialist, Desiré Whitmore. Listen in as Desiré explains her work at the Exploratorium, a public learning laboratory. Eric and Desiré discuss finding passion in...

In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with TikTok star and podcast host Lauran Woolley about her experience teaching science content within her K–5 classroom. Lauran shares how she’s learned how to make time for science, and what most K–5 teachers experience when creating their own science curriculum. Lauran also talks about her rise in popularity on TikTok, her podcast, Teachers Off Duty, and est...

In this episode, Eric Cross sits with K–5 educator, Janis Lodge to chat about building on her own science curriculum to create meaningful project-based learning experiences. Janis shares her work teaching Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), and how to use those practices to help accelerate the learning of all students. Eric and Janis also talk about making time for science within K–5 classrooms....

In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with his colleague and friend Fabian Hofmann to talk through gamification in the K–8 classroom. They discuss Fabian's experience teaching outside of the United States, and the differences in classrooms outside of the country. Fabian explains how to integrate game mechanisms in the classroom, standard-based grading, and shifting student thinking about lear...

In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with Sharita Ware, Indiana State Teacher of the Year to talk about how to build meaningful student connections. Sharita shares her journey from a corporate career to becoming Indiana's 2022 Teacher of the Year, and her passion for creating project-based lessons for her students.  Together, Eric and Sharita discuss how educators can teach students to love...

In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with veteran educator and former Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) Middle School Science Teacher of the Year, Marilyn Dieppa. Marilyn shares tips for new teachers, ways to inspire students, and how she utilizes her journalism background to develop literacy skills within her science classroom. She also shares her experiences developing a robotics academ...

In this special solo episode, Eric Cross starts the season by sharing his personal journey as an educator, and how the difficulties of the last few years have shaped his mindset going into the upcoming school year. Eric also addresses teacher burnout and what inspires him to continue working as a classroom educator.

In the final episode of the season, Eric sits down with his friend and professional development facilitator, Jessica Kelser. During the episode, Jessica describes her passion for sharing high-quality, empathy-centered professional development for K–12 educators. The conversation also dives into Jessica's experiences teaching in Philadelphia, and how teachers' roles often involve more tha...

In this episode , Eric sits down with Ricky Mason, CEO of BrainSTEM. Ricky shares his passion for inspiring students into science careers, and his path from an engineering career with organizations like the Department of Defense, NASA, and the CIA to starting BrainSTEM, an education program that develops creative digital tools to enable all teachers and students to dive deeper into STEM content. R...