Science Modeling Talks

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, whi...

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 Acc...

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 tal...

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 intentional...

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. Guests...

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 practi...

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 Larry Dukerich Larry Dukerich received his B.S. in Chemistry from Michigan State University and his Masters of...

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 r...

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. Guests Kathy Malone Kathy holds undergraduate degrees in b...

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...

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...

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...

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 pre...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. Guests Dwain Desbien Dwain Desbien teaches physics at the community college level. His re...

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 f...

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 w...

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 t...

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...

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...

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,...

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 Ear...