Science Modeling Talks

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. Website | 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 Ep 31 Transcript Links 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. 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 Ep 30 Transcript Links 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. Facebook | 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 Dr. James Transcript Links iOLab Science MacMillan store for iOLab

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. Twitter | Instagram | 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 John Transcript

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 David 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. 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 Jeremy Transcript Links The Talk Science Primer (22:43) STEP UP (31:39)

In this episode, Mark talks with three guests, Muhsin Erhan, Kevin Butler, and Melanie Dimler, who recently completed a virtual summer course in modeling mechanics. They talk about their experiences teaching and how this course has changed their teaching practice.

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 JacksonI 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.FacebookHighlights[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..."ResourcesTranscriptJane TranscriptLinksModeling Instruction ProgramTalk Jane gave about funding for workshopsPhysTEC Physics Teacher Education Coalition

In this episode, 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.

Mark talks with Dr. Mina Bhagdev about equity, challenges minority students face and how teachers help students feel safe enough to speak up.

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."ResourcesTranscriptKathy 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 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.Instagram  |  TwitterHighlights[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."ResourcesTranscriptKarle TranscriptLinksAMTA Summer Course

In this episode, Mark talks with Chance Hoellwarth, who is the director of the Center for Engineering, Science, and Mathematics Education and professor in the Physics Department at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. He talks about his journey from physics undergraduate to working in physics education, and finally to Cal Poly's CESAME, where he works to expose teachers and potential teachers to excellent teaching methods. He talks about how he first learned of modeling instruction and about the workshops at Cal Poly in physics, biology, and chemistry.

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 BickleMolly 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 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.ResourcesTranscriptErica 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 PelusoDan 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.Website | Instagram | TwitterHighlights[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.ResourcesTranscriptDan TranscriptLinksGlobal Hands-On UniverseHands-On Universe, USABlog Post - How I plan to help save science education with the Unistellar eVscope!Abstract #1789 - Abstract Dan published for the 47th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.Yong Zhao on a podcast discussing creativity in educationArticle - Yong Zhao: PBL Develops Students' Creative Confidence - [07:53] Dan reads a quote from this articleVideo - The genius of science: GZA & Science Genius at TEDxTeen 2014Video - Reality Pedagogy: Christopher Emdin at TEDxTeachersCollegeBook - For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education (Race, Education, and Democracy)Podcast - The Science of Hip Hop with GZA (Part 1)Podcast - The Science of Hip Hop with GZA (Part 2)Notes for Notes - getting students in schools and Boys & Girls Clubs to write and professionally record their own music at pro studios for FREEVideo - Unistellar OverviewUnistellarSETI InstituteUniversity of Southern Queensland Centre for Astrophysics - Where Dan is doing his PhD

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.Instagram | TwitterMatt GreenwolfeI 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 me to step off the stage. And I spend way more time listening to students now in deep, interesting ways, because I'm asking them open-ended questions and listening to them think their way through stuff and listening to their presentations. As they try to explain their own reasoning without an example from me to follow. And so I have a much better idea of what they're actually thinking, and then it's tremendously fun to create activities, to help them overcome their misconceptions and revise the way they're thinking in a creative way that allows them to do it rather than me telling them. "[19:55] Matt Greenwolfe, talking about pivot interactives: "They're videotaping each individual data point, not just a sufficient set that you could take, but each individual data point that a student might think to take and they're organizing them. So it's easy to select and pick. And when the students say, choose their independent variables for a lab, they choose them. And they get a video of exactly how that particular data point ran. And they can take measurements from the screen

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 MarxTeresa 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.TwitterHighlights[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."ResourcesTranscriptTeresa TranscriptLinksSTEM Teachers MassBayCulturally 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.Personal Site | Vieyra SoftwareFacebook | TwitterColleen 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."ResourcesTranscriptRebecca and Colleen TranscriptLinksAAPT K12 Teachers PortalAAPT - Computational Modeling in Physics First with BootstrapMagna AR100k in 10 - Rebecca mentioned this organization when talking about grantsPhysics 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 HehemannWendy'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.FacebookColleen Megowan-RomanowiczColleen 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 Wendy and Colleen TranscriptLinks AMTA virtual courses Summer 2020PhET 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 AMTABill 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 HiblerAfter 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/Facebook: thiblerTwitter: @tanea_hiblerInstagram: @darlingtomasaAriel SerkinAriel 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: ariel.serkinTwitter: @aserkinInstagram: ariel.serkinHighlights[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."ResourcesTranscriptTanea and Ariel TranscriptionMentions[26:45] Robin DiAngelo's book, White Fragility[46:27] The Underrepresentation Curriculum Project[46:39] Step Up[51:37] Tanea mentions the book Everyday Antiracism[51:47] Tanea mentioned the book How to be Antiracist[52:21] Ariel mentions the book Grading for EquityLinks@PaulGorski@sheldoneakins@cleartheaireduSTEMteachersPHXStory ColliderNational Equity ProjectLeading Equity CenterClear The Air EducationNew York Time: 1619 Project1619 Project CurriculumArticlesWhy Inclusivity Matters To Us by Tanea and ArielAvoiding Racial Equity Detours (PDF)Want to Reach All of Your Students? Here’s How to Make Your Teaching More InclusiveGenetics Lessons Can Spark Racism in Students. This Change Can Prevent ItCan Biology Class Reduce Racism?Academic Science Rethinks All-Too-White 'Dude Walls' Of HonorPodcasts/AudioNPR One: Your Brain On StorytellingTrials by Fire: Stories about difficult paths to scienceHarvard EdCast: Unconscious Bias in SchoolsPostersWomen in STEMMaya Angeluo: I'll RiseMae JemisonBooksInterrogating Whiteness and Relinquishing Power: White Faculty’s Commitment to Racial Consciousness in STEM ClassroomsCulturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse StudentsI'm Still Here: Black Dignity In A World Made for WhitenessExcellence Through Equity: Five Principles of Courageous Leadership to Guide Achievement for Every Student Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?T

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 AccountsAMTA: @AMTATeachersErica Posthuma: @eposthumaHashtag: #chemmodLinksAMTA websiteChemEdXchangeACS Hach Grants (Listed under "Education Grants" at the bottom of the page) - Mentioned at 32:38DownloadsErica 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.”ResourcesBrenda 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.eduDavid 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 shecompleted 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.orgColleen 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, modelinginstruction.org , in the members-only section.Non-members can email Larry Dukerich: [email protected][26:33] – paper that Larry wrote for J. Chem Ed in 2015:https://doi.org/10.1021/ed500909w(Users must log in to read the whole paper. The abstract is available without logging in)Larry Dukerich – transcription

Learn about Science Modeling Talks in a brief introduction.