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. Guests Scott Milam Scott Milam currently teaches chemis ..read more

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 Mark Lattery Mark 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 Profess ..read more

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. Guests Karle Delo Karle Delo is the Curriculum Director and an instructional coach at Ovid-Elsie Area Schools in Mid-Michigan. Before becoming a co ..read more

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 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 Drey ..read more

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. Guests Deanna Cullen Deanna Cullen ..read more

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 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 modeli ..read more

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 algorit ..read more

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 discuss ..read more

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 ..read more

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. Guests Phil Culcasi Phil 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 sci ..read more