Science for the classroom and beyond
As we prepare for the summer months ahead, we welcome Griff Jones back to the show to close out season 12. Working with Griff, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has developed engaging, interactive resources that can be found within their new IIHS in the Classroom website. Designed for grades 5-12, IIHS in the Classroom uses the results of […]
Read more
An NPR poll recently discovered that most teachers don’t teach climate change, yet parents wish they did. To find out more about these findings, we invited NPR education correspondent Anya Kamenetz to the show. Anya joins us to to explain why teachers might not teach climate change, provides a few resources for us to change that behavior, and also challenges […]
Read more
While still in St. Louis, we reflect on the NSTA 2019 National Conference on Science Education. Listen to the show to hear about conference highlights such as astronaut Scott Kelly’s keynote, coming changes to NSTA’s name and a handful of memorable speakers, sessions and exhibitors from NSTA’s largest professional development gathering for science teaching. And make sure to check out […]
Read more
Nathan Schreiber returns this week to talk about his newest project using a graphic novel to teach physics concepts. In Big Trouble with Simple Machines, Schreiber’s characters solve problems using their knowledge of simple machines, with each chapter providing a new challenge with ramps, wedges, screws, levers, pulleys, wheels, and axles. There is even an illustrated appendix guiding readers to […]
Read more
Our guest this week is Sarah McAnulty, squid biologist and founder of Skype a Scientist. Using readily available video chat tools, SKYPE a Scientist connects real scientists with classes around the world. Through these video sessions, classes can learn more about the scientist’s field of study, what it means to be a scientist and how they do their job. Sarah […]
Read more
This week we welcome Laurie Wallmark to the show. As a computer science teacher and award-winning children’s author, Laurie has been writing picture book biographies that recognize women in STEM. Her breakout book Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (Creston Books) debuted in 2017 and was readily recognized with numerous awards. Laurie’s most recent book, Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life, was just […]
Read more
This week we welcome science writer Carl Zimmer to the show. As Zimmer often writes about life, he has been wondering about the concept of life and if there is a way to properly define it. To shed some light on the matter, he recently hosted a series of live conversations with some leading thinkers on life—including chemists, physicists, […]
Read more
For our 200th episode, we welcome Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer) back to the show. Phil joins us to discuss the current status of exoplanet discovery and gives us a glimpse of what we might find in the future. Listen to the show to hear Phil discuss new techniques and technologies in planet hunting, looking for life on other worlds and […]
Read more
Are you noticing less insects in your biology textbook? You’re not alone. Jennifer Landin, with student and co-author Kiran Gangwani, recently decided to quantify the coverage of insects in college-level introductory biology textbooks over time. By exploring the coverage of insect diversity concepts, the visual representation of insects, and conducting a text analysis of keywords, they discovered a significant […]
Read more
Gillian King-Cargile and Dr. Kristin Brynteson join us this week to talk about STEM Read – a program from Northern Illinois University that uses live and online programs to inspire a broad range of readers in order to learn more about the science, technology, engineering, and math concepts in popular fiction. Listen to the show to learn more about STEM Read […]
Read more
This week we talk STEM gifts with Monica Cardella and Elizabeth Gajdzik from Purdue’s INSPIRE Research Institute. Each year, the INSPIRE lab evaluates toys, games, and books that engage girls and boys in engineering thinking and design. Monica and Elizabeth join us to talk about some gifts on the list, how they are evaluated and share some advice for educators who would […]
Read more
This week we talk with Tim Enwall, CEO of Misty Robotics. A spin-off company from Sphero, Inc., Misty Robotics is focused on building personal robots for the home and office. They recently announced Misty II, a first-of-its-kind easily programmable robot, complete with a special program for STEM teachers and students. Listen to the show to hear about the growing robotics industry, […]
Read more
This week we talk to our guest about time. Extensive time. Time that grounds geologic thinking as a way to unlock the earth’s past. Marcia Bjornerud, Professor of Environmental Studies and Geology at Lawrence University in Wisconsin (and Brian’s neighbor!), joins us to talk about her recent book Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World. Listen […]
Read more
To learn about STEM resources and other learning opportunities within ag science, we welcome Leah Gibson to the show. As Education Specialist from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture, Leah helps provide and share K-12 educator resources about agriculture. Listen to the show to hear Leah tell us about the STEM challenges and resources found in Purple Plow, games […]
Read more
This week we talk about science in art that can be done with some of our youngest learners. To talk about their experiences with preschoolers learning science concepts through ephemeral artwork, we welcome to the show Sandra Redmore (director of the Clarendon Childcare Center in Arlington, VA) and Peggy Ashbrook (an early childhood science teacher and The Early Years columnist for NSTA’s Science and […]
Read more
For this week’s episode, we invite Eric Pyle to the show to discuss NSTA’s recent adoption of a position statement on the teaching of climate science. In addition to helping write the position statement, Eric is a Professor in the Department of Geology & Environmental Science and the Coordinator of Science Teacher Preparation at James Madison University in Virginia. Listen […]
Read more
Recognizing that CRISPR and other genome editing technologies have rapidly outpaced standard textbook knowledge, we reached out to R. Alta Charo, professor of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Alta joins us to talk about the ethics of CRISPR and genome editing, what current students and parents might need to know about biotechnological advances in genome editing, and […]
Read more
NSTA members will probably recognize our guest as the man behind Blick on Flicks: Jacob Clark Blickenstaff. As we both podcast for NSTA, we thought it was time to invite Jacob to the show and geek out about science and movies! Jacob talks to us about his column and podcast, gives us some hints for finding science anomalies in the […]
Read more
To kick off season 12, we look for inspiration in science education from an unlikely classroom setting – within the juvenile justice system. Michael Krezmien and Martina Nieswandt (both Associate Professors at the University of Massachusetts Amherst) join us to talk about Project RAISE: Reclaiming Access to Inquiry-based Science Education. Developed with the help of a three million dollar NSF grant, Project […]
Read more