Science for the classroom and beyond
To close our eighth season at Lab Out Loud, we welcome Clifton Roozeboom to the show. We first met Clifton at the NSTA 2015 Conference in Chicago, where we noticed his company – The PocketLab. Built to be a small, rugged wireless sensor platform, the PocketLab can measure acceleration, force, angular velocity, magnetic field, pressure, altitude, and temperature while simultaneously reporting to a device […]
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Inspired by a session at the NSTA 2015 Conference in Chicago, we talk with Plot.ly founder and COO Matt Sundquist. As a relatively young graphing program, Plot.ly makes it easy to collaboratively analyze and visualize data. Matt talks to us about Plot.ly, how it can be used in the science classroom, and how you can even import real data into this […]
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Prompted from listener feedback, we welcome Dr. Kate McNeill and Dr. Joe Krajcik to the show. As authors of Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science, Kate and Joe join us to talk about using the Claim, Evidence and Reasoning (CER) framework as a method to guide students towards explanations in science. Listen to the show to understand what CER is […]
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Our guest this week is John Timmer, senior science editor for Ars Technica. John has been paying particular attention to state legislatures that, in the first few month of each year, tend to propose bills that attempt to dictate how science is taught in their schools. Listen to the show to hear what bills might affect teaching science in your state. […]
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Have you wanted to reach out to other science teachers with your questions about NGSS? Our guests this week can help. Using Twitter, Fred Ende and Tricia Shelton moderate #NGSSchat – an online forum to learn and share around the Next Generation Science Standards and great science teaching. Listen to the show to find out how you can “lurk”, learn and […]
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Continuing our exploration of art in science, we invite author, illustrator and math/science teacher Dale Debakcsy to the show. Every two weeks, Debakcsywrites and illustrates about important women in science. Now that he has now completed half of his two-year project, Debakcsy has compiled the first 26 portraits into a book called The Illustrated Women in Science: Year One. Listen to the […]
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Our guest this week is scientist and artist Dr. David Goodsell. As Associate Professor at the Scripps Research Institute, Dr. Goodsell splits his time on research and science outreach. His science outreach includes artwork featured online, in a variety of media and even in science museums. Listen to the show to learn how Dr. Goodsell makes his art, how accurate […]
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The Bad Astronomer (a.k.a. Phil Plait) has been busy since we’ve last had him on Lab Out Loud. As astronomer, public speaker, science evangelizer, and author, Phil can now add YouTube host to his resume. Working with Hank and John Green (Crash Course) and PBS Digital Studios, Phil has been writing and filming a new series on YouTube called Crash Course Astronomy. Listen […]
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This week we welcome journalist Mark Johnson to the show. As medical and science journalist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, researching and communicating science to the public is the core of Mark’s work. Excelling in long form journalism, Mark shared the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for One In A Billion: A Boy’s Life, a Medical Mystery. Mark joins us to tell us about his experiences […]
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According to our guest, Einstein thought like an artist, and Picasso thought like a scientist. As Professor emeritus of history and philosophy of science at University College London, Arthur I. Miller has been exploring the intersection of art and science. His new book Colliding Worlds: How Cutting-Edge Science is Redefining Contemporary Art tells the story of how art, science and technology […]
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As science educators, we are likely to recognize Sputnik as the first satellite in space. But what has happened with satellites since Sputnik? How many satellites are even out there, and how do we rely upon them? To help answer some of these questions, we welcome Dr. James Clay Moltz to the show. As author of Crowded Orbits, Dr. Moltz […]
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To prepare for this episode, we had to do a little homework: see the movie Interstellar. As we were walking out of the theater, we knew we had to invite Kip Thorne back to the show. As Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology, Kip Thorne is the scientific advisor and executive producer of Interstellar. Listen to the […]
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As webmaster for the ENSI (Evolution and the Nature of Sciences Institute) website, Larry Flammer has helped to provide a number of free, student-centered, interactive lessons focusing on the nature of science. So Larry wrote Science Surprises: Exploring the Nature of Science – a text supplement available as an eBook that helps teach the nature of science, with lessons for […]
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This week we turn our attention to science demonstrations. And who better to talk about demos than Steve Spangler. Famously known for his Mentos+Diet Coke experiment, Steve is an engaging and entertaining speaker, as well as a YouTube sensation. Steve joins us to talk about how demonstrations can engage students, while promoting safety, fostering critical thinking and providing suggestions for science […]
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As founder of BirdBrain Technologies and maker of the Hummingbird Robotics Kit, Tom Lauwers has been busy infusing robotics into classrooms of all types. In fact, Tom hails from the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute’s CREATE lab (you might remember the CREATE lab when we talked about robots with Illah Nourbakhsh) where he focused on the process of designing hardware and software to support learners and […]
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Season eight of of Lab Out Loud starts with our thoughts turning towards climate science. As Programs and Policy Director for the National Center for Science Education, Mark McCaffrey boasts an impressive resume in climate and environmental science. Mark helped lead the development of the Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) and has testified before the House Subcommittee on Research about climate […]
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