Episode 82 – Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz – Founding Member of AMTA
In this episode, Mark talks with Colleen Megowan about the history and initial founding of the AMTA and how she became the first executive officer for the organization. She talks about what she does as Senior Fellow, and her dreams for the future of AMTA, including research on including AI in modeling instruction, developing modeling methodology for math instruction and for elementary education, and an online journal for research modelers have done in their classrooms.
Guest
Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz
Colleen Megowan-Romanowicz has taught high school and university physics, mathematics, and integrated physics and mathematics in California and Arizona for over 30 years. She learned the Modeling Method of Instruction for physics teaching in 1998 and found it to be so uncannily effective that she wanted to figure out how and why it worked. This ultimately led to a PhD in Physics Education Research at Arizona State University (ASU) focused on Modeling classroom discourse in 2007 under the direction of noted physicist David Hestenes, the theorist who originated Modeling Instruction and enjoyed 16 years of NSF support for its development and dissemination.
In 2005 she helped found the American Modeling Teachers Association (AMTA), and later became its first Executive Officer. She continues her work in support of AMTA and modeling instruction research as Senior Fellow at AMTA.
Highlights
[22:17] Colleen: “And so, given that [AI is] there and it’s in the hands of our students, how are we going to use it well and use it responsibly and teach them to use it well and responsibly.”
[26:18] Colleen: “There are plenty of modelers who do classroom research. They should have an outlet to publish that.”
Resources
Download Transcript