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Episode 57 – Mike Vargas – “STEM Acceleration”

Mark talks with veteran physics teacher and proponent of physics first in high school. He talks about how the connecting thread of energy should start in middle school and continue through 12th grade. They talk about the Cactus Caucus, advocating to get funding for more teacgers to get state certified to teach STEM classes in…

Episode 56 – Amanda Whitehurst – “Training and Equiping Teachers for STEM”

Mark and Amanda talk about her background as a middle school teacher, the STEM master’s program she took at ASU, which introduced her to modeling instruction and eventually led her to found the Cactus Caucus, which advocated for funding for teachers to recertify to teach physics, chemistry and other high-needs areas in Arizona schools. They…

Episode 55 – Paul Sasso – “Astronomy Modeling has so much to offer”

In this episode, Mark talks with Paul Sasso, a physics and astronomy teacher from Maine. They talk about Paul’s experience as a new teacher and his introduction to modeling instruction, and later to the new modeling astronomy materials. After taking the modeling astronomy workshop and returning as both participant and “intern,” Paul was invited to…

Episode 53 – Mark Lattery – Modeling Method and Modeling Teachers International

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…