Science In-Between

Episode 290: Partner Play

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about doing partnership work with schools.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Euchre
SITE Conference

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 289: Thoreau Corollary

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 07:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss technology, pedagogy, and what our future classrooms could look like.

Things that bring us joy this week:
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast
Racing Mount Pleasant

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Episode 288: Can You Accommodate Us?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about accommodations for students who need them and their increasing number in higher education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Ammonite by Nicola Griffith
King Sorrow by Joe Hill

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Episode 287: AI Very Special Episode

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss how qualitative researchers are using AI with Dr. Elizabeth Langran, Dr. Paula Cristina Azevdo, and Dr. Shernette Dunn.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
Author Charles Yu
The Joy Lab

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Special Guests: Elizabeth Langran, Paula Cristina Azevedo, and Shernette Dunn.

Episode 286: How Competent Are We?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week we discuss teacher education competencies and how they are used to structure requirements and thus courses at universities.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Traitors UK on Peacock
Trumpet Ensemble

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Episode 285: Take Me to Your Leader

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the role of the Science Content Advisor at the PA Department of Education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fallout series on Amazon
If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

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Episode 284: Brains are Messy

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the difference between knowing and understanding and maybe how comparing to AI neural networks can help clarify the difference.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
Absolute Batman Vol. 1&2 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta

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Episode 283: Games People Play

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss card games, especially ones for learning.

Some of the games mentioned in the episode include:
Analog Inspiration
The Rithm Project
AI Leadership Cards

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Pitt on HBO
Pistachio Ice Cream

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Episode 282: Snow Day

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about snow days (since we had one) and also how they are a case study in policy vs. guidance vs. practice across lots of areas.

Things that bring us joy this week:
McSweeny's Quarterly Concern
Academy Award Nominated Best Pictures (specifically Train Dreams; F1; and Secret Agent)

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Episode 281: Can We Make Science Education More Accessible?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we try to answer a listener's email about online accessibility and science education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Rip movie
Is This Thing On? movie

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Episode 280: Dark Forest of Naming

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about conceptualizing and operationalizing ideas in educational research and the impact of that process on improving teaching practice.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Buena Vista Social Club
F1

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Episode 279: PD4AI

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss professional development for learning how to integrate artificial intelligence in classroom settings and assignments.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sinners movie
Butterhorns (Not the recipe, but close; This one also looks promising)

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Episode 278: Nothing Prime in There

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about how to handle the situation of a teacher candidate who is not successful in their field placements.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

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Episode 277: Stop! Start! Or continue!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talked about (New Year's) resolutions of things we want to start, stop, and continue coming into the next year.

Things that bring us joy this week:
With a Vengeance by Riley Sager
One Battle After Another

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Episode 276: Enough of This Frivolity

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about commencements. You know, graduation.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Cookies (made by Tanya if you are lucky)
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

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Episode 275: Words Matter

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss efforts to develop national competencies for teacher preparation.

Things that bring us joy this week:
10 to 25 The Science of Motivating Young People: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation—And Making Your Own Life Easier By David Yeager

The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman

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Episode 274: DAM Good

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about accreditation, which we admit sounds really boring, but turns out it is only somewhat boring and you might find out why you should care.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Pips - NY Times Games App Game
MaddAddam (MaddAddam #3) by Margaret Atwood

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Episode 273: Degrees Don't Disappoint

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the reorganizations happening at institutions of higher education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings
Pzizz app for power napping

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Episode 272: Buckets of Mastery

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about grades, and specifically the Chronicle of Higher Education article about grade inflation at Harvard.

Things that bring us joy this week:
David Maslanka's Symphony No. 4
Long Island Compromise by Taffy Brodesser-Akner

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Episode 271: Views on Viewpoint Diversity

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the pernicious nature of "viewpoint diversity." We draw upon the Fall 2025 Academe article titled Seven Theses Against Viewpoint Diversity by Lisa Siraganian

Things that bring us joy this week:
Andor Season 2
Death by Lightning

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Episode 270: On-Brand Curmudgeon

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the idea of research to practice in educational research (and practice).

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
The Balland of Wallis Island

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Episode 269: The Search is On!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the job hiring process in higher education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Task on HBOMax
The CPED Convening

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Episode 268: Let Yourselves Out

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how to think about evaluation and feedback in higher education, specifically for leaders.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Talk Easy Podcast
The Lowdown on FX

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Episode 267: ADA, Not Easy as 123

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the upcoming ADA mandate for compliance of digital content for state and local agencies.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Peacemaker, Season 2
Sinners

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Episode 266: Scott's Privilege

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about frameworks in science education research.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Phase Hero Podcast

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Episode 265: The Research We Need

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss an article in the Journal of Computing in Higher Education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
David Sedaris
House of Guinness on Netflix

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Episode 264: To Union or Not To Union

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about unions in higher education, the pros and cons and what unions even are.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger
Slow Horses Season 5 on Apple TV+

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Episode 263: A Sleepy Afternoon for Ollie

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss possible episode topics suggested by ChatGPT.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Down Dog apps
Alexa Silver skit on SNL

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Episode 262: Sharing the Em Dash

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In a very special episode we are joined by Cole Camplese the Chief Information Officer from the University of Texas at Austin. We talk about AI and technology infrastructure, and it is a lot more interesting then that makes it sound.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Deadly Class
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

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Special Guest: Cole Camplese.

Episode 261: Stuck in the Middle

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the changes to Middle Level Certification in Pennsylvania.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Black Bag by Steven Soderbergh
Schwinn IC4 Bike

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Episode 260: Stripping It to the Studs

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Sep 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about new things that we are going to try in the upcoming semester of our classes (and we mostly don't stay on topic).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Department Q
3 Body Problem

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Episode 259: Micro Means Small

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss Scott's trip to Mexico to work with local science teachers to develop units on microplastics.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sandman Season 2
Articles of Interest podcast

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Episode 258: Not My Language

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about doing professional learning in another country and in another language and what that might mean.

Things that bring us joy this week:
XMU Sessions (Sirus Indie Radio Station):
Lucy Dacus - Time in a Bottle (Cover) by Jim Croce
Blondeshell - Diet Pepsi (Cover) by Addison Rae

Reconcilable Differences

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Episode 257: Definitely Not Cynical

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss a recent New York Times article about the Alpha School.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Mike Birbiglia - The Good Life
Ronnie Chieng - Love to Hate It

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Episode 256: A New Way to Offend

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Aug 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how Terrain Theory as a way of setting health policy is a reflection of a deep misunderstanding of how science works and what a theory really means.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Inception
Superman
Fantastic Four: First Steps

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Episode 255: Blogs and Podcasts and AI ...Oh my!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 07:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss a recent NSTA blog post on Rethinking Science Assessment in the Age of AI.

Things that bring us joy this week:
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Lift Hydrofoils

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Episode 254: Going for the Corners

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about assessing faculty in higher education and what it means to rate people on a scale.

Satisfactory - fulfilling expectations or needs; acceptable, though not outstanding or perfect.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Watching tennis, specifically The Championships, Wimbeldon
Cake (not the band) - an item of soft, sweet food made from a mixture of flour, shortening, eggs, sugar, and other ingredients, baked and often decorated. (Ollie's personal preference is yellow/white cake).

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Episode 253: Questioning Questions

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss questions that can be asked during dissertation defenses.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Broadchurch series
Saga Compendium

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Episode 252: Epistemic Apocalypse

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the knowledge system that is at the center of the way we think about learning and speculate what it will take to change it (and if AI is that thing).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Cameron Winter - Specifically Love Takes Miles
Broken Harbor by Tana French

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Episode 251: Book 'Em!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Jul 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk about books about teachers and teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Bear - Season 4
Ottolenghi

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Episode 250: Make America Competent Again

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the idea of what it means to be a competent outsider to science and how we prepare students to be one of those people.

Feinstein, N. (2011). Salvaging science literacy. Science Education, 95(1), 168–185. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20414

Things that bring us joy this week:
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark T. Sullivan
The Phoenician Scheme by Wes Anderson

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Episode 249: Going International

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the nature of international students on US college campuses. We reference the following resource:
Enrollment Trends from the Institute for International Education

Things that bring us joy this week:
Faithful Place by Tana French
Preservation Hall Jazz Band

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Episode 248: Negotiation Yoga

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about negotiations and how they are like teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss and Tahl Raz
Grilling

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Episode 247: Sifting through SIFT

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk about the SIFT model for media literacy.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Likeness by Tana French

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Episode 246: Stupid but Accurate

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how our labor in our communities can be a reflection of established patterns of privilege that can be treated as "the way we do things".

Things that bring us joy this week:
One by One by Freida McFadden
Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz

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Episode 245: AI Alacrity

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the AI Assessment Scale.

Things that bring us joy this week:
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Will & Harper

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Episode 244: Not My Definition of Good

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how to work with teachers who may not want to change in the way that you want them to change.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Thunderbolts*
Never Split the Difference:: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss

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Episode 243: Call Me Aquaticus!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 May 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week, we discuss a recent Radiolab episode and how important research and exploration are.

Radiolab episode: The Age of Aquaticus

Things that bring us joy this week:
50th Anniversary of Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Four Seasons on Netflix

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Episode 242: Potentially Unstable Nuclear Ollie

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Apr 2025 10:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about leadership, transparency, workload, and evaluation.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Residence on Netflix
Moulin Rouge! on Broadway or on film

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 241: Blowing Stuff Up

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss what a practice-based teacher education could look like.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dirty Chai
Song Exploder, especially the episodes with MJ Lenderman and Adrianne Lenker

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Episode 240: WTF PCK

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about Pedagogical Content Knowledge, all the related concepts it has spawned, and how those are or are not useful in moving our understanding of teaching forward.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Remarkable (a new gadget)
Fixing things (particuarly 3D printing in this case)

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Episode 239: A Manifesto Party

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss A Sudent Manifesto for Assessment in the Age of AI from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Red Rising saga from Pierce Brown
The Audacy app

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Episode 238: Certain about Uncertainty

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about uncertainty and how important it is to good science teaching.

Watkins, J., & Manz, E. (2022). Characterizing pedagogical decision points in sense-making conversations motivated by scientific uncertainty. Science Education, 106(6), 1408–1441. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21747

Things that bring us joy this week:

Awesome Toes

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Episode 237: Golden Days?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss when the "golden age" of education was.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Japanese Breakfast - For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)
Severance on AppleTV+

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Episode 236: Life Gets in the Way

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about relabeling practice with new teaching terms and how it is like what happens with students in science classrooms.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Baseball (Especially Spring Training with the Pittsburgh Pirates)
Ireland (and Library St. if you are looking for a restuarant recommendation)

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Episode 235: Grouped Together

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we talk about grouping in classroom environments.

Things that bring us joy this week:
James by Percival Everett
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

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Episode 234: Fast and Furious DOGE

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the firings and threats around defunding NSF, NIH, and capping indirect costs to Universities.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Conclave
Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe

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Episode 233: Don't Be a Tourist

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we revisit the topic of artificial intelligence and discuss how it is being integrated into classwork.

Things that bring us joy this week:
My Old Ass
White Lotus Season 3

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Episode 232: Face Full of Morning Ollie

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 12 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the keynote I am delivering at Pennsylvania Educational Technology Expo and Conference (PETE&C) STEELS Summit.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Paradise on Hulu
Hirshhorn Museum in the Simthsonian Institute

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Episode 231: Heading Home

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss homework.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Paul Krugman on Substack
AI Snake Oil

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Episode 230: Is a Hot Dog a Sandwich

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we negotiate the meaning of negotiation of meaning and what kind of talk that means.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Last Showgirl
Anatomy of a Fall

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Episode 229: In Your Left Earhole

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about how leaders learn to be leaders and what the challenges are for leaders who don't have training.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Skiing
Machine Learning and Human Intelligence: The future of education for the 21st Century by Rosemary Luckin

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Episode 228: Sticky Certifications

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss science certifications in PA.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Shogun on FX
The Diplomat on Netflix

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Episode 227: Talking Teachers

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we try to talk about our favorite fictional science teachers.

Things that bring us joy this week:
English Teacher
Lee Movie

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Episode 226: Caste(ing) Faculty

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Jan 2025 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the relationship between tenure track and teaching/clinical/non-tenure track faculty.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Deacon King Kong by James McBride

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Episode 225: Grades and Grace

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss student situations where grace may be needed.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Holiday Movies
Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

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Episode 224: Fear of Social Death

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the tension between knowing you need to let people talk through their own thinking and the fact that all learning opportunities have time constraints.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sampson Boat Co. YouTube Channel
Everyone This Christmas has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

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Episode 223: Conferencing about Conferences

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss an upcoming conference presentation.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Murderbot Diaries
The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers podcast

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Episode 222: Written Bold Predictions

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about what the Department of Education does and what it means if it is weakened or eliminated.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Portugal (yes, the country)
Tom Lake by Anne Patchett

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Episode 221: It's Tricky

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss conducting observations with teacher candidates.

Things that bring us joy this week:
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
Shrinking on AppleTV+

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Episode 220: Hard for Ollie to Say

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about how we see and interpret the world is a lot about who we are and what our experiences have been all the way down to the data coming from our senses.

[Alternative episode title: Old Man Illness Corner]

Uexküll's Umwelt

Things that bring us joy this week:
Only Murders in the Building on Hulu
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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Episode 219: A Conversation about Controversy

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the teaching of controversial topics in science.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
NCAA College Football

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Episode 218: Sad Batman

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about how to answer the question "when does the teacher intervene when a kid's idea is wrong?"

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Penguin
Question Everything with Brian Reed

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Episode 217: Assessing the Assessments

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the released sample questions for the PA Keystone exam in Biology.

Things that bring us joy this week:
PA Teacher Educator of the Year

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Episode 216: Gaps and Naps

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we revisit gapless explanations.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Home Improvement Projects

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Episode 215: CoPilot Failure

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about failure in science and how we need to think about it in terms of teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Horseby Geraldine Brooks
Nobody Wants This on Netflix

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Episode 214: A Phenomenal Episode!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we revisit the topic of phenomena and their selection and use in science classes.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Against the Rules podcast
The Old Guard

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Episode 213: Answering Question #3

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about book clubs for professional learning and how to structure them.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Apple Cider Doughnuts
Smokeless Firepits (Breeo (not (yet) a sponsor)

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Episode 212: Playing Whack A Mole

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the complicated nature of learning space, learning theory, and pedagogy.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dear Reader game
Pittsburgh Riveters

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Episode 211: Practice with Morning Ollie

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about why hands-on and lab activities are not the same as phenomenon-driven science practices.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Mike Bribiglia - The Old Man and the Pool on Netflix
Rex Orange County - The Alexander Technique

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Episode 210: Our Nerd Era

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about AI and what teachers should know about it.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Fall Guy
Slow Horses, Season 4

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Episode 209: Celebrating Partnerships

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the value of partnerships between higher education institutions and schools.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Demon of Unrest by Erik Larson
The Gentlemen series on Netflix

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Episode 208: Joys to the World, Vol. 4

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This is the end of season 4, so it is an all joys episode, so enjoy (see what we did there).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Podcast
Search Engine
Decoder Ring

Book
Martyr! By Kaveh Akbar
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

Album
Maggie Rogers - Don't forget me
Adrianne Lenker

Game
Cypher 007
Monikers

Phone App
Athlytic
Yoga Go

Movie
Past Lives
Deadpool & Wolverine

Television Show
Dark Matter
Homicide: Life on the Street

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Episode 207: Devil in the Details

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss conducting observations of phenomenon-based science classrooms.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin
The band, Dehd

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Episode 206: Craft of Carving

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about teaching as a science, engineering, design, craft, or art practice.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford
Meet You in Hell: Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and the Bitter Partnership That Changed America by Les Standiford

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Episode 205: Project 2025 Explained

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we outline the educational aspects of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 document.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Spotle, Music Wordle game
Immunity to Change book
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Episode 204: The Lark Owl Connection

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about teaching climate and climate changes in the context of a new book from Mark Widschitl (lead author of the Ambitious Science Teaching book).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Teaching Climate Change: Fostering Understanding, Resilience, and a Commitment to Justice by Mark Windschitl
The Plinko Bounce by Martin Clark

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Episode 203: Induction Junction, What's Your Function?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss mentoring and induction of new science teachers.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Free Library of Philadelphia
International Futbol

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Episode 202: Who is Your Tribe?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how truth is tribal and social, and so social death is scarier than physical death and why that matters for teaching and learning.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Bright Future by Adrianne Lanker
Wilco (maybe specifically Kicking Television: Live in Chicago)
Cut Worms

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Episode 201: Not Changing Buses

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the sticky subject of transfer in education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Taskmaster
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

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Episode 200: Talking with Your Dog About Gravity

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we dig into the differences between cognitive and sociocultural perspectives on learning and how they characterize not just different ways of learning, but of knowing.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Midnight Run
Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

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Episode 199: Two Beefs from Ollie

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss some of the issues we have with the current discourse around AI in education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Slow Burn podcast - Season 9
Serial podcast - Season 4

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Episode 198: Epistemic Extinguishing Event

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the fundamental mismatch between different ways of what it means to know something impacts everything about school (and everything else).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Fantastic Cat

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Episode 197: Secret Sauce and Conference Chicken

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we chat with Dr. April Luehmann, Associate Professor in the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester. We discuss April's recent article, Toward a justice-centered ambitious teaching
framework: Shaping ambitious science teaching to be culturally sustaining and productive in a rural context, which appeared in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Pixar's 2015 movie, Inside Out
Palmer Museum of Art

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Special Guest: April Luehmann.

Episode 196: AI Old Man Noises

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we have a wide ranging (even for us) conversation about Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Ken Burns' Commencement Speech a Brandeis (2024)
Grilling / Griddles for a Grill

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Episode 195: Hypothetical Ollie

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss whether scientists (and others) are inventors or discoverers. The conversation is a result of a recent post to Seth's Blog.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Trees by Percival Everett
The Big Door Prize on Apple TV+

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Episode 194: Esperanto of Residue

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the concept of learning residue in both virtual and physical learning spaces.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fabbri Amarena Wild Cherries
Stan Smith Shoes

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Episode 193: The Progress of Learning Progressions

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss one of the most cited articles from the Journal of Research in Science Teaching:

Schwarz, C. V., Reiser, B. J., Davis, E. A., Kenyon, L., Achér, A., Fortus, D., Scwartz, Y., Hug, B., & Krajcik, J. (2009). Developing a learning progression for scientific modeling: Making scientific modeling accessible and meaningful for learners. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(6), 632-654. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/tea.20311

Things that bring us joy this week:
Search Engine Podcast with PJ Vogt
Welcome to Wrexham Season 3
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Episode 192: Start with the Kid

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about special education, students identified with special needs, and how we can support them in ambitious and equitable science teaching classrooms.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Graduations
One Love

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Episode 191: Albert Einstein... You're wrong!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 May 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss how the words we use to describe students' ideas matter.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Elements of Architecture by Rem Koolhaas
Slow Horses on Apple TV+

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Episode 190: A Litany of Vague Expectations

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about time management, work/life balance, and what it all means for teaching, learning and research.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
[End of Story](End of Story) by A.J. Finn

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Episode 189: Wait a Minute, Mr. Postman

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss a chapter from the book Exploring New Horizons: Generative Artificial Intelligence and Teacher Education (Searson et al, 2024). The chapter references Neil Postman's 1998 speech titled Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Go As A River by Shelley Read
Doctoral students that develop as scholars (Being a proud papa)

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Episode 188: Might Be a Two-Headed Elephant

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how preparing teachers to teach science is challenged by a lack of coherence and curriculum.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Pittsburgh Pirates
Total Solar Eclipse of 2024

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Episode 187: Enthusiasm and Obfuscation

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Apr 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss leading professional development to support ongoing changes in teachers' thinking.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect
Articles of Interest

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Episode 186: Blinded Feedback

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about peer review and how important it is for science and science education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Good food delivery
Abstract: The Art of Design

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Episode 185: The Great Divide

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the US Department of Education's 2024 National Educational Technology Plan. The plan can be accessed at: https://tech.ed.gov/netp/

Things that bring us joy this week:
Kids of Rutherford County podcast
Martyr by Kaveh Akbar

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Episode 184: Don't Get Stuck in the Noun

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0400

This week we are talking about practice (not the Allen Iverson version). We want to dig in a little deeper into why we care so much about practice and how it is different to other ways of characterizing science activity like inquiry, lab skills, or the scientific method.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Search Engine Podcast
One Day on Netflix

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Episode 183: We Do Not Like Them Anywhere

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss educational words, concepts and practices that we hate.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Anatomy of a Fall
Erasure by Percival Everett

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Episode 182: My Manatee Teacher

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about an article about transparence and invisibility that Scott wrote, Ollie was a participant in the research underlying the article and neither of our manatee brains remembers it.

McDonald, S. P. (2016). The Transparent and the Invisible in Professional Pedagogical Vision for Science Teaching. School Science & Mathematics, 116(2), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssm.12156

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Last Repair Shop on Hulu
James Acaster's Repertoire on Netflix

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Episode 181: Talking about a Recognition

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the article from the Journal of Research of Science Teaching (JRST) which is been cited the most over the last three years:

Carlone, H. B., & Johnson, A. (2007). Understanding the science experiences of successful women of color: Science identity as an analytic lens. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(8), 1187-1218.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Poor Things
Magic Jigsaw Puzzles

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Episode 180: A Bucket Full of Lists

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about leadership, mostly in K-12 schools, but also a bit in higher education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
American Fiction
Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching by Jarvis R. Givens

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Episode 179: Back in Our Prime

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Feb 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the role that AI tools should play in the development of beginning researchers. We introduce the following tools:

Elicit
Microsoft Copilot
Claude
LitMaps
Connected papers
Research Rabbit
Consensus

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Holdovers
All of Us Strangers

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Episode 178: Flexing Your Affordances

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 31 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we at least start out talking about learning spaces, both virtual and physical, but we wander a bit from there.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Nuts and Bolts: Seven Small Inventions That Changed the World in a Big Way by Roma Agrawal
The Right Mistake by Walter Mosley

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Episode 177: Stuff We Think We Know

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss "10 Education Studies from 2023 that You Should Know" from Education Week.

https://www.edweek.org/leadership/10-education-studies-you-should-know-from-2023/2023/12?utm_source=nl&utm_medium=eml&utm_campaign=eu&M=8614276&UUID=00e12bd8a61b87f3c64166df19fe4b41&T=11418127

Things that bring us joy this week:
Cerakote Headlight Restoration
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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Episode 176: Stars of Many Colors

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about perfectionism, grades, and systems of evaluation and how they impact learners and us as humans.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Dr. No by Percival Everett

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Episode 175: Not Scott's Bucket List

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

Here, we discuss a recent episode of the podcast, WorkLife with Adam Grant. In that episode, Grant meets with Ivy Ross and Susan Magsamen, the authors of the book "Your Brain on Art." We also chat about research showing the correlation between the arts and award-winning artists.

Arts Foster Scientific Success: Avocations of Nobel, National Academy, Royal Society, and Sigma Xi Members

Things that bring us joy this week:
Jack Reacher Season 2
Slow Horses Season 3

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Episode 174: Outgroup Bucket List

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Jan 2024 08:00:00 -0500

Welcome to 2024! Look at us, we made it. This week we talk outgroup dehumanization and how we put people in buckets of us and them. What is the consequence of our tribal nature has humans and the way that makes us willing to treat people that our not in our tribe in dehumanizing ways?

Adam Grant's Work Life podcast episode with Elliot Aronson

Things that bring us joy this week:
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
Rye Lane on Hulu

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Episode 173: The Show Before the Show

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this special holiday edition, Scott and Ollie record their pointless banter before the show.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Noah Kahan
Great British Baking Show Holidays

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Episode 172: Not Just Nonsense

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the research that we do when we are not talking to each other on the podcast.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sufjan Stevens - Songs for Christmas
Trust by Hernan Diaz

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Episode 171: A Simulating Conversation

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the role of computer simulations in science education.

Some resources we share in this episode:
https://phet.colorado.edu/
https://www.nsta.org/teaching-simulations
https://www.openscied.org/simulation-library/

Things that bring us joy this week:
Advent Calendars
8 Mile Pizza

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Episode 170: Uncomfortable Transitions

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the importance of discomfort in learning. Inspired by reading:

Hidden Potential by Adam Grant

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy
Grapevine Podcast

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Episode 169: Add It Up

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss the NCTM standards and teaching practices and how they compare to the NGSS standards.
NCTM Principles to Action

Things that bring us joy this week:
College Football: Michigan vs. Ohio State
Tootsie Roll Snowballs

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Episode 168: The Holiday Uncle Test

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about The School of Thought, in particular the new Conspiracy Test that asks people to examine their own thinking. We make connections to how students learn and how to have civil conversations at the holidays.

School of Thought
The Conspiracy Test

Things that bring us joy this week:
Holiday Movies, in particular Four Christmases
Scene on Radio, in particular the series Seeing White

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Episode 167: One Query, Two Query, Red Query, Blue Query

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss different ethical scenarios that relate to the use of generative AI in academic situations.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Hadsel by Beirut
The Squirrel and Acorn Bookstore

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Episode 166: Fidelity Landmines

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the complexity of "scaling up," or how we try and spread innovations in practice. We unpack the notion of fidelity and what it means when you want to avoid deficit positioning of learners and hierarchical notions of change.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Banshees of Inisherin
Research Rabbit

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Episode 165: Fallacious Beasts and Where to Find Them

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss logical fallacies and how they apply to science education reform efforts. Some resources from this episode include:
Audible Reckoning: How top political podcasters spread unsubstantiated and false claims (Brookings Institute, 2023)
Some logical fallacies

Things that bring us joy this week:
Hidden Potential by Adam Grant
Make Stuff

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Episode 164: Old and Regular Practices

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the engineering practices, which were added to the science practices as part of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Great British Baking Show on Netflix
Tour de France Unchained on Netflix

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Episode 163: Caught in Charlotte's Web

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we attempt to do a cross-walk between Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching and the Next Generation Science Standards and Ambitious Science Teaching. In our conversation, we draw on the following the documents:

New Jersey's Science Instruction Companion to the Danielson Framework
New Vision for Public Schools' Science Look Fors

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Winners by Fredrik Backman
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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Episode 162: Your Cultural Cookies

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how we talk about the social and political consequences of science as part of what we do in Ambitious Science Teaching classrooms.

Heraclitius - Never step in the same river twice...

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fall/Autumn Weather (Sweater Weather)
Dan Coe Carto

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Episode 161: A Nobel Aspiration

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss who would qualify for a Nobel Prize in Education, if one existed.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Stop Making Sense

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Episode 160: It Just Something Vibrating

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we return to the gapless explanation and how it can help with planning and enactment of teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Adult Kids Moving Out
Chef Reactions

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Episode 159: I'm Julius Sumner Miller...

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In the episode, we discuss Julius Sumner Miller, Professor Wonderful. We specifically examine his work in the following videos:
From the Australian ABC Network: Why is it so? - Tanker truck video
From PBS: Demonstrations in Physics - Centrifugal Force and Other Strange Matters
From The Hilarious House of Frightenstein – The Professor

Things that bring us joy this week:
Hijack on Apple TV+
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

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Episode 158: Do You Want to be a Sibling?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about becoming a new member of a community and how old-timers can support bringing in new folks.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Seth Godin's Blog
The Killing Room by Robert Smartwood

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Episode 157: An Eye on Identity

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk about "professional identity" and how it informs our work in teacher education and science professional development.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The US Open
Theater Camp

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Episode 156: Joys to the World, Vol. 3

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we share our joys for the year in books, movies, apps, games, and more.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Podcast
The Retrievals from Serial Productions
Blank Check with Griffin and David

Books
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Naylar
Scythe

Album / Recording Artist
The Record by boygenius
John Craigie

Game
Elevate
[Connections](Connections)

Application
Obsidian
Goodreads

Movie
Oppenheimer
Barbie

Television Show
Ugliest House in America on HGTV and Max
The Bear on Hulu

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Episode 155: Crafting Syllabi in a Chat GPT World

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss the curricular implications of Chat GPT as we craft our syllabi for the Fall semester. This episode was inspired by a post Ollie wrote on his blog: https://the8blog.wordpress.com/2023/08/15/crafting-syllabi-in-a-chat-gpt-world/

Things that bring us joy this week:
John Mulaney's comedy special, Baby J on Netflix
Heart of Stone on Netflix

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Episode 154: Old Guys Going Off a Cliff

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Mon, 21 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how leaders can do their work and how to organize systems to support that work.
Come Up for Air by Nick Sonnenberg
Enrollment Cliff

Things that bring us joy this week:
Among the Thugs by Bill Buford
They Cloned Tyrone on Netflix

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Episode 153: We Are Not The Destroyers of Worlds

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we talk about Christopher Nolan's movie, Oppenheimer and how science and science education are portrayed.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Oppenheimer

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Episode 152: Sad Statement About Me as a Son

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about professional vision, what it means, and how it helps us understand teacher expertise.

Masquerade by Kit Williams (book that Scott referenced, but could not remember the title of).
Goodwin, C. (1994). Professional Vision. American Anthropologist, 96(3), 606–633. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1994.96.3.02a00100
Rodney King

Things that bring us joy this week:
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin
John Wick Chapter 4

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Episode 151: We Don't Already Do That

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss engineering practices and they're taught (or not) in science classrooms.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Good Night, Oscar
My Brilliant Friend

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Episode 150: Suck the Joy Out of Everything

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the SCOTUS decision about affirmative action and how we think it might impact higher education. We are not legal scholars, or experts at admissions, but we are concerned with how universities can move forward in thinking about diversity.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu, Ken Liu (Translator)
Obsidian

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Episode 149: A Cataclysmic Conversation

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss Richard Fenyman's "cataclysm sentence" and offer some sentences ourselves. This episode was inspired by the RadioLab episode titled The Cataclysm Sentence. To read more about Richard Feynman, check out Richard Feynman on the One Sentence to Be Passed on to the Next Generation

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Diplomat on Netflix
Asteroid City

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Episode 148: In A Special Episode

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This episode we are joined by two of our team doing professional learning around the PA STEELS Standards to talk about what we have learned. Drs. Brett Criswell and Peter Licona are our special guests.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Bear on Hulu
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat
Brooklyn Nine Nine on Peacock
Musikfest in Bethlehem, PA

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Episode 147: To Lead or Not to Lead

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss leadership roles and the critical factors that relationships, trust and agency play.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Secret Invasion
Dear Hank and John

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Episode 146: I Kill the Bit

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about games and simulation and what kind or role they play in science education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Wellword
Osmos+ on the Apple App Store

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Episode 145: Specks of Fish Spawn

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss how the processes of writing and discussion help ideas form.

Meeting the Universe Halfway: Quantum Physics and the Entanglement of Matter and Meaning by Karen Barad

Things that bring us joy this week:
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Carlos Alcaraz

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Episode 144: High Grade Professional Work

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the difference between topic rebuttal and technique rebuttal. Really just a discussion of how to help people change their own minds. The involves a focus on process of how you reached your conclusions rather than focusing on the conclusions themselves when talking with someone about their ideas.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish on Peacock
Killing Moon by Jo Nesbø

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Episode 143: The Little General

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 31 May 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss Chapter 3 of David McRaney's book, How Minds Change and unpack the impact that perception has on our understandings and interpretations of the world.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Appertivo
Great Scoops cookbook

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Episode 142: Always Second Fiddle

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 May 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about what it means to do the relational work of teaching. We unpack what it means to think of teaching as relational rather than transactional and how it plays out for teachers and teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Soul Town on Sirus XM Radio
Why Buddhism is True: The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment by Robert Wright

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Episode 141: Lists are Artificial

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 May 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie revisit and update the advancements of artificial intelligence and discuss its societal and educational impacts.

Things that bring us joy this week:
How It Ends
The Incredible Jessica James

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Episode 140: Not VNOS or D-Man

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 May 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the Nature of Science. A concept that came out of Science Studies and helped us better understand science as a practice.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Collaborative Spotify Playlist
Marvel Snap on iOS

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Episode 139: Some Portion of the Truth

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 May 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss two articles on practice-based teacher education that appeared in an anniversary issue of the Journal of Teacher Education (JTE). To get a flavor of the articles, check out the original article that appeared in the 2012 issue of JTE.

Zeichner, K. (2012). The turn once again toward practice-based teacher education. Journal of teacher education, 63(5), 376-382.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
Elevate app

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Episode 138: Unintentionally Matching Outfits

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about doing equity work with white teachers, especially in context where there are only white people in the room.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Shameless on Showtime
John Craigie

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Episode 137: Dispositional Throwdown

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we debate the concept of dispositions in teacher education. In our discussion, we reference the 2020 NSTA Standards for Science Teacher Preparation and some dispositional documents available on the Penn State College of Educaiton website.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Night Agent
Physical: 100

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Episode 136: Teaching Layer Cake

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 13 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about facilitating different kinds of conversations we engage in because we teach people who teach people. And now in our professional learning work, we are teaching people who are teaching people who are going to teach people science. Lots of layers to this episode.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff
Apple TV

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Episode 135: Researching Epistemic Agency

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss some recent research on epistemic agency in science education. The list includes:

Miller, E., Manz, E., Russ, R., Stroupe, D., & Berland, L. (2018). Addressing the epistemic elephant in the room: Epistemic agency and the next generation science standards. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55(7), 1053-1075. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/tea.21459

Krist, C., Machaka, N., Voss, D., Mathayas, N., Kelly, S., & Shim, S. Y. (2023). Teacher Noticing for Supporting Students’ Epistemic Agency in Science Sensemaking Discussions. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 1-21. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1046560X.2022.2155355

Zhang, J., Tian, Y., Yuan, G., & Tao, D. (2022). Epistemic agency for costructuring expansive knowledge‐building practices. Science Education, 106(4), 890-923. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/sce.21717

Things that bring us joy this week:
DJi Microphones
Banh Mi sandwiches

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Episode 134: Coercive Persuasion

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about minds and how you change them. Specifically, we talk about the introduction to David McRaney's 2022 book How Minds Change.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Blossom
Enchiladas - Recipie from Sauver

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Episode 133: The Agency of Outdated References

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we revisit the concept of agency and discuss how it applies to students, classrooms, schools, and learning.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone
Ted Lasso Season 3

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Episode 132: Umwelt of Podcast Dads

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0400

This week we return to Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education (CRSE) and expand to Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching.

Podcast Bros in th NewYork Times
Umwelt

Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching - Peter Licona, Elizabethtown University
1. Learning about Students (Culture, Interests, Backgrounds, etc.)
2. Drawing on Student Prior Knowledge (Funds of Knowledge, Prior Experiences) to promote learning.
3. Maintaining High Expectations for All Students
4. Creating a Safe Space/Community of Learners Where All Feel Safe to Participate
5. Valuing Cultural and Linguistic Diversity - Framing Cultural and Linguistic Diversity as an Asset

Things that bring us joy this week:
Women Talking
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler

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Episode 131: Obfuscations for Change

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, we discuss Pennsylvania's new teaching competencies for Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education and how they apply to our roles as science teachers.

Culturally-Relevant and Sustaining Education (CR-SE) Program Framework Guidelines

Things that bring us joy this week:
Jack Ryan series on Prime Video
Causeway movie on Apple TV+

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Episode 130: Silver Bullet Pointing Practice

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about where to begin with doing Ambitious Science Teaching and how there are no silver bullets to making a change in practice. We talk about how difficult and slow changes in practice are, but that we need to think deeply about the models that are the foundation of learning to be able to know how to change.

Episode 44: All the Hammers - Discussion of Brown, Collins, andn Duguid (1989)
Zork

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Lifeline+ for iPhone (Sorry Scott called it Afterlife in the episode)

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Episode 129: A Made-Up Sandwich

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the differences between hands-on/minds-on science, discovery learning, inquiry-based instruction, and phenomenon-based science learning.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, MI
King Cake

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Episode 128: Peanut Butter Epistemology

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about personal knowledge management and how we don't manage it as well as we would like. The question is about how do you manage all the infomation that you take in from so many sources (books, websites, journal articles, podcasts, etc.) and keep track of your thinking about them (notes, highlights, connections between these things) in a way that help be a sort of outboard brain. We have no answers, but we have lots of shared struggles.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Last of Us on HBOMax
Fantasy Football (and not just because Ollie won his league)

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Episode 127: From the Audio Bunker

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the ways that school leaders can support change in science education in their schools.

Audio disclaimer: In this episode, Scott had some audio troubles that we couldn't fix in post production.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Shrinking on AppleTV
The Three Body Problem by Cixin Liu

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Episode 126: The Benefits of Regularity

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about our values and how they help us think about the work we do with teachers and students. The list includes: Practice, Stewardship, Relationships, Community, Safety, Curiosity, Evidence-Based, Rigorous, Hospitatlity, Caring, Vulnerabilty, and a Beginner's Mind.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Banshees of Inisherin
The English on Amazon Prime

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Episode 125: Total Mushiness

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie talk about summary tables and how they can be used in science classrooms to scaffold students as they develop evidence-based explanations. Check out the article that Scott co-authored with our colleague, Kraig Wray.

Using Summary Tables to Support Students’ Explanations of Science Phenomena

Things that bring us joy this week:
We were featured in a list of Best Science Podcasts for 2023

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Episode 124: That's not the Process

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the first day of school / class and how you use it to set up norms for the rest of the year. We talk about what good first day practices are including some specific advice for what first days should look like. We also talk about what can go wrong on first days, and what happens when someone doesn't know the process.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Chalk Man: A Novel by C.J. Tudor
Tom Sachs

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Episode 123: Special Electrons

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 09:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss having students generate evidence-based explanations as part of a unit arc. As we've done in other episodes, we draw on the Ambitious Science Teaching practices and specifically discuss Practice 4: Pressing for evidence-based explanations. For more information, check out: https://ambitiousscienceteaching.org/pressing-evidence-based-explanations/

Things that bring us joy this week:
Tree House Brewing Company
Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

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Episode 122: Nerd Sandwich

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about lessons learned in 2022. We talk about A.I. and ChatGPT, but also feedback, building up modeling of teaching from experience, information macronutrients, and the looming teaching shortage.

NYTimes interview with Yejin Choi about A.I.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Nope (and other films by Jordan Peele)
Jammies (butter cookies) [Note: recipe that is similar, but not identical]

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Episode 121: Dr. Calypso Joe

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss navigating the doctoral dissertation process and how oral exams may make a comeback in the post-ChatGPT world.

Things that bring us joy this week:
World Cup Football Finals
All Quiet on the Western Front

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Episode 120: Possibly Fell Asleep

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0500

This week we discuss Edutopia's choices for most impactful research in education.
Edutopia's 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2022

Things that bring us joy this week:
All of Nothing: Aresenal on Amazon Prime
The White Lotus on HBO Max

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Episode 119: Chatting with Chatty G

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the artificial intelligence chatbot named ChatGPT and the implications for education, assessment and so much more. In our discussion, we reference the following:

[Seth Godin's blog post on Attention, Trust and ChatGPT
ChatGPT

Things that bring us joy this week:
Wednesday on Netflix
World Cup 2022

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Episode 118: Aggressive Grading Bunker (The Band)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Dec 2022 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk all things grades, assessment, evaluation and what not. We air our frustrations and dig into how it challenges notions of equity, and the issues around standardized and common assessments. Ollie gets some therapy.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Spotify Wrapped (Ollie's top artist was Stevie Wonder, not Japanese Breakfast)
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

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Episode 117: That's So Extra

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the benefits, opportunities, and potential downsides of extracurricular STEM activities like Science Olympiad and science fairs.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Daytum
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

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Episode 116: Scott McDonald Bingo

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0500

This week we talk about the dimensions of contrast between Ambitious Science Teaching and more traditional status quo teaching. For example, curiousity from AST is in contrast to judgemental in status quo teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Stauffer's Stars (both milk chocolate and dark chocolate)
Kringle Danish Pastry (OH Brand) available from Trader Joe's

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Episode 115: There's Something in the Punchbowl

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie talk about different classroom discourse moves in science class. In the discussion, we draw on the Ambitious Science Teaching Discourse Primer (We can be pronounced as you wish)

Things that bring us joy this week:
Reacher on Amazon Prime
The Big Brunch on HBOmax

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Episode 114: Insert Your Title Here

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0500

This week we the 5 why method to answer why we teach science and why students should learn it.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Infinity Triology from Marvel Comics
You Are Not So Smart Podcast from David McRaney

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Episode 113: Avoiding the Land Mines

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss how science teachers can navigate the teaching of controversial topics like evolution and climate change.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Premier League Soccer
Inciting Joy by Ross Gay

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Episode 112: Community of Scientist in Schools and Beyond

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we do another "magic wand" experiment and transform science education (preK to undergrad, but mostly K-12). We don't mess around and really reconceptualize everything about education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Ultra Podcast by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC
Dr. Who - In particular the Thirteenth Doctor played by Jodie Whittaker

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Episode 111: Magic Wands and Teacher Education

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 12:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss how they would change teacher education if they had the magical power to do so. Midway through the episode, Ollie references an article on how some students are advised away from the teaching profession. The research by Zid Mancenido (2021) can be downloaded at: https://meridian.allenpress.com/her/article-abstract/91/4/433/474202/How-High-Achievers-Learn-That-They-Should-Not

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Sandman series on Netflix
Fall

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Episode 110: Department of Educational Hygiene

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Revisionist History
The Department of Physiological Hygiene

Things that bring us joy this week:
Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North American by Matt Kracht
Andor on Disney+

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Episode 109: Kidnapped to Paragraph Island

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the importance of curricular planning and discuss how big ideas, anchoring events, and storylines can inform the process. For help with curricular planning, check out the Ambitious Science Teaching website.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Making Pasta with Scott Conant
Abbott Elementary Season 2

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Episode 108: Semi-Colon Closure Community

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about closure at the end of lessons and what might be an alternative to closing things down.
Madeline Hunter (Not Danielson, which is what Scott said, but did not mean).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Wet Leg
Shopcraft as Soulcraft: An Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford

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Episode 107: Scientific Literacy and Assorted Stuff

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the evolution of the concept of "scientific literacy" since the introduction of Project 2016 introduced Science for All Americans in the early 1990s.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Spirited Man by Van Neistat
House of the Dragon

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 106: Prolly an Experiment

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how teaching (science) teachers can be like teaching science and how it is different. We talk about the apprenticeship of observation, the two worlds problem, teacher reflection, and making models of teaching. Plus, we shake our fist at something else briefly, not just clouds.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Welcome to Wrexham on Hulu
House Projects - Building a Deck on the Back of the House

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 105: Observing and Questioning

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss how to frame observations of classrooms. Scott introduces two framing questions which provides a guide to consider what different classroom practices engender and communicate.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fantasy Football
The Great Serena Williams

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 104: Joys to the World, Vol. 2

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we did only joys. We chose one thing that brought us joy from a group of different categories.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Podcast
Blank Check with Griffin and David
Phase Zero

Phone App
DuoLingo
SleepWatch

Game
Knotwords by Zach Gage
Wordhunt
Spelling Bee from NYT

TV Show
Reservationi Dogs
The Bear

Movie
Everything, Everwhere, All at Once
UNNUR

Book
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin

Album
Tyler, the Creator
Brandi Carlile In These Silent Days

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Episode 103: Just Not Right

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss how we approach "correct answers" in science classrooms and whether anything is really "right."

Things that bring us joy this week:
Brandi Carlile
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 102: What We Talk About When We Talk About Informal Science Education

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about the long overlooked (by us) context of informal science education. We talk about what it means and how it is the same or different from more traditional formal science education (i.e. classroom science teaching).

Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits
Identifying and Supporting Productive STEM Programs in Out-of-School Settings

Things that bring us joy this week:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Terminal List on Amazon Prime

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 101: Dipping Toes into International Waters

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie talk about the international STEM education and what we can learn (if anything) from the assessment-based comparisons. In the conversation, we draw on data from the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and 2019 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

Things that bring us joy this week:
Bullet Train with Brad Pitt
Sean Carroll's Midscape Podcast

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 100: All About the Prime Space, Cousin

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about direct instruction and what role it takes in ambitious forms of teaching.

Ambitious Science Teaching by Windschitl, Thompson, and Braaten

Things that bring us joy this week:
For the first time ever we have a shared joy - The Bear on FX/Hulu

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 99: If the Future's Online...

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 09:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie revisit a topic from Episode 97 and examine what learning principles should inform an online, educational future.

During the conversation, Scott references "epistemic agency" and cites the following article:

Addressing the epistemic elephant in the room: Epistemic agency and the next generation science standards (Miller et al, 2018)

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fifth Element by N.K. Jemisin
Umbrella Academy Season 3

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Episode 98: Shakes Fist at Cloud

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how much science we need, as citizens, to participate in the public discourse in society and make public decisions. We move from talking about how of science (the processes and practices of science) and talk a bit about the what of science (the normative science understandings).

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Boys - Season 4 on Amazon Prime
Ozark on Netflix

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Episode 97: Is the Future Online?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss recent experiences they've had that communicated that the future of K-12 education through online delivery. We discuss whether this is a realistic and what some of the hurdles schools and families will need to navigate to make that happen. In the episode, we briefly discuss the following:

Adam Grant's Work Live podcast
Modern Classrooms Project

Things that bring us joy this week:
Elie Mystal's book - Allow Me to Retort: A Black Guy's Guide to the Constitution
Top Gun: Maverick

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Episode 96: Not One of My Favorite Numbers

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about culturally relevant science teaching and what that means in terms of connecting to local community issues. We talk about the nature of being responsive as a science teacher and having learning opportunities be connected to local community issues is not a requirement for doing culturally relevant teaching. How do you think about creating curiousity and relevance by building on students' thinking and reasoning when they draw on their own experience and culture.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Under the Banner of Heaven on Hulu
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer

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Episode 95: Why Would Anyone Become a Science Teacher?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the reasons that prospective science teachers should enter the profession.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Thor: God of Thunder - God Butcher series
Sierra Six: A Gray Man Novel by Mark Greaney

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Episode 94: False Sense of Performance

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 23 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about standards, standardizing, and what makes sense to makes sense to standardize and why. Having consistency can help support equity across classes, schools, states, and even the country, but rigid curriculum are not responsive to students. How can we think about having standards (i.e. goals for what all students should know/be able to do), without having solutions that are scripted, decontextualized and disconnected from the local context and community where students live?

Things that bring us joy this week:
Ronin by Frank Miller
Middlewest by Skottie Young

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Episode 93: Filiopietism

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie talk about the shifts that school leaders need to make to better support science teachers adopting Next Generation Science Standards. In the discussion, we introduce the NGSS-aligned Danielson Framework and discuss some of the markers for administrators to look for.

NGSS-aligned Danielson Framework
[NGSS: An Overview for Principals](extgenscience.org/sites/default/files/resource/files/NGSS Overview for Principals_0.pdf)
What school building administrators should know about the new vision for K-12 science education

Things that bring us joy this week:
This American Life podcast
Nice Try podcast

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Episode 92: Doctor Cranky Pants

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Gallager
Carrot Top
5E Model (Bybee, R. W., Taylor, J. A., Gardner, A., Van Scotter, P., Powell, J. C., Westbrook, A., & Landes, N. (2006). The BSCS 5E instructional model: Origins and effectiveness. Colorado Springs, Co: BSCS, 5, 88-98.)
The Actual Professor Cranky Pants - Bill Sandoval

Things that bring us joy this week:
Doom Patrol on HBO Max
Everything Everywhere All at Once

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Episode 91: A Preacher, A Politician and A Prosecutor Walk into a Bar...

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the dispositional stance that teachers and students must adopt to be successful in classes built on student exploration of ideas and explanations. We draw on Adam Grant's book Think Again as well as recent episode of Against the Rules.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Joining a Community Band
The Punisher on Disney+

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Episode 90: How & Why and Sometimes What

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Epistemic Agency

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness
Limonchello - Unfortunately you can't have Ollie's artisanal limonchello, but still, you can get some.

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind

Episode 89: You Can't Open the Box

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss uncertainty in science and ways we can teach it in the science classroom. During the discussion, we refer to a recent article which examines trustworthiness and uncertainity in science.

Covitt, B.A., Anderson, C.W. Untangling Trustworthiness and Uncertainty in Science. Sci & Educ (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11191-022-00322-6

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Moon Knight on Disney+

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Episode 88: The Model is NOT the Thing

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 12 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Continuing with themes of the show, Ollie and Scott talk about models in their many forms in science and their relationship to the world and scientific phenomena. We also talk about the difference between students' models/explanations that they create and their relationship to cannonical science models/explanations.

Atomic Models

Things that bring us joy this week:
Julia
Peacemaker on HBO Max

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Episode 87: What We Do as Academics

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Fri, 06 May 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the differences between explanation and argumentation as practices in science classes. We also dig into the common "CER" model of argumentation which scaffolds students through Claims, Evidence, and Reasoning to make evidence-based arguments.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Word Hunt on Game Pigeon
Sage Solitaire
FlipFlop Solitaire

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Episode 86: The Illusion of Control

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Disciplined Improvisation - Sawyer, R. K. (2004). Creative teaching: Collaborative discussion as disciplined improvisation. Educational researcher, 33(2), 12-20.
Principled Improvisation - Philip, T. M. (2019). Principled improvisation to support novice teacher learning. Teachers College Record, 121(6), 1-32.
Rumblestrip the Podcast

Things that bring us joy this week:
Primanti Brothers - OG Locations - 1832 East Carson Street and 2 Market Square
Turning Red on Disney +

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Episode 85: Don't Call it a Comeback

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie return after an unexpected hiatus to discuss a recent episode of the Against the Rules podcast. The episode, titled Field of Ignorance, explores how data is used (and misused) in baseball. We discuss how this relates to our work as teachers.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fear of the Dawn by Jack White
Abbott Elementary

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Episode 84: Exacerbated Exasperation

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 08:00:00 -0400

Things that bring us joy this week:
Station Eleven
Marvel Unlimited

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Episode 83: An Evergreen Effort?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we conclude our series discussing A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices,
Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012). Specifically, we dig into equitable practices in science education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Radiolab Episode: The Helen Keller Exorcism
White Folks by Timothy J. Lensmire

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Episode 82: Almost Professional (Disciplinary Core) Ideas

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Ollie and Scott discuss the disciplinary core ideas in the NRC's A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012).

Things that bring us joy this week:
National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Adam Project on Netflix

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Episode 81: Frosted Tips Are Not a CCC

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Ollie and Scott discuss the cross cutting concepts in the NRC's A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace by David G. Smith and W. Brad Johnson
Project Hail Mary by Adam Weir

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Episode 80: Dropping Names

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0500

This week, Scott and Ollie dig into the NRC Framework and discuss Science and Engineering Practices as they're framed in the Next Generation Science Standards.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Free Guy
Batman Hush

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Episode 79: Framing the Framework

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Ollie and Scott discuss the big ideas and shifts in the NRC's A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Creating Wicked Students by Paul Handstedt
Jackass Forever

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Episode 78: Talkin' Bout Practice!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Ollie and Scott discuss the science and engineering practices in the NRC's A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (2012).

Things that bring us joy this week:
Olympics Games
Trojan Horse Affair

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Episode 77: A Shared Dislike

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss one of teachers' favorite topics: classroom management. In our discussion, we challenge the traditional conceptualization and offer ways to reframe the concept in more student-centered and relational ways. In our discussion, Ollie references the Science of Happiness podcast and an episode where a specific meditation practice is outlined. If you're interested, check out: When It’s Time to Face Your Fears

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Morning Show
Dave Grohl's Storyteller

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Episode 76: Not a Numbered List Show

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0500

Science Book We Love:
Scott's Picks:
Surely You're Joking Mr. Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
The Song of the Dodo: Island Biogeography in an Age of Extinctions by David Quammen
The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks (also Awakenings)
Weapons of Math Destruction: How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy by Cathy O'Neil
The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

Ollie's Picks:
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
The Martian by Andy Weir
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

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Episode 75: Monkey Business in the Metaverse

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss learning progressions for science teacher professional development. In our discussion, we draw heavily on the article titled Proposing a core set of instructional practices and tools for teachers of science (Windschitl et al, 2012).

If you're under 30 and want to know what the game Barrel of Monkeys is, check out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrel_of_Monkeys

Things that bring us joy this week:
Tender Bar on Amazon Prime
This is Your Mind on Plants by Michael Pollan

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Episode 74: Believable or Accurate (To Some Degree)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0500

Ollie's Picks:
Hidden Figures
Inherit the Wind
Fat Man and Little Boy
The Martian
Apollo 13

Scott's Picks:
Interstellar
The Andromeda Strain
Primer
Arrival
Close Encounters of the Third Kind

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Episode 73: A Meta Effort

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0500

This week, Scott and Ollie unpack their thoughts about teacher professional development and how sensemaking can be used as a tool to promote sensemaking as an instructional practice. For more information, check out NSTA's sensemaking site.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Radio Lab's Mixtape project
Merlin Mann's Wisdom Project

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Episode 72: At the Very End of the Long Tail

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0500

C2AST - Cultural and Critical Ambitious Science Teaching in the Science Teacher - Thompson, Mawyer, Johnson, and Luehmann.
NGSS Appendix D
NSTA Equity Centered Sensemaking

Things that bring us joy this week:
Butterhorns [Not MY Grandmothers recipe, but close]
1971 - The Year that Music Changed Everything on Apple TV+

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Episode 71: Lessons Learned for 2022

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie look back at 2021 and what we've learned that we can apply to the new year ahead. In our discussion, we review some of the challenges from the year with the hope of seeing them as lessons for a better 2022.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Nobody movie
Spiderman: No Way Home movie

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Episode 70: Stealing Student Agency

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0500

Fact Check: Hanna-Barbera, Sid & Marty Krofft

Things that bring us joy this week:
Christmas Lights
Movies (Maybe Oscar Nominees?) - Power of the Dog, The Unforgivable, Passing, Bruised.

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Episode 69: Agency All The Way Down

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie answer the question "Why are we still doing that?" We look at K-12 science classrooms and identify practices and habits that the educational community continues to do, despite reforms and evidence that suggest otherwise.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The 8 Blog
Westworld

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Episode 68: To Express, Not To Know

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0500

Special Guest: Dr. Leslie Gates, Associate Professor of Art Education, Millersville University Personal Website

Papermaking
Art 21

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dori's Cookies by Dori Greenspan - In particular, Macrons (Homemade)
Cactus Blooms
Leftovers

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Special Guest: Leslie Gates.

Episode 67: Finding Fish That Don't Exist

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the world of educational research and "what counts." The discussion was prompted by a conference panel discussion that Ollie participated in where the work of Robert Slavin was commemorated. In the episode, we discuss Slavin's work and the What Works Clearinghouse as well as work by John Hattie.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Group Tabs in Safari
Five Second Rule

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Episode 66: Montillating Our Traxoline

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 08:00:00 -0500

Montillation of Traxoline

Things that bring us joy this week:
OECD Schooling During a Pandemic: The Experience and Outcomes of Schoolchildren During the First Round of COVID-19 Lockdowns
APA Historical Chronology: Examining psychology’s contributions to the belief in racial hierarchy and perpetuation of inequality for people of color in U.S.

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Episode 65: Not Bob's Traveling Show

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss different features of substantive and impactful professional development for teachers.

Things that bring us joy this week:
What happened Ms. Simone? on Netflix
Throughline : The Deep History of Dune

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Episode 64: Surrounded by Smarter Friends

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0500

Committee of Ten
Physics First

Things that bring us joy this week:
Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples
How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Katy Milkman

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Episode 63: Total Dumbness and Horoscopes

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the standardization movement and why schools and disciplines have content standards.
NRC Framework for K-12 Science Education
Next Generation Science Standards
National Science Education Standards
Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards
Pennsylvania State Science, Technology, Environment, and Ecology Standards

Things that bring us joy this week:
South Lake Podcast
Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller

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Episode 62: Free as in Beer (not as in Speech)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Open Educational Resources (OER)
Linux
Wikipedia
Public Domain
Public Domain Day
Lawrence Lessig and Creative Commons
Wisdom of Crowds
C. Lee Giles and Cite Seer X
OER Commons
Open SCIED

Things that bring us joy this week:
Book Stores (in Scott's case: Webster's Bookstore and Cafe, State College, PA)
Sex Education on Netflix

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Episode 61: From Curb Cuts to Classrooms

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and how it can help to make learning more inclusive. Built on the concepts of "Universal Design" in architecture, UDL focuses on a series of practices that can inform our design of learning environments, resources and assessments.

Universal Design for Learning

Things that bring us joy this week:
Michigander
Harry Styles

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Episode 60: This IS What The People Come For

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400

We take a break from the talk about inclusive practices for an episode to talk about what we like and what we hate about conferencing.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Dresden Files Novels by Jim Butcher
Squid Game on Netflix

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Episode 59: Pocket Full of Questions

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss pressing for evidence-based explanations. As the final set of practices in Ambitious Science Teaching, this phase involves helping students construct a final, evidence-based explanatory model for the phenomenon. As we discuss this practice, we also talk more generally about the powerful impact of asking good questions and how we support new teachers' development.

Near the end, we briefly discuss work by Jessica Thompson, Elham Kazemi and Magdalene Lampert. Some articles to check out include:
Practice Makes Practice: Learning to Teach in Teacher Education
Learning Teaching in, from, and for Practice: What Do We Mean?

Things that bring us joy this week:
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead / the Wonder Years reboot
Bodywork / Massage Therapy

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Episode 58: Not The Nonsense You Came For

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Ambitious Science Teaching
Supporting On-Going Thinking Practices

Things that bring us joy this week:
Reservation Dogs on FX via Hulu
After Life on Netflix

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Episode 57: Not Scott's Age. Or Episode 56

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode (which is actually episode 57), we dig further into inclusive practices and discuss the second phase of Ambitious Science Teaching (AST): eliciting student ideas.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Spanish Model by Elvis Costello
Lift Hydrofoil Surfboard

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Episode 56: The Big Umbrella

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Ambitious Science Teaching
Universal Design for Learning
Open Educational Resources

Things that bring us joy this week:
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
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Episode 55: Good Things Come in Threes

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this final episode in our "teacher education trilogy," Scott and Ollie discuss the current preparation programs at their institutions and how their design was informed by research.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Marvel's What if...? on Disney +
Longwood Gardens

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Episode 54: My Minion, Not My Lackey

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Invisible College
Professional Development Schools
The Nine Essentials
edTPA

Things that bring us joy this week:
Live Music - Green Day, Weezer, and Fall Out Boy
Maintenance Phase Podcast

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Episode 53: Ten Thousand Hours Ago

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie share their experiences with their teacher education programs and their mentors. Since many universities are starting their fall semesters, it prompted Scott & Ollie to talk about their education and preparation as science teachers.

During their discussion, they bring up the concept of "Ten Thousand Hours" which was discussed in Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers. For more information on this, check out: Can 10,000 hours of practice make you an expert? or

Things that bring us joy this week:
99% Invisible Podcast
AAA

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Episode 52: Joy to the World

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Things that bring us joy this week:

Podcast
Back to Work / Reconsiliable Differences / Roderick on the Line (Podcasts in the Merlin Mann(iverse)
Phase Zero Podcast

Smartphone App
Duolingo
Ten Percent Happier

Streamable Series
Ted Lasso on Apple TV+
Letterkenny on Hulu

Movie
Sound of Metal
The Old Guard

Book - Entertainment
Deadly Education
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

Book - Professional
Meeting the Universe Halfway by Karen Barad
On Being a Mentor by W. Brad Johnson

Favorite SIB Episode
Ep. 48: Haters Have Got to Hate (Or Do They?)
Ep. 22: The Hero Teacher, But Not THAT One

Favorite SIB Episode Title
Episode 7: Death March with Fun Sauce
Episode 26: Poo Poo the Recurring Character

Favorite Joy of the Joys
Qwirkle
Watchmen on HBO

Favorite New (or new to you) Musical Artist
Japenese Breakfast
Amythyst Kiah

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Episode 51: Harumph!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In the penultimate episode of season 1, we dig deeper into phenomenon-based teaching and what it would look like in classroom settings. In our discussion, we introduce the book Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni as a way to highlight how people react when presented with radically new ideas. You can check out the book at: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/101915/fish-is-fish-by-leo-lionni/

Things that bring us joy this week:
Allison and all of our listeners! As we finish season one of this podcast, we appreciate all of you who are listeners. You bring us joy!

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Episode 50: Mahna Mahna Do Do Do Do Do

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Fri, 13 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Albert Bandura
Phenomena by the Muppets
The tanker lesson on AST website.
Bill and Ted Meet Socrates

Things that bring us joy this week:
Great Pottery Throwdown on HBO Max
Olympics - 3 on 3 Basketball

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Episode 49: Not about Pornography, Eugenics or Psychopathy

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we finish up our discussion of pedagogical content knowledge and examine the larger impacts (and unintended consequences) of measuring things. Along the way, we discuss several books and podcasts including:
Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil
Algorithms of Oppression by Safiya Umoja Noble
The Psychopath Test on This American Life

Things that bring us joy this week:
Ted Lasso, Season 2 on Apple TV+
McCartney 3, 2, 1 on Hulu

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Episode 48: Haters Have Got to Hate (or Do They?)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Spawn
I Care a Lot
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Lee Shulman's seminal 1986 article, Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching.

"Whatever exists at all exists in some amount. To know it thoroughly involves knowing its quantity as well as its quality." - Edward L. Thorndike. (1918). The nature, purposes, and general methods of measurements of educational products. Chapter II in G.M. Whipple (Ed.), The Seventeenth yearbook of the National Society for Study of Education. Part II. The Measurement of Educational Products. Bloomington, IL: Public School Publishing Co. p. 16.
Weapons of Math Destruction by Cathy O'Neil

Things that bring us joy this week:
Meditation and apps to help like, Calm, Headspace, or Ten Percent
The Summer of Soul on Hulu

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 47: Scott's Swear Jar

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we discuss Lee Shulman's seminal 1986 article, Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching. The article introduced the concept of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) and we discuss the broader impacts of the concept on the field of education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Black Widow on Disney+
Peaky Blinders on Netflix

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Episode 46: Not All Friends of the Show

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Things that bring us joy this week:
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Electric Townie Bikes

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 45: Our Mid-Life Crisis Episode

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this week's episode, we discuss the research on learning progressions in science education by examining two articles. The first article is from Hammer & Sikorski (2015) which examines the implications of complexity for research on learning progressions. The second article outlines a way that learning progressions can be used as a tool for curriculum development.

References:
Hammer, D., & Sikorski, T. R. (2015). Implications of complexity for research on learning progressions. Science Education, 99(3), 424-431.
Wiser, M., Smith, C. L., & Doubler, S. (2012). Learning progressions as tools for curriculum development: Lessons from the Inquiry Project. In Learning progressions in science (pp. 357-403). Brill Sense.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sweet Tooth on Netflix
Part 2 of Lupin on Netflix
Kubb

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Episode 44: We are not the Borg

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this week's episode, we discuss Posner, Strike, Hewson, and Getzog's paper on conceptual change and the theory's impact on science education.
Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W., & Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change. Science education, 66(2), 211-227.

As we discuss the article, we also mention the 1987 movie A Private Universe which had a huge impact on the field of science education in the 80's.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sweettooth on Netflix
Peanut Butter Covered JoJo's

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Episode 43: Heroes, Villians, and Apprentices

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this week's episode, we continue our examination of different learning theories and theorists and dig into Situated Learning: Legitimate Peripheral Participation by Lave and Wenger. The book examines how different cultures and professions enculturate newcomers into their communities of practice.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Japanese Breakfast - Be Sweet
Mare of Easttown
Check out Saturday Night Live's Durder Murder skit

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Episode 42: Confronting Your Own IRE

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about Jay Lemke's book about how students and teachers talk science in classrooms. In particular, how he identified issues of power and control by teachers as well as a way to analyze classroom talk as a way to understand learning.

Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values by Jay Lemke
Initiate/Respond/Evaluate (IRE) pattern of classroom talk - Sinclair, J. M., Sinclair, J. M., & Coulthard, M. (1975). Towards an analysis of discourse: The English used by teachers and pupils. Oxford University Press, USA.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Z Library - A resource for books and articles.
The Missing Course by David Gooblar

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 41: All the Hammers

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 08:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we continue our learning theory conversation by digging into the seminal article by Brown, Collins and Duguid that popularized the term "cognitive apprenticeship."

Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning. Educational Researcher, 18(1), 32–42.

Midway through the episode, Scott discusses MC Hammer involvement in a recent discussion about science and philosophy. You read more about it here.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Gutterballs: The Big Lebowski Deepcast (Episode 1)
Pangram App

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 40: Happy Dewey Day

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 06:00:00 -0400

We begin a conversation about learning theory with the great John Dewey.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Slow Burn Podcast from Slate
The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 39: Transitions and Manifestations

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 26 May 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we transition from our discussion on design principles and learning spaces and into an examination of different learning theories that have impacted our work and the way we see the world.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Lupin on Netflix
Middleditch and Schwartz on Netflix

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 38: Tools are Embedded in Practice

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Things that bring us joy this week:
Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney +
Invincible on Comixology and Amazon Prime

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 37: Self Deprecating but Accurate

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 12 May 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In this episode, we continue our exploration of design principles for learning spaces and introduce our third design principle: learning spaces should have a changeable center.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Mr. Miracle
Sunny Rowing Machine

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 36: Architecturally Agnostic

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 05 May 2021 08:00:00 -0400

Cinco de Mayo

Things that bring us joy this week:
Nomadland
Wooden Boats: In Pursuit of the Perfect Craft at an American Boatyard by Michael Ruhlman

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 35: Not Messing Around On the Fringes

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In episode 35, we start our dive into design principles that can inform the creation and use of learning environments. While this will be the start of a several episode arc where we discuss different design principle, in this episode, we discuss why design principles are important and what we mean when we use the term "learning spaces."

In our introduction, we discuss "disciplined improvisation" and how it connects to teaching. Check out this article by R. Keith Sawyer.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Smartless Podcast
Sound of Metal

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 34: The Prime Directive(s) on a Napkin

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Teaching Naked: How Moving Technology Out of Your College Classroom Will Improve Student Learning by José Antonio Bowen
Never Send a Human to do a Machine's Job by Yong Zhao

Things that bring us joy this week:
Beartown on HBO Max
What I talk about when I talk about running by Haruki Murakami

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 33: Stupid things... And we love them.

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 06:00:00 -0400

This week, we discuss the things that we learned from the pandemic and the things we hope get carried forward. Or not. In one section, we share a quote from Dr. Teresa Thayer Snyder, a retired superintendent from upstate New York. Dr. Snyder writes:

" When the children return to school, they will have returned with a new history that we will need to help them identify and make sense of. When the children return to school, we will need to listen to them. Let their stories be told. They have endured a year that has no parallel in modern times. There is no assessment that applies to who they are or what they have learned. Remember, their brains did not go into hibernation during this year. Their brains may not have been focused on traditional school material, but they did not stop either. Their brains may have been focused on where their next meal is coming from, or how to care for a younger sibling, or how to deal with missing grandma, or how it feels to have to surrender a beloved pet, or how to deal with death. Our job is to welcome them back and help them write that history.”

The full text can be found on Diane Ravitch's site.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Magic Playlist on Spotify
Domi and JD Beck - Sniff

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 32: Three Claps for the Big Dog

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In the final episode on our series on the Cross Cutting Concepts, we examine Energy and Matter. Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)
Energy and Matter Grade Level Progression
Research on Drawings of Energy
Discussion Prompts
Teaching Energy Across the Sciences, K-12 from NSTA Press
Systems, transfer, and fields: Evaluating a new approach to energy instruction

Things that bring us joy this week:
The White Stripes Greatest Hits
Tim Harford's Data Detective and Cautionary Tales Podcast

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 31: Introducing the Rapper Izzy New

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 06:00:00 -0400

In the penultimate episode on our series on the Cross Cutting Concepts, we examine Systems and Systems Modeling. Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)

Systems Graphic Organizer from Bozeman Science

Looking for prompts to talk about systems and systems modeling in your class, check out: http://stemteachingtools.org/assets/landscapes/STEM-Teaching-Tool-41-Cross-Cutting-Concepts-Prompts.pdf

Jon Stewart lampoons climate change deniers on The Daily Show

Things that bring us joy this week:
Gray, R., McDonald, S., & Stroupe, D. (in press). What you find depends on how you see: Examining asset and deficit perspectives of preservice science teachers’ knowledge and learning. Studies in Science Education.
Breville Smart Scoop

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 30: Not FULL of Dad Jokes

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)
Cross Cutting Prompts
Perplexity - John Dewey

Things that bring us joy this week:
Letterkenny on Netflix
Meeting the Universe Halfway by Karen Barad

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 29: No One Says Dummy Head

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 06:00:00 -0400

Part of our series on the different Cross Cutting Concepts, this week we examine Stability and Change.
Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)

Andrés Acher Modeling Research and Transformation Boxes in Biology. [Briefly, all things in Biology can be represented as "boxes" of inputs (energy, matter, and information) and outputs of the same three things that are transformed.]

Research on students' developmental understanding of equilibrium

Research on shifts from force-dynamic language in science

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab
A Beginner's Guide to Snow Shoeing

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 28: Former Junior Engineer

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)
NGSS Structure/Function Progression Chart
Science Frames
Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman
Science of Cycology
Cognitive Gadgets by Cecilia Heyes

Things that bring us joy this week:
Blown Away on Netflix
Girl, Woman, Other: A Novel by Bernardine Evaristo

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 27: Definitely Not Luke Skywalker

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 06:00:00 -0500

As part of our on-going discussion of the Cross Cutting Concepts in the NGSS, we examine Scale, Proportion and Quantity in this week's episode. We discuss the challenges with teaching these concepts and provide some solutions as well. Here are some of the resources we share in this episode:

Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)
Powers of Ten
Zoom Book by Istvan Banyai

We also discuss some research on students' challenge with scale including:
Tretter, T.R., Jones, M.G., Andre, T., Negishi, A., & Minogue, J. (2006). Conceptual boundaries and distances: Students’ and experts’ concepts of the scale of scientific phenomena. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 43 (3), 282–319.

Which can be downloaded at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/tea.20123?casa_token=TJTH1B_5jXAAAAAA:fW0AYI2ESZkLFLsXBKlG8XkHPott2cP_yByYTPQCj5VmuhWBAYRbOAfG_YBerLp1U9Y-1NirfqaUqPFbOg

In our discussion, we compare how the students' development sense of scale can be compared to science knowledge outlined in A Private Universe

Need some prompts for talking scale, proportion and quantity with your students? Check out: http://stemteachingtools.org/assets/landscapes/STEM-Teaching-Tool-41-Cross-Cutting-Concepts-Prompts.pdf

Things that bring us joy this week:
Premier League Soccer
The Flight Attendant on HBOMax

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Links:

Conceptual boundaries and distances: Students' and experts' concepts of the scale of scientific phenomena - Tretter - 2006 - Journal of Research in Science Teaching - Wiley Online Library

Episode 26: Poo Poo the Recurring Character

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Next Generation Science Standards
Cross Cutting Concepts (pdf download)
Causal Patterns Research
Six Causal Patterns
Also, Ollie agrees with Scott (duly noted).

Things that bring us joy this week:
500 Rum/Rummy
Song Exploder on Netflix and as a podcast

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Links:

Song Exploder: A Netflix Documentary Series

Episode 25: Metaphorical Rabbit Holes

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 12:00:00 -0500

This week, Scott and Ollie introduce the Cross Cutting Concepts and their role in the Next Generation Science Standards. The episode kicks off a several episode arc where we discuss the different Cross Cutting Concepts and how we can incorporate them into our teaching.

Next Generation Science Standards
NGSS Crosscutting Concepts

Coalition of Essential Schools

Things that bring us joy this week:
Lego - Yoda
Bob's Burger's Clue Game

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 24: The Grande Finale

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 12:00:00 -0500

Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown

Horizon Report

Things that bring us joy this week:
Definitely Maybe (2008)
The Manifesto for Teaching Online

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 23: Fan Boys with Disagreements

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 12:00:00 -0500

This week, we discuss Chapter 7 of Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown. The chapter examines the strengths and weaknesses in the policies and practices in the field of science education.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Occulus Quest
Scene on Radio - In particular the most recent season (3) focused on Democracy, and the first season about whiteness.

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 22: Hero Teacher, But Not THAT One

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 13:00:00 -0500

Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Hot Ones
Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 21: Outsiders and Turning 21

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0500

This week, Science in Between turns 21. In this episode, we discuss Chapter 5 in Bryan Brown's book:
Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown The chapter examines how closely intertwined language and identity are and how being outside a discourse community creates stress that can impact learning.

Cockney Rhyming Slang

Things that bring us joy this week:
Jackbox Games in particular T.K.O., Trivia Murder Party, and Quiplash.
Derry Girls on Netflix

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 20: Out With The Bad Air

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0500

Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown

Things that bring us joy this week:
Caves of Steel by Issac Azimov
Poetry for Neanderthals

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 19: Lessons Learned for 2021

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 12:00:00 -0500

This week, we take a momentary break from our podcast book club and reflect on 2020. Scott and Ollie discuss the lessons they've learned from the wild, disruptive year and what we can apply to the new year ahead.

As always, in this episode, we disucss a bunch of stuff including the Hidden Brain podcast, in particular, When You Start to Miss Tony in Accounting, Cal Newport and Kubb

Things that bring us joy this week:
Sunderland 'Til I Die on Netflix
Stevie Wonder's Songs on the Key of Life and Talking Book

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 18: Whorfian Complidiss

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown

Benajmin Lee Whorf

Worf

Curveballs

Things that bring us joy this week:
Dune by Frank Herbert
Harley Quinn Series on HBO Max

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 17: Guess What's In My Head

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown

Talking Science: Language, Learning, and Values by Jay Lemke

Things that bring us joy this week:
Mandalorian on Disney Plus
Sonos The Encyclopedia of Bittany Radio Show

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 16: That Stereotype is Indexical

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Queen's Gambit on Netflix
Revisionist History with Malcolm Gladwell

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Bonus Episode: Join Our In-Between Book Club

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 09:00:00 -0500

Starting with episode 16, we'll be reading Science in the City: Culturally Relevant STEM Education by Bryan Brown. Join us as we examine how language and culture matter for effective science teaching. Over the next several episodes, we'll be reading a chapter a week. We hope you'll join us on this "In-Between Book Club."

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 15: Dropping the Milieu

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 13:00:00 -0500

In our discussion on engaging students, we cover a lot of territory and drop lots of resources. The concept of control value theory can be found in The Spark of Learning by Sarah Rose Cavanagh and in How People Learn II: Learners, Contexts and Cultures by the National Academies Press.

If you're interested in Hank Green, check out his website where he bills himself as a "science communicator." Hank and his brother John Green (the author) also started Crash Course and SciShow.

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Old Guard Vol. 2: Force Multiplied
American Utopia on HBO Max

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 14: Show Me Your Core Competencies

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Things that bring us joy this week:
Fargo (The TV show, Season 4) on FX
Watchmen on HBO

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 13: The Nerdiest Draft Ever!

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Our top picks for content students need to learn in science:

Ollie - HS-ETS1-3
Scott - HS-ESS2-4
Ollie - HS-LS2-8
Scott - HS-LS2-2
Ollie - HS-LS4-5
Scott - HS-LS4-1
Ollie - HS-ETS1-1
Scott - HS-ESS3-3
Ollie - HS-LS2-7
Scott - HS-PS1-2

To see the specific standards, check out the Next Generation Science Standards

Radiolab Podcast - Fungus Among Us Episode

Things that bring us joy this week:
The Adventure Zone
Boy Pablo - in particular, "Hey Girl"

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Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 12: Fear the E

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500

How do you talk with kids about their ideas and how do you use questions to support their learning?

Initiate - Response - Evaluate pattern of talk is a class in classroom discourse. The teacher asks a question for which they have a specific answer in mind, a student answers, and the teacher evaluates that response. This pernicious pattern leaves kids without a sense of agency in their own science learning. It has only become harder to avoid this in our new remote focused world of teaching.

How might popcicle sticks change your game? How can you use other modes of participation or tools to bring more students into the conversation?

Things that bring us joy this week:
Anthropocene Reviewed
Adobe Scan App

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 11: Plum Pudding and Fools' Errands

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the challenges with assessment in face-to-face and online classrooms. While the conversation begins with an observation Ollie makes of his son's math class, the scope broadens to explore why we assess and how we assess to better reflect reform-minded teaching.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Mission to Zyxx
Gideon Falls

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 10: N is National not Next

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Teaching K-12 Science and Engieering During a Crisis - National Academies Press
They articulate four key principles:
1) Maintain a focus on the Framework’s vision for high quality science and engineering education;
2) Prioritize relationships, equity, and the most vulnerable students;
3) Families and communities are critical assets for science and engineering learning;
4) Adjusting to changing learning environments and recovering from disrupted learning as an ongoing process that takes time.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Bob's Burgers
The Boys on Amazon Prime based on The Boys comicbook

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 9: Phenomena (Do do do do do)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 12:00:00 -0400

This week, the dynamic duo (Scott and Ollie) discuss how critical phenomena are to ambitious and equitable science education and how it helps us go beyond "moving the chairs around." In our discussion, Scott critiques the use of Zombie Ants as a "fun" phenomenon to engage students in science. We use this discussion as a springboard into a larger conversation about how we select phenomena around which to build units in our face-to-face and online classrooms.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Ted Lasso on Apple TV+
Grey Man Series

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 8: Up Your Explanatory Quotient

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 12:00:00 -0400

This week we talk about how to think about the laboratory experience in online, remote, and mixed mode environments. What is the difference between things that can't normally be done in a classroom that you might use even in face to face environments, and things that are replacements for thing that you would have done face to face where you are using video to show the procedure of a lab and then giving students access to date. The key is to provide experiences that open up opportunities for kids to reason about phenomena, not just follow a procedure.

Here are some key resources for supporting investigations in online science teaching:

Concord Consortium
PhET Simulations
MERLOT
Hippocampus

We are working on a website with an annotated clearinghouse of resources that we have vetted. Hope to have it up soon.

Things that bring us joy this week:
Qwirkle
Ticket to Ride
Bananagrams
Chronology

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 7: Death March with Fun Sauce

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 16:00:00 -0400

Prompted by an activity that Ollie did with one of his classes, Ollie and Scott discuss their "origin stories" and detail how they became teachers. As Scott explains early in the episode, we deconstruct these stories to examine the bigger question "What do we teach?" Students? Or content? Both?

Things that bring us joy this week:
East of West
Documentary Now; In particular, Season 1 episode named "A Town, A Gangster, A Festival".

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 6: The Continuity Caveat

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 12:00:00 -0400

First, we are in a time where there is absolutely no continuity in how class time is organized, so how do you think about structuring class. Second, we have a long-standing over emphasis in schools on curriculuar continuity - every lesson is its own thing, and this leads to its own kind of disconnection. Standardization and consistency is in tension with individuality and responsiveness. We say, just like Frozen - Let it Go. Try thinking about continuity at different grain-sizes and make your goal the development of a community of science learners. Think in new ways and free yourself of old ideas about the linearity of time.

Comma Separated Value (.csv) file

Things that bring us joy this week:
TrailLink
Biking - nothing to recommend except to go out and do it. Can look at Strava.

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 5: Three Ps in a Pod(cast)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0400

In this episode, Scott and Ollie discuss the Processes, Principles, and Practices that inform the integration of technology into our face-to-face, online and remotes classrooms. We share a some "design principles" about creating effective learning environments that are embedded in learning theory. We also promised that we'd include the definition of "reify" in the show notes:

reify (verb) - to make (something abstract) more concrete or real.

Things that bring us joy:
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Nina SImone

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Legally_Blind)
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 4: Zoom Fatigue is Real

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0400

We talk about how to think about supporting science teachers as they learn and also the complexities of managing groups of learners in a remote context. We also address some of the issues of digital records of learning and the implications of the shift to remote contexts. We recognize that getting coherence in this brave new world is hard and that technology is often built on outdated models of learning.

Things we mention:
State of Illinois Remote Learning Recommendations

Things that bring us joy:
The Old Guard Graphic Novel
The Old Guard Movie

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Legally_Blind)
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 3: Grouping (in Between)

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0400

In this discussion of virtual and face-to-face grouping in science classes, Scott and Ollie examine some practices that promote more participation in online spaces. Beyond an "esoteric" analysis of online interaction, we discuss how we use different technologies to get groups of students to engage with one another and with course content.

Links to things we mention in this episode:
The reason Zoom class drain your energy
What is a CSV file?
Moore's Theory of Transactional Distance

In each episode, we share "things that bring us joy." This week, that includes:
Oceanhorn 2
Leaders Eat Last

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Legally_Blind)
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 2: Not a Problemtunity for You

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0400

We discuss the sage on the stage, the guide on the side, and our own variation the coach on the bench and what this means for who does the hard work of the science thinking in science classrooms. We also talk about how COVID is an example of how science really works, but it is happening in a public way.

Things that bring us joy:
Memory Palace Podcast
Cautionary Tales Podcast

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Legally_Blind)
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon

Episode 1: In-Between What?

sbmcdon@mac.com (Scott McDonald and Ollie Dreon) — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 12:00:00 -0400

As we start this adventure, we discuss the challenges facing schools and science educators during the pandemic. As we move to online instruction in more schools, what does science teaching look like? How do our roles as science teachers change? We don't necessarily have the answers but we think we're asking the right questions and offering some thoughts.

We also share "things that bring us joy." This week, that includes:

The Food Network show Chopped
Against the Rules podcast by Michael Lewis

Intro/Outro Music: Notice of Eviction by Legally Blind (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Legally_Blind)
Production assistance by Enzo Dreon