Monthly Archives: August 2014

The op-ed below was written by me and published in the Tallahassee Democrat on August 10. If you’re a parent who is encouraging your kids to excel in science and math courses and nudging them toward careers in the STEM … Continue reading →

Twelve states have adopted the Next Generation Science Standards since their release in April 2013.  Florida is not yet among them. With my two-year term as chair of the American Physical Society Committee on Education winding down, I thought it was … Continue reading →

Arne Duncan convinced me to modify the syllabus for my university physics class. On Thursday, US Secretary of Education Duncan announced that he will allow states that hold waivers from certain requirements of the No Child Left Behind Law – including Florida … Continue reading →

Florida has moved up to 47th on the ACT science exam in the just-released 2014 state rankings (thank you to Leslie Postal for posting the news about. the release and a more general look at Florida’s performance on School Zone).  Florida … Continue reading →

Last week, I delivered a talk to the Nuclear Physics Town Meeting on Education and Innovation at Michigan State University.  It was a return to my professional “home” – the nuclear physics community – after stints with the American Physical … Continue reading →

The most important thing for a high school physics class to have is a great teacher. But once you have that, the next thing to have is a great physics curriculum.  That curriculum – the new algebra-based AP physics courses … Continue reading →

Florida’s K-12 policies tilt students – especially girls – toward the least lucrative STEM careers. It’s linked here.

In tomorrow’s Tallahassee Democrat, Associate Editor and columnist Mark Hohmeister points out that the evolution education controversy returns to Florida over and over again.  Mark was reviewing Going Ape, the history of the evolution education controversy in Florida authored by … Continue reading →

The start of the fall semester is only a few weeks away, but it’s not too late to do some summer reading.  Christopher Westfall at the FSView/Florida Flambeau asked me and other FSU faculty members for summer reading recommendations.  Perhaps Westfall … Continue reading →

“Breathtaking” is the only word I can think of to describe the ambition and vision represented by the Quality Education for All (QEA) project being undertaken by a partnership of Duval County Schools and the Community Foundation of Northeast Florida. … Continue reading →