Monthly Archives: August 2018

Many meteorologists became passionately hooked on their field when they were very young – as young as three years old, according to a piece in the Washington Post written by Samantha Durbin, who holds a master’s degree in meteorology and is presently … Continue reading →

Adam Grant’s New York Times op-ed titled “Those Who Can Do, Can’t Teach” is built on three fatally flawed premises. The first is the assumption that all teaching can and should be done using the traditional (and, at least in … Continue reading →

Step Up For Students Strategic Communications Manager Scott Kent argued in a post on the organization’s redefinED blog that many critics of Florida’s state scholarship programs for private K-12 schools use a church-state separation argument against these programs while being … Continue reading →

Jones High School (Orlando) graduate and National Medal of Science winner Sylvester James “Jim” Gates has been elected to the American Physical Society’s Presidential Line.  Members of the society’s Presidential Line rotate through four offices in four years.  Gates will … Continue reading →

Last week, I told a group of nuclear physics colleagues that reaching out to middle school students would be a good investment of our effort.  Why?  Because we need to reach these students before they arrive in high school, where … Continue reading →

According to Tampa Bay Times reporter Jeff Solochek, much of this past week’s State Board of Education meeting concerned Florida’s teacher shortage, which is growing,  according to the Florida Education Association’s Cathy Boehme. Jeff reported that SBOE chair Marva Johnson was particularly … Continue reading →

To have the best chance to succeed, high school students in a tough physics course like AP Physics 1 that demands a hands-on pedagogy must have access to modern lab equipment like the Vernier equipment recommended by the National Math … Continue reading →

It appears that AP Physics 1 did not quite work out the way we hoped it would.  It’s a fine course, but enrollments in Florida public high schools have plateaued at about 7,500 per year and passing rates are stuck … Continue reading →

In a Naples Daily News op-ed, CareerSource Florida President and CEO Michelle Dennard talked about the strategies that our state is adopting to address the “talent gap” that occurs in many STEM fields and the national recognition the state is receiving for … Continue reading →

It would be easy for me to dwell on Florida’s declining interest in the high school science necessary to prepare for college majors in fields like engineering, chemistry, meteorology, computer science and physics and even health professions. Enrollments in high … Continue reading →