Monthly Archives: October 2019

The Heartland Institute’s Timothy Benson says in the Miami Herald that “The sweeping [teacher] pay increase proposed by the governor is unnecessary”. Here is why he’s wrong.

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Paul Cottle

Heartland Institute analyst Timothy Benson argued against Governor DeSantis’s “sweeping” teacher salary proposal in this morning’s Miami Herald, saying that Florida’s teachers are “adequately compensated” compared to other Floridians and that the state’s teacher shortage is confined to a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The State of High School Physics in Florida: A guest post by former high school physics teacher (and now UF science ed grad student) Michelle Joyce

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Paul Cottle

Michelle Joyce is currently a first year student pursuing a PhD in Science Education. She has 18 years’ experience at high schools and middle schools in the USA, England, India and Australia teaching Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. You can follow … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Which physics course do I want high school students to take? AP, Honors or non-Honors regular? I want them to take any physics course in which they can build a strong conceptual foundation.

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Paul Cottle

If I want more high school students to take physics – I was asked during the question period after my talk to the Florida Association of Science Supervisors – which physics course would I want students to take? An AP … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

My visit with the Florida Association of Science Supervisors: After I shared about Bay and Orange Counties, more districts told me they want to improve the preparation of their high school students for college STEM majors.

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Paul Cottle

Several district science supervisors who want to improve the preparation of their high school students for college STEM majors talked with me after my plenary talk at yesterday morning’s session of the fall meeting of the Florida Association of Science … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Which college majors score best on the Law School Admissions Test? Here are the top ten for 2017-18.

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Paul Cottle

How do students whose college majors are physics, engineering, or the mathematical and computational sciences do on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT)? In 2017-18, all of those fields were represented in the top ten college majors ranked by “Mean … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Raising teacher salaries in Florida’s public schools is the most important thing we can do as a state this year. It’s really that simple.

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Paul Cottle

Educating students is the single most important thing that the State of Florida does. Teachers are the most important element in the education of the state’s students. Strong teachers are the state’s most valuable assets. The number of talented individuals … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Without Ginger Littleton, I would have given up: A reflection as Ginger leaves the Bay County School Board.

Posted on October 12, 2019 by Paul Cottle

My efforts to improve the preparation of Florida’s high school students for college STEM majors have been an important part of my life during the last decade. But if I hadn’t met Ginger Littleton in 2015, I would have given … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Florida’s K-12 and higher education systems are earning national applause. So why is our state doing so poorly in educating scientists and engineers?

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Paul Cottle

The Florida Department of Education reported in September that in its annual Quality Counts report Education Week ranked Florida fourth in the nation for K-12 student achievement. And earlier this year, US News and World Report ranked our state number … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 7 Comments