Category Archives: Uncategorized

You may have heard or read that US News and World Report ranked Florida #1 for education in its annual ratings of states. While higher education was Florida’s stronger suit (ranked #1 in that), the state was ranked a respectable … Continue reading →

Any day now, the Florida Department of Education will post its “Science Instructional Materials Adoption List” and its “Science Instructional Materials Not Recommended List” for the 2023-24 review cycle, which was focused entirely on science. Last year, the FLDOE posted … Continue reading →

During the last few years, I’ve watched professors and policymakers debate about the purpose of a college education. Some argue that students should learn virtue during college. Others argue that professors should teach students to be social activists. I will … Continue reading →

The SCALE-UP instructional model adopted for FSU’s Studio Physics Program is built on a foundation of years of research on teaching and learning at universities around the nation and the culture of respect that exists in my physics department. But … Continue reading →

It’s Monday evening, and your middle or high school student has just decided she or he wants to be an astronomer because of the student’s experience with the solar eclipse. What advice do you give this student? Part of your … Continue reading →

Course enrollment data released by the Florida Department of Education every year show that students who are classified by the state as economically disadvantaged are much less likely to take Advanced Placement courses in chemistry, physics and calculus (and this … Continue reading →

With very few exceptions, I like the students in my class. I have colleagues who would do just about anything to avoid teaching the introductory calculus-based physics classes that I teach. These classes are taken by students majoring in engineering, … Continue reading →

An outside observer might expect that Florida’s aggressive program to dual enroll public high school students in college classes, and in many cases have them awarded A.A. degrees at the same time they receive their high school diplomas, would be … Continue reading →

In a recent Orlando Sentinel column, University of Central Florida (UCF) President Alexander Cartwright declared his intention to “grow our capacity to educate students in technology-related programs, engineering, and computer science by 50% — ultimately educating 25,000 students annually in … Continue reading →

I spoke last week to a live audience of about 700 high school students at John I. Leonard High School in West Palm Beach and (I’m told) many more via a livestream at schools around Palm Beach County about the … Continue reading →