August 2007

Learning by lecture

August 31, 2007

Earlier this week I had the experience of being in a lecture again, in a junior-level Electricity & Magnetism class (I will be studying this class as part of my new job). The contrast between the structure of a university class and the Exploratorium workshops was dramatic. In the university class, the material was presented [...]

Read the full article →

How Many Hairs on my Head?

August 28, 2007

I’ve just posted a new episode of my podcast, Science Teaching Tips geared at secondary school science teachers. How many hairs on my head? In this episode children’s book author David Schwartz tells us how he got excited about big numbers when he was a kid. Enjoy! These are produced through the Exploratorium’s Teacher Institute.

Read the full article →

Electrostatics on the road

August 24, 2007

No post last week, as I was driving across the country from San Francisco to my new digs in Boulder CO. As I was camping in the middle of very very very dry Nevada, I noticed something a little cool. As any science teacher can tell you, any demonstration having to do with static electricity [...]

Read the full article →

How did I get here?

August 10, 2007

I promised a post on my oddball career path, because many people find it interesting. It’s certainly been a bit of a random walk and I’m thrilled to find myself here! Here is an interview with me about my career through the American Physical Society. I’ve often likened myself to a bacteria. Bacteria tend to [...]

Read the full article →

Erudite ecologists

August 6, 2007

This past weekend I was invited to speak at the Ecological Society of America for a workshop on communicating science. A bunch of ecologists wanted to know how to talk about their research to a broader audience. This is a huge issue nowadays, in part because of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) new “Broader Impacts” [...]

Read the full article →

Technorati

August 3, 2007

Just added my blog to Technorati, finally.  Is there somewhere else on the blog that I should post this link?  I’m still figuring this all out.

Read the full article →

New job!

August 3, 2007

I have a new job! My postdoc at the Exploratorium ends next week, and I will be taking off for the mountains. I have a fixed term position as Senior Teaching Fellow at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I’ll be doing research on physics education — studying how students learn and offering suggestions to [...]

Read the full article →