Unpack Everything: Science Education Reform in the Real World cover art

Unpack Everything: Science Education Reform in the Real World

Unpack Everything: Science Education Reform in the Real World

By: Unpack Everything Podcast
Listen for free

About this listen

 Conversations with teachers, researchers, and other folks who are helping make science education better for students, hosted by Sam Pinter and Dan Voss. Follow along and send us the questions YOU have about science education! @SciEdPod on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠ unpackeverythingpod@gmail.com⁠Unpack Everything Podcast
Episodes
  • What are Sam and Dan up to?

    What are Sam and Dan up to?
    Dec 23 2024

    To wrap up 2024, Sam and Dan share a bit about what's been going on lately personally and professionally. We'll be back to sharing our regular conversations with science education folks in the new year!


    In case you'd like to jump around, here's a general outline of the ground covered:

    • 00:48 - Dan shares about his newborn baby and reflections on becoming a parent
    • 13:27 - Sam shares about what’s happening in her classroom before the holiday break
    • 24:43 - Sam shares about her school’s accreditation process and her role in this work
    • 33:43 - Sam and Dan share about an OpenSciEd Middle School project, funded by Amazon Future Engineer, which is revising some of the original OpenSciEd Middle School units to incorporate computer science learning using micro:bits (You can learn more about this project here.)
    • 47:27 - Dan shares about his grad work
    • 50:25 - Some final reflections


    • Follow along and send us the questions YOU have about science education!

      @SciEdPod on Instagram and Twitter

      unpackeverythingpod@gmail.com


      Our music is 'Rainbows' by Scott Buckley released under CC BY 4.0
    Show More Show Less
    55 mins
  • How can politics impact science education?

    How can politics impact science education?
    Nov 11 2024
    This week, Dan and Sam unpack the Franklin Standards. These standards have been developed by the National Association of Scholars and Freedom in Education as an alternative to the NGSS. Unfortunately, they are on the road to adoption in at least one state. As we dug in, we found that these standards have very little to do with what we know science to be and show evidence of being politically motivated by forces on the right. Since this week's episode discusses partisan politics, we wanted to share a bit more about where each of us stands politically. You can find that below. As a reminder, everything we share through this podcast represents our own thoughts and opinions and does not reflect that of our employers or any other entities. Dan places the highest value on good governance, support for democratic norms, and measures that strengthen communities. This has led him to supporting a variety of candidates, including writing in John McCain with a different running mate in 2008, voting for Barack Obama in 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 (after earlier support for John Kasich in the primaries). In 2018, he supported a primary challenge to Iowa's GOP governor and served as a delegate at the Iowa Republican State Convention in a (failed) attempt to push the party in a more productive direction, accompanied by additional work advocating for ranked-choice voting and other measures to improve our political system. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan has generally voted straight-ticket for the Democratic Party, but would welcome other parties putting up candidates who propose their own, thoughtful solutions to our most urgent local and global problems. Sam has been a Democratic voter since she was first able to vote in the 2012 election. She has aligned herself with candidates who stand for values she believes in, such as promoting green energy and reducing emissions, protecting access to and funding for public education, supporting common sense gun laws, and protecting women's reproductive rights. Since 2020, she has volunteered with Postcards to Swing States to write hundreds of postcards to rally voters across the country, from presidential swing states to competitive state legislative districts. If you'd like to do your own digging into the Franklin Standards, these are the resources we consulted for this episode: Reporting from Wendy Suares from Fox 25 in Oklahoma CityFranklin Standards - developed by the National Association of Scholars and Freedom in EducationFinal Evaluation of the Next Generation Science Standards by the Fordham InstituteThe Franklin Standards are said to be based on the following: 2006 Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Standards and 1996 New York Science Core Curriculum Standards Resources: Drilled PodcastNational Center for Science EducationArticle from The Conversation about attempts to undermine the teaching of evolutionA Framework for K-12 Science EducationNext Generation Science Standards Follow along and send us questions YOU have about science education! @SciEdPod on Instagram and Twitter unpackeverythingpod@gmail.com Our music is 'Rainbows' by Scott Buckley released under CC BY 4.0.
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • How do we teach science with attention to language needs? (with Myra Lam)

    How do we teach science with attention to language needs? (with Myra Lam)
    Oct 26 2024

    This week, Dan and Sam are joined by elementary school teacher, Myra Lam, to talk about teaching science with attention to language needs. She discusses the strategies she uses in her classroom that have supported her multilingual students.

    Resources:

    • Why you should stop pre-teaching science vocabulary and focus on students developing conceptual meaning first (STEM Teaching Tool #66)
    • Science in the City by Bryan Brown
    • Thinking and Feedback Protocol
    • Knowles Teaching Fellowship
    • Pedagogy of Hope by Paulo Freire


    Follow along and send us the questions YOU have about science education!

    @SciEdPod on Instagram and Twitter

    unpackeverythingpod@gmail.com


    Our music is 'Rainbows' by Scott Buckley released under CC BY 4.0.
    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.