This week, we have a special guest, Dr. Okhee Lee. Okhee is a professor of childhood education at New York University where she works to advance research, policy, and practice around science and language learning, especially for English learners. Okhee was on the NGSS writing team, a leader of the NGSS Diversity and Equity team, and author of many peer-reviewed articles on teaching and learning.

In today's episode, Eugene and Matt talk with Okhee Lee about NGSS and get her unique perspectives and advice surrounding teaching and learning. In a later episode, Okhee is invited back on the podcast to focus on another area of her expertise and interest—science and language.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• NYU SAIL Research Lab
  • https://www.nyusail.org/
• Okhee Lee's Twitter
  • https://twitter.com/OkheeLee_
• Venn Diagram of Practices
  • https://static.nsta.org/ngss/ExplanationOfVennDiagram.pdf
• Why outbreaks like coronavirus spread exponentially, and how to “flatten the curve”
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/
• Matt's Coronavirus Lesson for Elementary School
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmuzKnk4OE0

In this episode, Eugene and Matt talk with Paul Andersen, an educational consultant, a Montana-based science teacher for 20 years, and most famously the creator of hundreds of science YouTube tutorials that have been viewed by millions of teachers and students. Paul has also created a trusted online resource for science teaching and NGSS called ‘The Wonder of Science’, and they talk with Paul about NGSS, science teaching, and the environment.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• The Wonder of Science
  • https://thewonderofscience.com/
• Bozeman Science - Paul Andersen's YouTube channel
  • https://www.youtube.com/user/bozemanbiology

In this episode, Eugene and Matt talk about the election, from their own vantage points, and from what they expect to see with a new government for science and education. They also discuss how scientific thinking and data can be used to explain aspects of the election for our students, so we can fairly use the election as an important learning opportunity for our students.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• 2016 Science Framework for California Public Schools, Appendix 2: Connections to Environmental Principles and Concepts
  • https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/sc/cf/documents/scifwappendix2.pdf

In this episode, we’ll hear from Elizabeth Brooking, a middle school science teacher who faces daily challenges supporting at-risk students during this period of remote instruction. Elizabeth shares her story, and together with Eugene and Matt, they discuss ideas for how teachers can make progress in helping their students during these difficult times.

Resources mentioned by Elizabeth in this episode:

• ClassDojo - School communication platform that connects teachers with students and their families to build a community by sharing what's being learned in the classroom
  • https://www.classdojo.com/
• Nearpod - Student engagement platform that creates interactive lessons and presentations for students
  • https://nearpod.com/
• Pear Deck - Google Slides add-on for formative assessments and interactive questions
  • https://www.peardeck.com/googleslides
• Edpuzzle - Platform where any video can be made into an interactive lesson for students
  • https://edpuzzle.com/
• Kahoot! - Game-based learning platform that makes it fun and engaging to learn new subjects
  • https://kahoot.com/
• Google Forms - Tool from Google that allows users to create surveys, quizzes, and more
  • https://www.google.com/forms/about/

In this episode, we’ll hear from Sarah Rahman, a practicing middle school science teacher on how remote learning is going for her. What is working, what is not, and what techniques has she used to engage her students and help them move forward? The discussion with Eugene and Matt offers some interesting insights that we can all use right now.

Resources mentioned by Sarah in this episode:

• Pear Deck - Google Slides add-on for formative assessments and interactive questions
  • https://www.peardeck.com/googleslides
• Zoom's Breakout Rooms - Can be used for collaborative work in student groups
  • https://zoom.us/
• Flipgrid - Video-sharing tool for quick messages or video discussion with the class
  • https://info.flipgrid.com/
• WeVideo - Video-creation tool that students can collaborate on any project from anywhere
  • https://www.wevideo.com/education

Green Ninja Film Festival 2020 Winners from Sarah's class:

• Best Science Message Award - Turtletastic
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4-GaWnG_SI
• Best Call to Action Award - Wild Water Adventure
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rxbzG7VFlQ
• People's Choice Award - The Termination of the Pickle-ation
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4j29oPwN5c

In this episode, we find ourselves engulfed in some of the worst weather and air quality that we have seen in the western states. Here is what was on the front page of the LA Times reports two weekends ago in big letters: “California’s Climate Apocalypse — Fires, heat, air pollution: The calamity is no longer in the future — it’s here, now.” Eugene and Matt spend all of this episode digging into the science of our recent experience but also looking for short-term and long-term educational opportunities to use this reality to help students cope and hopefully thrive in this new world.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Video of the race between an induction cooker, electric cooker, and burner gas cooker
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RajIEjHOCsM

In this episode, Eugene and Matt try to look past some of the immediate challenges that all teachers are facing for some benefits and new opportunities. What can we learn about education from this experience, what exemplars have we witnessed of success, and what happens when the vaccine comes and things return to ‘normal’? Can we take some of what we’ve learned during this odd year to improve education?

In this episode, Eugene and Matt explore some of the challenges teachers are facing right now as they start a new term teaching remotely, and how they might continue to emphasize a coherent focus around science learning and NGSS while students are learning at home. Eugene and Matt discuss synchronous versus asynchronous methods and share some insights they had while developing a remote learning program for Green Ninja in the summer.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Sample of Grade 8 Unit 1 Chapter 1 Student Slide Deck
  • https://bit.ly/3lREZqn
• Sign up for a guest access account
  • https://app.greenninja.org/registration
• Green Ninja's Overview of Remote Learning Program video
  • https://greenninja.org/Green_Ninja_Show/118
• Youth Sustainability Challenge
  • https://www.climateyouthambassadors.org/climate-challenge

In this episode, Eugene and Matt focus on the shift to online or remote teaching and the particular challenges and advantages that NGSS offers us. Matt shares his experience online teaching including his current offering of synchronous science classes with 3rd and 5th graders. Although Matt would be the first to admit that it doesn’t always go according to plan, there are some valuable insights for everyone.

In this episode, Eugene and Matt talk about teaching science during uncertain times, like now during a global pandemic. As schools move online and students struggle to understand all these changes, how can teachers keep students moving forward while maintaining their own standards and well-being?

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now
  • https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
• Matt's resources
  • https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1237822970090754049.html