Angela Duckworth, Ph.D., the New York Times bestselling author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, recently joined Host Ana Torres on the Beyond My Years podcast to discuss her new landmark research on school cell phone policies. In this episode, Angela highlights the many complexities surrounding student cell phone use in schools and why there is a need to conduct research, such as her “Phones in Focus” study, to look at which phone policies are actually yielding the best outcomes. She also suggests four ingredients that set young people up to reach their goals. Finally, Ana and Beyond My Years Classroom Insider Eric Cross reflect on Angela’s insights, and Eric shares the strategies he plans to implement to provide mentors to his students.

Show notes:

• Subscribe to Beyond My Years at.amplify.com/BMY.
• Participate in Dr. Duckworth's research phonesinfocus.org
• Explore Angela Duckworth’s website: https://angeladuckworth.com/
• Read: Schools don’t know how well cellphone policies are working. You can help

Host Ana Torres and Classroom Insider Eric Cross give you the first look at Season 2 of the Beyond My Years podcast, launching September 17, 2025. This trailer highlights what’s coming after an award-winning first season, including shorter episodes and more takeaways to help you extend your reach. Season 2 focuses on common classroom challenges, looking to the experts and to the research to get you answers. Ana, Eric, and guests will cover topics from finding your teaching style, to engaging students in math, to helping students develop critical thinking, and more! 

Subscribe now to Beyond My Years: https://at.amplify.com/bmy

(Not an Apple user? Listen on Spotify or the Beyond My Years website.)

To close out the year, we’re revisiting some of our favorite moments from the first nine episodes of the Beyond My Years podcast – and looking ahead at some of what’s to come in 2025! 

Listen to Beyond My Years: 

• Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Apple
• Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Spotify
• Listen to Beyond My Years via web browser

Hi Science Connections listeners! Here’s an episode from Amplify’s new podcast, Beyond My Years, that we think you’ll like. It features an incredible STEM educator from San Diego, California, named Khamphet Pease.

Today on Beyond My Years, host Ana Torres learns all she can learn from the life stories and lessons of Khamphet Pease. As a refugee from Laos, Khamphet shares the difficulty she experienced navigating a home culture that did not encourage education or career ambitions for women. Despite that, she laughs over her stubbornness that she sees as an integral part of what has motivated her to chase her dreams, spend over 20 years as a STEM teacher, and what earned her the presidential award for excellence in mathematics and science teaching. Due to gendered norms and expectations, she almost lost out on the future she truly wanted. Since then, she has made it her mission to champion a learning environment where young girls feel they belong and can thrive in STEM fields. Khamphet takes Ana on a journey through all the lessons she learned along the way of managing work/life balance, creating a classroom culture of trust, and the importance of finding a mentor during the hardest teaching years of your life. Once back in the classroom, Eric Cross and Ana check in on Eric’s first two weeks of back-to-school and discuss practical ways to take care of yourself first so you can then take care of your students.

Remember to subscribe to Beyond My Years to hear more insights and lessons from people who have thrived over decades in the classroom: seasoned educators. 

Show notes:

• Subscribe to Beyond My Years https://amplify.com/beyond-my-years
• Connect with Khamphet Pease on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/phet-pease 
• Connect with Khamphet Pease on X @PhetPease
• Watch: California Teachers Association commercial (short version)
• Watch: Steve Hartman’s On the Road series
• Follow us on Instagram @amplify.education 
• Connect with Ana Torres: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anayansi-ana-torres-m-ed-26a10654/
• Connect with Eric Cross: https://www.ericcross.org/ 

Quotes:
“This next school year, she told me I'm up at 60 percent girls in my intro to coding classe,. and that's huge! I want to make sure that girls have access and they feel wanted and included and they can see themselves in these fields.” —Khamphet Pease

“I remember one class that I had [with only] one female student, and she was just looking around and I could see in her eyes that she just felt like this is not a place for her. She dropped out of that class and after that I was like, no, this is unacceptable.” —Khamphet Pease

“We just need more women. More of their voices. They need more seats at the table because if we all hear [only] male voices, then 50 percent of the population isn't going to have their problem solved as easily or as efficiently.” —Khamphet Pease

Check out Amplify’s new podcast, Beyond My Years— host and educator Ana Torres seeks out educational insights and hard-won lessons directly from people who have thrived for decades in the classroom: seasoned educators.

On this premiere episode, Ana soaks up wisdom from Joyce Abbott, an educator so passionate about her students that she inspired one of them to go on and write the hit show “Abbott Elementary.” Joyce tells all about her experiences working in a Title 1 school and what it means to know the community of Philadelphia. They also discuss how Joyce’s time serving in the military informed her work as an educator, how she transformed a challenging classroom during her first year, how it has felt to witness the success of “Abbott Elementary,” and her driving force: passion. At the end, Ana is joined by Classroom Insider Eric Cross to discuss some actionable teaching tips for bringing Joyce's lessons into your classroom.

Show notes: 

• Subscribe to Beyond My Years on Apple
• Follow Beyond My Years on Spotify
• Website: Beyond My Years

Quotes:
“Sometimes your bad days are going to outweigh your good days, but when you see and remain focused and see what your goal is, and you look at those students and say, ‘This is my main focus,’ that can be the greatest motivator.” —Joyce Abbott

“A lot of times they are dependent upon you to teach them in every aspect of their life. When you understand the community, you can serve.” —Joyce Abbott

“Me and my military buddies definitely had respect for each other. And we operated as a team, regardless of our differences, because sometimes you may not agree with every teacher on your team, which many times I did not. But you have to keep your focus toward our mission, [which] is to move a certain child or do this for the student body.” —Joyce Abbott

“They know when you care. And they will have a whole different level of respect for you when they know you care. And you set the bar high for them. That shows that you care, because you know that they can do it and you believe in them.” —Joyce Abbott

“I think it's so important in the schools that they embrace the younger teachers, because you only get better through learning and through support.” —Joyce Abbott

“When you're passionate about a profession and committed to the goal of the whole school, you're going to do what you can to help these new teachers because they have to learn. So many leave because they're encountering so many problems and they don't feel that they're supported effectively.” —Joyce Abbott

Listen to this trailer for our new podcast, Beyond My Years, launching August 14th. 

Every day headlines tout something “new” in education—the latest research, the hottest tech, the trendiest new hacks for organizing your classroom. However, beyond all the hype there’s one underestimated resource that’s truly deserving of our attention: educators who’ve been doing this for years. In this trailer, you’ll hear from host and educator Ana Torres as she explains her season-long journey of learning from the experiences and lessons of seasoned educators from around the world. Their stories will make you laugh, make you cry, and—just maybe—change the way you think. Subscribe now so you don’t miss a thing.

(Not an Apple user? Subscribe here via Buzzsprout.)

Tune in to the finale of Science Connections with elementary educator and recipient of the 2023 Anton Banko Award for Excellence in Teaching Elementary Science, Kate Bala. In this episode, Kate shares teaching tips on how she seamlessly integrates science with other content areas to give students an engaging, phenomena-based learning experience. Listen to hear about Kate’s unique teaching style and the helpful tips she offers to make science the superhero of any classroom.

To learn more about the resources Kate shares, check out the following:

• Dive into The Wonder of Science for list of phenomenon for each NGSS grade band.
• Read Sharing Books, Talking Science, to start integrating literacy into your own science lessons.

Join us for a new episode with doctoral student and 2023 NSTA keynote speaker, Minerva Contreras. Listen as Minerva tells her story and discusses the benefits of storytelling in science education.

And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study guide to track your learning and find additional resources!

For more from Minerva, check out these resources:

• Watch the latest episode of Crash Course en Español, Biología
• Check out the posters Eric's students made that highlight Minerva.
• Hear more of Minerva’s story by tuning into her episode on Story Collider.
• Keep up to date with Minerva by following her on Instagram and Twitter.
• Catch Minerva in person at the 2023 NSTA National Conference.

Join us as we continue our discussion on the importance of integrating critical thinking into the science classroom with former teacher and current director of education at the Center for Inquiry, Bertha Vazquez. Listen as Bertha shares her experience with engaging students through identifying pseudoscience, and how developing these skills creates an identifiable impact on the real world.

For more from Bertha , check out the following resources:

• Check out Generation Skeptics to access some of the resources Bertha shared.
• Learn more about combatting pseudoscience at Science Saves.
• Find out more about the Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science.
• Get your free back-to-school toolkit from Amplify Science.

Join us as we sit down with Melanie Trecek-King, college professor and creator of Thinking is Power, to explore how much of an asset science can truly be in developing the skills students need to navigate the real world. You’ll learn about “fooling” students and the importance of developing critical thinking, information literacy, and science literacy in the classroom. We’ll also share real strategies and lesson examples that help build these essential skills and engage students in learning.

And don’t forget to grab your Science Connections study guide to track your learning and find additional resources!

For more from Melanie, check out the following resources:

• Website: Thinking is Power
• Skeptical Inquirer article: “How to Sell Pseudoscience” by Melanie Trecek-King
• Assignment: How to Sell Pseudoscience
• Skeptical Inquirer article: “Teach Skills, Not Facts” by Melanie Trecek-King