The POGIL Podcast

Episode 2 of Season 3 is about techniques for facilitating conversation in group settings. Siobhan Julian talks with Andrew Totah-McCarty of San Jose State University about his methods for initiating and maintaining meaningful discussions among his students. Join us to learn about Icebreaker Numbers and the 5 practices of Anticipating, Monitoring, Selecting, Sequencing and Connecting that Andrew uses in his classrooms.

In Episode 1 of the POGIL Podcast, Siobhan Julian has a discussion with Joyce Easter, chairperson of the NCAPP 2023 planning committee. This episode is full of great information about the conference. Joyce and Siobhan talk about the types of activities that are planned, the plenary speakers who will be attending, when and where the meeting will take place and, most importantly, how to apply. If you have attended NCAPP meetings in the past or if you are wondering if you should apply for the first time, you will want to listen to this episode. You can apply today at https://forms.gle/amC8cP44NXe27nWaA . AND, we would like to hear about your favorite aspects of NCAPP. Join the discussion on Facebook at #thepogilpodcast.

The Third Season of the POGIL Podcast is about to begin! Join Wayne Pearson, Siobhan Julian and Alex Grushow for our introductory episode. The team discusses some changes that have been made for this upcoming season and previews the season’s theme, the Practice of POGIL. We have some exciting topics and great guests in store for our listeners. So, tune in and see what is coming your way!

This podcast episode celebrates the inaugural 2022 POGIL IMPACT Award, which is bestowed on individuals or teams of individuals who have achieved extraordinary outcomes related to The POGIL Project’s strategic plan. The award celebrates sustained impact and/or innovation achieved by a member or members of the POGIL community, and highlights a strong footprint in both The Project and the POGIL community.

Today, Co-host Alex Grushow (who is a Professor of Chemistry at Rider University and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) interviews Laura Trout, who has been selected as the first recipient of the Impact award. Laura Trout has a B.S. in chemistry from Central Washington University and a M.S. in chemistry from the University of Washington. She has been teaching for 25 years in both public and private schools in Washington State and Pennsylvania. Laura has been using POGIL activities in her classes since 2000. She became involved with The POGIL Project in 2004 and has been writing and implementing guided inquiry activities, facilitating POGIL workshops and serving the POGIL community ever since. She served as the Editor-in-Chief for the High School POGIL Initiative (HSPI) which produced four POGIL activity books for high school - Biology, Chemistry, AP Biology, and AP Chemistry. She has also helped to produce a lab manual for AP Chemistry for PASCO Scientific which utilizes POGIL techniques. She was a member of The POGIL Project Steering Committee for two terms.

Recently, Laura has taken a position with The Project as Materials Coordinator, and continues to teach part-time at Lancaster Country Day School in Pennsylvania. In 2021, she earned the 2021 DivCHED Award for Excellence in High School Teaching for the Middle Atlantic Regional Meeting (MARM).

Please Note: For those who will be attending POGIL’s National Meeting in June, Laura Trout will be officially recognized as the winner of The POGIL Project's inaugural IMPACT award, and the Project will stream the award ceremony. Please be on the lookout for more details at pogil.org.

Enjoy the conversation!

This podcast episode celebrates the 2022 POGIL Early Achievement Award Winners or “PEACH Awards.”

Today, co-host Dr. Wayne Pearson (who is a retired chemistry professor from the U.S. Naval Academy) will introduce the Project’s PEACH Award winners: Siobhan Julian from Webster Schroeder High School in Webster, New York is our high school winner. And our post-secondary award winner is Andy Aspaas from Anoka-Ramsey Community College in Cambridge, MN.

Enjoy the conversation!

This podcast is a special episode we’d like to share with you as part of our outreach to other like minded organizations and educators.

Today, Co-host Alex Grushow (who is a Professor of Chemistry at Rider University and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) interviews Dr. Brad Moser - a lab technician and instructor of Physics at Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. He is also the host of a podcast called Physics Alive where he sparks new life into the physics classroom. Dr. Moser speaks with researchers and textbook authors on the frontiers of physics education, life science and health professionals who use physics on an everyday basis, designers and engineers who learn from the natural world, teachers who employ innovative and active learning styles, and students who want the most out of their education. More details about the podcast can be found at: http://www.physicsalive.com

Enjoy the conversation!

Today, we bring into focus POGIL’s upcoming Climate Justice Symposium that will take place in June 2022. POGIL Practitioner Dr. Kristin Plessel, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater interviews Dr. Deb L. Morrison of the University of Washington.

Dr. Morrison will be one of the main presenters at the upcoming Climate Justice Symposium. She works at the intersection of justice, climate science, and learning and is a climate and anti-oppression activist, scientist, learning scientist, educator, mother, locally elected official, and many other things besides. Deb works in research-practice-policy partnerships from local community to international scales. She works to iteratively understand complex socio-ecological systems through design-based and action-oriented research while at the same time seeking to improve human-environment relationships and sustainability. She draws on an eclectic range of justice theory to inform her work in the world and to foster her continued journey for transformative liberation. More Information about Dr. Morrison’s work can be found at www.debmorrison.me

Enjoy the conversation!

For our seventh episode this season, we will focus on the fifth goal of POGIL’s Strategic Plan - which is Networking and Strategic Collaboration Today, Co-host Alex Grushow (who is a Professor of Chemistry at Rider University and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) interviews Dr. Joan Roque - Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Cayey. We also have Dr. Joyce Easter, Dean of the Batten Honors College of Virginia Wesleyan University and Professor of Chemistry and chair of POGIL’s National Conference to Advance POGIL Practice or NCAPP in 2023. She is also the chair of POGIL’s strategic plan working group titled "Embracing equity: targeted recruitment." Enjoy the conversation!

For our sixth episode this season, we will focus on the Observation Protocol for Teaching in Interactive Classrooms, also known as the OPTIC app. OPTIC is an observation tool for the coaching and mentoring of learner-centered practitioners who use collaborative small groups, experienced practitioners to obtain feedback on their facilitating, administrators to aid in the evaluation of faculty who participate in learner-centered collaborative teaching styles, and the documentation of collaborative small-group learning in a learner-centered classroom.

Today, Co-host Wayne Pearson (who is a retired chemistry professor from the U.S. Naval Academy) will interview two POGIL practitioners behind the creation of the OPTIC App: Urik Halliday, a high school science educator for the Chicago Public Schools, has worked at Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center for the past fourteen years, and Shannon Wachowski, who was most recently with the Wyoming Department of Education where she supported Wyoming science teachers with science standards implementation and assessment. Enjoy the conversation!

For our fifth episode this season, we will focus on the third of five strategic goals in The POGIL Project’s Strategic Plan, which is Diversity and Inclusivity: Guiding Principles and Learning Communities Program.

Today, Co-host Alex Grushow (who is a Professor of Chemistry at Rider University and Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry) interviews POGIL Practitioners Dr. Teresa Bixy and Dr. Michael Bruno. Enjoy the conversation!