Mark Betnel
@markbetnel.bsky.social
He/him.
I'm a curious teacher.
markbetnel.com
I'm a curious teacher.
markbetnel.com
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/why-didnt-... An awesome collection of wisdom about teaching for memory and transfer from @dylanpkane.bsky.social
Why Didn't It Stick?
Students forget things. What can we do to help more students remember?
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/why-didnt-... An awesome collection of wisdom about teaching for memory and transfer from @dylanpkane.bsky.social
This seems problematic? ... To offer "free" access to the news if one uses a particular AI agent web browser?
November 12, 2025 at 9:17 PM
This seems problematic? ... To offer "free" access to the news if one uses a particular AI agent web browser?
Just finished _The Perfect Mile_ (Neal Bascomb, 2004). It's about the parallel efforts to break the 4 minute mile by Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee, between 1952 - 1955. As a former runner and as a teacher and coach, it was a fascinating dive into life at the edge of human performance
September 17, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Just finished _The Perfect Mile_ (Neal Bascomb, 2004). It's about the parallel efforts to break the 4 minute mile by Roger Bannister, John Landy, and Wes Santee, between 1952 - 1955. As a former runner and as a teacher and coach, it was a fascinating dive into life at the edge of human performance
Reposted by Mark Betnel
Today's bird is the screaming piha. Just a wee little thing, but one of the loudest birds in the world. 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/voices-carry...
Voices Carry
I'm truly at a loss of what to say today. (Last week. It lingers, doesn't it.)
So (I guess) let me just repeat a point I've made repeatedly: one of the saddest rationales for using "AI" is for "brain...
2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com
September 17, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Today's bird is the screaming piha. Just a wee little thing, but one of the loudest birds in the world. 2ndbreakfast.audreywatters.com/voices-carry...
mikecaulfield.substack.com/p/do-student... This is excellent. I think it's critical to think through the implications of the explanations we help students build -- the important question is whether they are productive for the student, not whether they are precisely "correct" in their ontology
Do students need to know how LLMs work, or to predict how they'll act?
A little venting about what educational explanations are for...
mikecaulfield.substack.com
September 12, 2025 at 3:16 PM
mikecaulfield.substack.com/p/do-student... This is excellent. I think it's critical to think through the implications of the explanations we help students build -- the important question is whether they are productive for the student, not whether they are precisely "correct" in their ontology
www.oneusefulthing.org/p/on-working...
Pretty interesting piece from Ethan Mollick. I've got some more complex thoughts brewing on it (it has several useful nuanced points), but I can't help thinking immediately of this:
Pretty interesting piece from Ethan Mollick. I've got some more complex thoughts brewing on it (it has several useful nuanced points), but I can't help thinking immediately of this:
a cartoon of mickey mouse in a wizard outfit
Alt: a cartoon of mickey mouse in a wizard outfit leading a broom that has been magically animated to carry buckets of water
media.tenor.com
September 11, 2025 at 9:53 PM
www.oneusefulthing.org/p/on-working...
Pretty interesting piece from Ethan Mollick. I've got some more complex thoughts brewing on it (it has several useful nuanced points), but I can't help thinking immediately of this:
Pretty interesting piece from Ethan Mollick. I've got some more complex thoughts brewing on it (it has several useful nuanced points), but I can't help thinking immediately of this:
#teach180 Day 1 with students tomorrow -- start of year 13 in current position, 17th year of teaching full-time, 26th of teaching at least part-time. This year I have calc-based physics and the AI & Ethics class that I've taught as an elective since 2018 is relaunching as a graduation requirement!
September 3, 2025 at 9:28 PM
#teach180 Day 1 with students tomorrow -- start of year 13 in current position, 17th year of teaching full-time, 26th of teaching at least part-time. This year I have calc-based physics and the AI & Ethics class that I've taught as an elective since 2018 is relaunching as a graduation requirement!
Every department at my school picked different summer reading for teachers this year, so as an instructional coach, I've set myself the goal of doing *all* the reading for all the departments. I gave myself some time off before actually digging into it, so I've just finished the first one #coaching
July 5, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Every department at my school picked different summer reading for teachers this year, so as an instructional coach, I've set myself the goal of doing *all* the reading for all the departments. I gave myself some time off before actually digging into it, so I've just finished the first one #coaching
"Knowledge is what we think with, and we can only think with knowledge that's in our minds."
@dylanpkane.bsky.social is a recent addition to my reading list and everything there is spot-on (mostly #iTeachMath and instructional practice in general)
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/structure-...
@dylanpkane.bsky.social is a recent addition to my reading list and everything there is spot-on (mostly #iTeachMath and instructional practice in general)
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/structure-...
Structure, Routines, Accountability
On the challenges of technology
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com
May 20, 2025 at 3:19 PM
"Knowledge is what we think with, and we can only think with knowledge that's in our minds."
@dylanpkane.bsky.social is a recent addition to my reading list and everything there is spot-on (mostly #iTeachMath and instructional practice in general)
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/structure-...
@dylanpkane.bsky.social is a recent addition to my reading list and everything there is spot-on (mostly #iTeachMath and instructional practice in general)
fivetwelvethirteen.substack.com/p/structure-...
www.ballarddurand.com/obituaries/j...
One of the most profoundly good men I have ever met. My landlord for a year in grad school in Boston. A life very well-lived.
One of the most profoundly good men I have ever met. My landlord for a year in grad school in Boston. A life very well-lived.
James A. Margolis Obituary May 13, 2025 - Ballard-Durand Funeral & Cremation Services
View James A. Margolis's obituary, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.
www.ballarddurand.com
May 15, 2025 at 8:44 PM
www.ballarddurand.com/obituaries/j...
One of the most profoundly good men I have ever met. My landlord for a year in grad school in Boston. A life very well-lived.
One of the most profoundly good men I have ever met. My landlord for a year in grad school in Boston. A life very well-lived.
Ahh! I did the dumb thing where I was planning to watch a documentary in my AI class, but didn't load it up ahead of time, and it turns out it's off Netflix and as far as I can find in a quick search -- not available anywhere!
Does anyone know where I can get access to _Coded Bias_?
#iTeachCS
Does anyone know where I can get access to _Coded Bias_?
#iTeachCS
May 5, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Ahh! I did the dumb thing where I was planning to watch a documentary in my AI class, but didn't load it up ahead of time, and it turns out it's off Netflix and as far as I can find in a quick search -- not available anywhere!
Does anyone know where I can get access to _Coded Bias_?
#iTeachCS
Does anyone know where I can get access to _Coded Bias_?
#iTeachCS
The National Science Foundation is a treasure worth defending. It directly impacted my career through the GK12 program, which put me in a Boston Public HS during my 3rd year of grad school. Many of those students are now in tech careers, at least one is now a math teacher in BPS.
#SaveNSF
#SaveNSF
May 2, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The National Science Foundation is a treasure worth defending. It directly impacted my career through the GK12 program, which put me in a Boston Public HS during my 3rd year of grad school. Many of those students are now in tech careers, at least one is now a math teacher in BPS.
#SaveNSF
#SaveNSF
I'm so excited! I have finally convinced someone to let me teach geometry!!
I'm going to teach a 4-week summer school program, teaching geometry for the first time. Now I just need calculus to complete my set of the high school math sequence #iTeachMath
I'm going to teach a 4-week summer school program, teaching geometry for the first time. Now I just need calculus to complete my set of the high school math sequence #iTeachMath
May 2, 2025 at 2:15 AM
I'm so excited! I have finally convinced someone to let me teach geometry!!
I'm going to teach a 4-week summer school program, teaching geometry for the first time. Now I just need calculus to complete my set of the high school math sequence #iTeachMath
I'm going to teach a 4-week summer school program, teaching geometry for the first time. Now I just need calculus to complete my set of the high school math sequence #iTeachMath
Really cool to just watch this one, but there's also probably a really excellent problem in this video. #iTeachPhysics
April 29, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Really cool to just watch this one, but there's also probably a really excellent problem in this video. #iTeachPhysics
My Dad passed 23 years ago today. This is him working at the Tandem Mirror Experiment / Mirror Fusion Test Facility at Livermore, sometime between 1981-1983 when he was in his early 30s.
I resolved to be a physicist when I was 9, because I might "get to be his boss someday".
#iTeachPhysics
I resolved to be a physicist when I was 9, because I might "get to be his boss someday".
#iTeachPhysics
April 29, 2025 at 5:13 PM
My Dad passed 23 years ago today. This is him working at the Tandem Mirror Experiment / Mirror Fusion Test Facility at Livermore, sometime between 1981-1983 when he was in his early 30s.
I resolved to be a physicist when I was 9, because I might "get to be his boss someday".
#iTeachPhysics
I resolved to be a physicist when I was 9, because I might "get to be his boss someday".
#iTeachPhysics
Ed-tech companies.... if you claim that you offer individual teacher licenses, just put the price on your webpage.
I just had to go through a zoom training, a week trial, and then another call before I could get the price -- and it's at a level to force the whole school to buy.
I just had to go through a zoom training, a week trial, and then another call before I could get the price -- and it's at a level to force the whole school to buy.
April 25, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Ed-tech companies.... if you claim that you offer individual teacher licenses, just put the price on your webpage.
I just had to go through a zoom training, a week trial, and then another call before I could get the price -- and it's at a level to force the whole school to buy.
I just had to go through a zoom training, a week trial, and then another call before I could get the price -- and it's at a level to force the whole school to buy.
This decision is fantastic -- 7 pages, a great read.
I appreciate the part where they compare to Eisenhower putting aside his "personal opinions" to enforce desegregation with "deliberate speed".
I appreciate the part where they compare to Eisenhower putting aside his "personal opinions" to enforce desegregation with "deliberate speed".
INCREDIBLE opinion by Wilkinson refusing to stay Judge Xinis's orders in the Abrego Garcia case, condemning DOJ's arguments as "shocking not only to judges, but to the intuitive sense of liberty that Americans far removed from courthouses still hold dear."
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
April 17, 2025 at 9:59 PM
This decision is fantastic -- 7 pages, a great read.
I appreciate the part where they compare to Eisenhower putting aside his "personal opinions" to enforce desegregation with "deliberate speed".
I appreciate the part where they compare to Eisenhower putting aside his "personal opinions" to enforce desegregation with "deliberate speed".
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2:
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
April 14, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 2:
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
"The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it."
@jayapal.house.gov Rep. Jayapal, this really looks like market manipulation. Any chance for a House investigation?
I’m telling y’all
April 9, 2025 at 6:30 PM
@jayapal.house.gov Rep. Jayapal, this really looks like market manipulation. Any chance for a House investigation?
biblioracle.substack.com/p/what-matters I love the quote from a review someone wrote of Warner's (@biblioracle.bsky.social) short story collection.
"I read that review and felt like at least one other person understood what I was trying to say to the world, and what is better than that."
"I read that review and felt like at least one other person understood what I was trying to say to the world, and what is better than that."
What Matters?
And why?
biblioracle.substack.com
April 8, 2025 at 8:08 PM
biblioracle.substack.com/p/what-matters I love the quote from a review someone wrote of Warner's (@biblioracle.bsky.social) short story collection.
"I read that review and felt like at least one other person understood what I was trying to say to the world, and what is better than that."
"I read that review and felt like at least one other person understood what I was trying to say to the world, and what is better than that."
So A Minecraft Movie isn't exactly a *good* movie, but it is a lot of *fun*. And it's at least twice as fun if you are in a theater crowded with teenagers who spontaneously applaud for all the meme references. Highly recommended shared experience.
April 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
So A Minecraft Movie isn't exactly a *good* movie, but it is a lot of *fun*. And it's at least twice as fun if you are in a theater crowded with teenagers who spontaneously applaud for all the meme references. Highly recommended shared experience.
Just started reading Shannon Vallor's __The AI Mirror__ @shannonvallor.bsky.social
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Very excited about the book -- I'm going to try threading quotes as I read. The intro sets up a metaphor of AI as a mirror of ourselves, that we're caught in like Narcissus (1/n)
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Very excited about the book -- I'm going to try threading quotes as I read. The intro sets up a metaphor of AI as a mirror of ourselves, that we're caught in like Narcissus (1/n)
April 1, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Just started reading Shannon Vallor's __The AI Mirror__ @shannonvallor.bsky.social
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Very excited about the book -- I'm going to try threading quotes as I read. The intro sets up a metaphor of AI as a mirror of ourselves, that we're caught in like Narcissus (1/n)
global.oup.com/academic/pro...
Very excited about the book -- I'm going to try threading quotes as I read. The intro sets up a metaphor of AI as a mirror of ourselves, that we're caught in like Narcissus (1/n)
This is really cool -- it hits out of the park, so to speak.
March 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
This is really cool -- it hits out of the park, so to speak.
theimportantwork.substack.com/p/shaping-se... I really love this piece, from João Batalheiro Ferreira.
"Don’t try to outpace the machines, but yield no ground."
...
"Remember, the first million words are practice. Be vulnerable; computers aren’t. And vulnerability is the path to wisdom."
"Don’t try to outpace the machines, but yield no ground."
...
"Remember, the first million words are practice. Be vulnerable; computers aren’t. And vulnerability is the path to wisdom."
Shaping Sentences, Shaping Thought
My goal is not to make them write faster, like a machine, but slower, like a person
theimportantwork.substack.com
March 21, 2025 at 1:19 AM
theimportantwork.substack.com/p/shaping-se... I really love this piece, from João Batalheiro Ferreira.
"Don’t try to outpace the machines, but yield no ground."
...
"Remember, the first million words are practice. Be vulnerable; computers aren’t. And vulnerability is the path to wisdom."
"Don’t try to outpace the machines, but yield no ground."
...
"Remember, the first million words are practice. Be vulnerable; computers aren’t. And vulnerability is the path to wisdom."
Interesting piece from @ddmeyer.bsky.social , "Do Kids Want a Personalized Netflix for Education?" open.substack.com/pub/danmeyer...
Dan argues no, we already have it, and it doesn't do the job because it doesn't support the shared communal experience that education is and should be.
Dan argues no, we already have it, and it doesn't do the job because it doesn't support the shared communal experience that education is and should be.
March 19, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Interesting piece from @ddmeyer.bsky.social , "Do Kids Want a Personalized Netflix for Education?" open.substack.com/pub/danmeyer...
Dan argues no, we already have it, and it doesn't do the job because it doesn't support the shared communal experience that education is and should be.
Dan argues no, we already have it, and it doesn't do the job because it doesn't support the shared communal experience that education is and should be.