Matt Randall
@randallphysics.bsky.social
Science and engineering teacher.
#iTeachPhysics #iTeachChem #ModPhys
#ModChem
#iTeachPhysics #iTeachChem #ModPhys
#ModChem
I haven’t experienced this yet, mine are still young, but I’ve thought a lot about this. It seems like a hard balance to know when to talk to the teacher if their practices seem off.
October 1, 2025 at 2:03 AM
I haven’t experienced this yet, mine are still young, but I’ve thought a lot about this. It seems like a hard balance to know when to talk to the teacher if their practices seem off.
One or the other :) There are pros and cons for each.
August 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
One or the other :) There are pros and cons for each.
This is great! What other books are on your list?
July 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM
This is great! What other books are on your list?
Thanks! This is a great summer project for me.
June 8, 2025 at 2:07 AM
Thanks! This is a great summer project for me.
Also, do you cut your own handles in the boards? If so, how did you do it?
June 7, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Also, do you cut your own handles in the boards? If so, how did you do it?
That looks great! I have a co-worker who wants to start using whiteboards and wants stands too. This looks very doable, thanks for the pics!
June 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
That looks great! I have a co-worker who wants to start using whiteboards and wants stands too. This looks very doable, thanks for the pics!
St my first school, I co-led a group we called the “3 minute observation club.” Each week we took turns observing in one another’s classrooms for 3 minutes with a specific prompt, and then talked about what we saw and what it made us think about our own teaching at lunch. It was awesome.
June 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
St my first school, I co-led a group we called the “3 minute observation club.” Each week we took turns observing in one another’s classrooms for 3 minutes with a specific prompt, and then talked about what we saw and what it made us think about our own teaching at lunch. It was awesome.
Thank you for sharing this!
May 17, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Thank you for sharing this!
I had a co-worker share AI responses to the reflection questions for our evaluation process, encouraging others to consider that use of AI. I now put a disclaimer that I didn’t use AI on the writing I do for our evaluation process.
May 17, 2025 at 3:02 PM
I had a co-worker share AI responses to the reflection questions for our evaluation process, encouraging others to consider that use of AI. I now put a disclaimer that I didn’t use AI on the writing I do for our evaluation process.
That’s good feedback. I got to participate in updating the Patterns Chemistry curriculum last year. There are a lot of great people making cool improvements each year.
April 25, 2025 at 3:37 AM
That’s good feedback. I got to participate in updating the Patterns Chemistry curriculum last year. There are a lot of great people making cool improvements each year.
I had such a good experience working at a district where we adopted Patterns for our 9-11 science program, were trained in it together, had a lot of alignment between courses, and used teaching practices to meet the NGSS. I’m trying to advocate for something similar in my new district.
April 25, 2025 at 2:10 AM
I had such a good experience working at a district where we adopted Patterns for our 9-11 science program, were trained in it together, had a lot of alignment between courses, and used teaching practices to meet the NGSS. I’m trying to advocate for something similar in my new district.
I moved back to WA this year. In my new district, our main track, by design, has 2 years of Physical Science where the second year is a near duplicate of the first. The reasoning I’ve heard is similar to yours, there is concern that the majority of students can’t pass a standard chem class.
April 25, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I moved back to WA this year. In my new district, our main track, by design, has 2 years of Physical Science where the second year is a near duplicate of the first. The reasoning I’ve heard is similar to yours, there is concern that the majority of students can’t pass a standard chem class.
I spent my last 3 years teaching in Oregon and can confidently day that most of the state has a high school sequence that makes meeting the NGSS a priority (more than 2/3 of the H.S students are in schools that use the Patterns Curriculum).
April 25, 2025 at 1:23 AM
I spent my last 3 years teaching in Oregon and can confidently day that most of the state has a high school sequence that makes meeting the NGSS a priority (more than 2/3 of the H.S students are in schools that use the Patterns Curriculum).
It sounds like this may be past, but I think the argument is that it is still our responsibility (and also a worthy goal) for our teaching and learning to meet the NGSS standards.
April 25, 2025 at 1:13 AM
It sounds like this may be past, but I think the argument is that it is still our responsibility (and also a worthy goal) for our teaching and learning to meet the NGSS standards.
Many school districts map out the performance expectations over a 3 year sequence. I believe districts have to pass an audit for this. I’ve never taught forensics, but my guess is that it’s more of a cool elective course and might be less about ensuring that the whole of the NGSS are addressed.
April 24, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Many school districts map out the performance expectations over a 3 year sequence. I believe districts have to pass an audit for this. I’ve never taught forensics, but my guess is that it’s more of a cool elective course and might be less about ensuring that the whole of the NGSS are addressed.
Do students take courses that adequately address the NGSS standards? Does your school district map the NGSS performance expectations to the courses students take, to make sure the whole set of standards are being addressed?
April 24, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Do students take courses that adequately address the NGSS standards? Does your school district map the NGSS performance expectations to the courses students take, to make sure the whole set of standards are being addressed?
I’ve also seen the transformative nature of having a high quality curriculum (Modeling, Patterns) on teachers. Having a great starting point is a game changer. But if it’s overly scripted, it’s really confining. (Sorry if this was long, this is my teaching life right now).
March 31, 2025 at 3:16 AM
I’ve also seen the transformative nature of having a high quality curriculum (Modeling, Patterns) on teachers. Having a great starting point is a game changer. But if it’s overly scripted, it’s really confining. (Sorry if this was long, this is my teaching life right now).
One benefit of this curriculum is that someone with very little background/understanding of science teaching could do about the same job as someone who does. It’s hard to see how disheartening it is. I supposed there could be good scripted curriculum, but this isn’t it.
March 31, 2025 at 3:12 AM
One benefit of this curriculum is that someone with very little background/understanding of science teaching could do about the same job as someone who does. It’s hard to see how disheartening it is. I supposed there could be good scripted curriculum, but this isn’t it.
I am at a new school this year. We have a highly scripted curriculum (Amplify Science). Everyone hates it. There are teachers counting the days until they retire with no hope of change. I am re-writing the lessons to make them more engaging, while still following the curriculum, it’s a huge lift.
March 31, 2025 at 3:10 AM
I am at a new school this year. We have a highly scripted curriculum (Amplify Science). Everyone hates it. There are teachers counting the days until they retire with no hope of change. I am re-writing the lessons to make them more engaging, while still following the curriculum, it’s a huge lift.
Ugghh. Gut punch.
March 23, 2025 at 6:04 AM
Ugghh. Gut punch.
I was not expecting the second sentence. Cool!
March 6, 2025 at 2:40 AM
I was not expecting the second sentence. Cool!
Have you made any adaptations to make it align better with NGSS? I’m a lifelong modeler and recently started using the Patterns Curriculum. It has a lot of the same strategies as modeling, such as paradigm labs and data discussions, but also taught me a lot about how to address the NGSS.
February 26, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Have you made any adaptations to make it align better with NGSS? I’m a lifelong modeler and recently started using the Patterns Curriculum. It has a lot of the same strategies as modeling, such as paradigm labs and data discussions, but also taught me a lot about how to address the NGSS.