Category Archives: Uncategorized

I’m a science teacher. Next year, I’m teaching a Science Fiction and Fantasy English class.

I hated English in high school. If there was one class I thought I’d never want to teach…it’s English. Reading was kind of boring, writing was a lot of work for little gain, and grading papers…no, no, no, no. Yet, here I am entering my 10th year of teaching at Collegiate, and I’m about toContinueContinue reading “I’m a science teacher. Next year, I’m teaching a Science Fiction and Fantasy English class.”

A Year of Making Science Videos

A year ago, I sat in front of my computer, frustrated and on the verge of angry tears. The pandemic had become real a week earlier. My school closed its building, and we spent a week planning for fourth quarter “emergency online learning.” It was a fast transition, but one my school did well. WeContinueContinue reading “A Year of Making Science Videos”

Why You Should Always Buy the Biggest Pizza Pi!

Yesterday was Pi Day, and as a high school science teacher, this is a big deal. Not as big of a deal as it is for math teachers, but until the practical but not-yet-widely-accepted Tau catches on, it’s the best mathematical constant we can celebrate during the school year. My wife Carol and I aboutContinueContinue reading “Why You Should Always Buy the Biggest Pizza Pi!”

Can people in wheelchairs kick ass?

  A friend of mine shared this photo. It stirred up in me a lot of thoughts about disability (I have a complete L2 spinal cord injury, meaning I’m paralyzed from the waist down). Everything I wrote here applies to a non-disabled person thinking about a disabled person, or a disabled person thinking about aContinueContinue reading “Can people in wheelchairs kick ass?”

I’m picking up a new hobby: Animation!

I just made this .gif file! Hype! I downloaded an animation app for mac called Hype. My first thought was to check out Adobe, but $50/month is a bit steep for me (or $20/month with the teacher discount). Hype is just a $50 one-time purchase. Why? Well, the short of this is that I wantContinueContinue reading “I’m picking up a new hobby: Animation!”

Tic Tacs, Aliens, and Action Potentials!

Here are manipulatives I made and bought (i.e., tic tacs) to help students memorize the steps of action potentials! I have resources and a more detailed description of the lesson cycle posted below.    Developing the Action Potential Model We go through the action potential steps together first. We have a section on cell membranes at theContinueContinue reading “Tic Tacs, Aliens, and Action Potentials!”

Big Idea Posters in Anatomy & Physiology

“Anatomy and Physiology is just a lot of rote memorization, isn’t it?” I have been asked that a handful of times, and my gut instinct is a resounding “no.” Then, I admit that there is a fair amount of memorization in my A&P class. That’s just part of the package. But memorization is not theContinueContinue reading “Big Idea Posters in Anatomy & Physiology”

Innate and Adaptive Immunity – Flipping, Whiteboarding, Case Studies, Thinking!

EDIT: I now have my own adaptive immunity video! For my classes, I now use my own video instead of the Bozeman video. The human immune system is extremely intricate and complex. In a high school A&P class, it’s an extremely important but somewhat abstract process. Like every process in physiology, we have to simplifyContinueContinue reading “Innate and Adaptive Immunity – Flipping, Whiteboarding, Case Studies, Thinking!”