Science teaching, modeled from the classroom out.
Science Modeling Talks centers science teaching as craft: modeling workshops, proportional reasoning, physics-first classrooms, and student reasoning. Mark Royce speaks with teachers and AMTA figures about how modeling works in real classrooms, from ninth-grade physics to teacher preparation.
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Science Modeling Talks is an interview series for the science education world, focused on modeling instruction as both classroom method and professional community. Mark Royce speaks with educators whose work touches modeling from different angles: high school teaching, university teacher preparation, AMTA leadership, workshops, curriculum design, and research on student reasoning. The recent episodes give the show a clear center of gravity. Modeling is not presented as a slogan. It appears through proportional reasoning in chemistry, gas laws, physics-first classrooms, student fear around presenting ideas, workshop keys for teachers, and the slow work of helping students solve problems on their own. The conversations are practical. They stay close to what teachers actually manage: mixed math preparation, large science departments, being the only physics teacher, AP and regular sections, remote and in-person workshops, and the challenge of adapting advice from one school culture to another. There is also an organizational layer. Episodes with Ine Maysit-Williams and Caroline Savio-Ramos bring AMTA’s roles, membership work, district outreach, workshop logistics, and internal systems into view. That gives the show a wider frame than classroom tips alone. It follows how a teaching method becomes a shared infrastructure. The research side is present too, especially in the conversation with Cynthia Passmore, where modeling is tied to student learning, curriculum design, teacher professional development, and the NGSS practices of asking questions, analyzing data, planning investigations, and building explanations. The pacing is conversational and teacher-to-teacher. Guests are introduced through their background, then asked to connect that experience to modeling practice. A veteran teacher can talk about shifting away from lecture and labs. A university educator can explain what teacher candidates do and do not get time to practice. A physics teacher can describe gender equity and the changing education landscape from inside a school. The show’s appeal is not polish or provocation. It is accumulated specificity. Across the recent run, Science Modeling Talks shows modeling instruction as something educators keep refining in public, with enough classroom detail to make the philosophy feel testable.
Made for: Suits a listener who teaches science, prepares science teachers, leads professional development, or wants a grounded view of modeling instruction in practice.
What sets it apart: The show connects modeling instruction to both classroom choices and AMTA’s working infrastructure, so pedagogy, workshops, leadership, and teacher support appear in the same frame.
Science Modeling Talks is a podcast series that introduces you to top science Modeling teachers and thought leaders in a relaxed and conversational interview format.In our episodes, you'll hear stories and ideas that help the science education community learn and grow as effective classroom teachers. Visit our website for show note, links and more info about our guests: sciencemodelingtalks.com
From ninth-grade diagrams to workshop dorm rates, Mark Royce takes your science-teacher problems seriously.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded look at flexible problem-solving and the collaborative work behind modeling instruction.
Proportional reasoning comes through as a matter of classroom judgment as Janelle Hollingshead describes learning with Larry and Brenda to help teachers use the approach with more confidence.
Ine Maysit-Williams' path through science, higher education, nonprofit work, and climate justice leads to AMTA leadership.
Science Modeling Talks profiles Ine Maysit-Williams as the new Associate Executive Officer for the American Modeling Teachers Association, following a path that runs from biotechnology into higher education, STEM diversification work, nonprofit leadership, and AMTA.
Lee Trampleasure frames physics-first teaching as a local question of context, math readiness, and practical advice.
Lee Trampleasure gives the episode a steady practical base, tracing a path into teaching that ran from two years at UC Berkeley after high school, to time away, to a later BS in physical science, and then more than 30 years teaching high school physics, chemistry, and other…
A practical look at the planning, communication, and IT work behind bringing modeling instruction to more schools.
Caroline Savio-Ramos brings a teacher's eye to the American Modeling Teachers Association, focusing on what has to happen before modeling instruction can take root beyond a single classroom.
Cynthia Passmore presents modeling as a practical classroom route into scientific reasoning.
Cynthia Passmore frames models as practical tools for learning science, not classroom decorations. She ties modeling to the work students are asked to do when they question, investigate, analyze data, and build explanations.
Tom Pfeiffer reflects on how modeling instruction renewed his teaching and drew him into chemistry workshop leadership.
Tom Pfeiffer's route from biology and chemistry into physics, chemistry, biology, and physical science classrooms gives this Science Modeling Talks episode a natural center: the way modeling instruction changed the texture of his teaching.
A grounded, practical look at how modeling instruction carries into science teacher preparation.
Science Modeling Talks brings Matt Oney into focus through the lens of teacher preparation and modeling instruction. As Associate Director for Integrated Secondary Science at Michigan State University, he draws on a long classroom background, including more than 10 years…
A candid look at building a physics program, finding professional community, and helping students feel they belong.
Lynn Jorgensen's path from a BA in physics teaching at BYU to 10 years teaching physics at Gilbert High School gives this review a grounded center: how one teacher makes physics feel reachable for students with different math backgrounds and very different plans after…
Long-form conversations about what education is for.
School stories, told close to the classroom.
Local STEM careers, told plainly.
Faculty conversations on sepsis, sunscreen and science fiction.
Gary Abood's ChemEd example is the turning point Janelle Hollingshead says changed how she taught rates and fractions, because 'for every one hour, I travel 60 miles' made proportional reasoning click.
Science Modeling Talks interviews Ine Maysit-Williams, AMTA's new Associate Executive Officer, about her first months in a role the organization had not really had before.
Science Modeling Talks host Mark Royce talks with Lee Trampleasure, a teacher who says he has spent more than 30 years teaching high school physics, chemistry, and earth science and who holds California credentials for those subjects plus English language development.
["Caroline Savio-Ramos is AMTA's new executive officer, and Mark Royce frames the interview around modeling instruction, whiteboarding, and the organization's move from eWebLife to Wild Apricot.", "She traces modeling to Colleen McGowan Romanowicz at Arizona State University after teaching physics in New Jersey, Newark, and later Atlanta.", "Caroline says 2-by-3-foot whiteboards and gallery walks produced 100% engagement and gave quieter students, including girls, more room to speak.", "The AMTA half of the conversation covers summer workshops, member outreach, AI-assisted curriculum updates, and the practical work of running a nonprofit."]
Science Modeling Talks episode 75 features Mark Royce interviewing Cynthia Passmore of the University of California, Davis about modeling in science education and her work on a full-year high school biology curriculum.
Tom Pfeiffer describes 40 years teaching physics, chemistry, and physical science, including about 25 years using modeling instruction.
Matt Oney, Associate Director for Integrated Secondary Science at Michigan State University, explains how a 2015 physics modeling workshop changed his teaching after a difficult first year.
Science Modeling Talks host Mark Royce interviews Lynn Jorgensen, the National PhysTech Physics Teacher of the Year and a former American Modeling Teachers Association board member.
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Science Modeling Talks host Mark Royce interviews Emma Mitchell, a physics teacher and science department chair at the Ethel Walker School, about modeling instruction.
Ariel Serkin and Brenda Royce discuss improving student mathematical reasoning through modeling instruction in chemistry education.
Earl Legleiter discusses his background in science education and his work with modeling instruction in rural schools.
Jeff Steinert, a former mechanical engineer turned science teacher, discusses his journey into modeling instruction and his 24 years of experience teaching physics.
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Melissa Girmscheid and Jess Dykes discuss their work as editors and trainers for the Computational Modeling and Physics First Project with Bootstrap.