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Growth Mindset Growth Mindset Isn’t Just for Students—It’s for Educators Too In the ever-evolving world of education, the concept of a growth mindset has become a cornerstone not only for students, but for educators as well. Early in our careers, much of our cognitive energy is spent simply surviving: figuring out what to teach, how to teach it, and how to design activities, labs, and assessments that work. Eventually, with experience, many of us reach a point of confidence—w

One of the most meaningful shifts I’ve made in my courses is moving from “show me you memorized this” to “show me you understand this.” Letting students create their own interactive applets—even simple ones—has become one of the most powerful ways to do that. Compass Coach Applet When students build an applet to practice or demonstrate a physics concept, they are no longer passive users of technology. They become designers, testers, and explainers of ideas. To make an applet

When my kids were in middle school, their school didn’t have a certified science instructor. The teachers were doing their best, but I could tell they were overwhelmed and needed support. I wanted to help—and I missed seeing that spark of curiosity that science can bring—so I started a small after-school science club. At first, we had ten students. We did simple experiments, explored how things worked, and laughed a lot when things didn’t go as planned. Within a year, that li

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been exploring something I’ve wanted to do for years—create an app that allows students to draw and save their own free body diagrams (FBDs). As a physics instructor and instructional designer, I’ve long recognized how valuable it is for students to be able to visualize forces interactively, but until recently, the technical barriers made it difficult to bring this idea to life in a simple, browser-based way. Using Claude, I was able to build and

Teaching Growth Mindset, Living Fixed Mindset As educators, we often encourage our students, especially first-generation college students, to believe they can grow their intelligence through effort, feedback, and persistence. We tell them that mistakes are opportunities, not failures. Yet, somewhere along the way, many of us stop giving ourselves that same grace. After years in the classroom, it’s easy to settle into routines that feel safe. The lecture that’s “always worked,

Designing for Curiosity After thirty years of teaching physics and a decade as an instructional designer, I’ve come to realize that curiosity, not content, is the true engine of learning. Physics has always been my favorite laboratory for exploring how people make sense of the world. Over time, I’ve discovered that the same laws that explain motion and energy also apply to how students engage and grow. Whether I’m helping students visualize Newton’s laws or supporting faculty

Discover why aligning instructional materials with learning outcomes matters more than covering every chapter—and how it transforms student learning.

Adult learners enter the classroom with a lifetime of experiences, beliefs, and practical knowledge. These experiences are valuable—they help learners make sense of new concepts through familiar lenses.

When instruction is designed with purpose and empathy, misconceptions become opportunities for insight, and students begin to see themselves not as passive receivers of information but as active builders of understanding.

Education has always evolved alongside technology. The printing press, calculators, the internet—all were once seen as threats to learning. But each, when used thoughtfully, expanded access and creativity.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop at Michigan State University titled AI Ethics in STEM—and it was truly transformative.As someone who works at the intersection of teaching, learning, and technology, I’ve been exploring how artificial intelligence can enhance student engagement and deepen understanding. But this workshop reminded me that before we design with AI, we must first learn to think critically about it.