As I am writing my last blog post this summer, I have noticed a number of new posts online on the “stop-homework-before-it-stops-us” movement. The movement, or at least the way I understood it, aims to abolish homework in our schools as it has very low value (if not a negative value) in the eyes of […]

When I watched this video (in Hebrew), I knew that I had to make sure that my students – future physics teachers can watch it as well. This motivated me to contact an Israeli physics teacher – Dr. Ilya Mazin and ask him if it would be OK for me to translate it into English. […]

This summer I was asked to teach an Inquiry course in our STEM Teacher Education Program. The course is the last inquiry course that teacher-candidates take after they have completed their school practicum. As a result, they come to this course with much richer and more interesting experiences as compared to their previous, pre-practicum courses. […]

I am teaching a summer Inquiry course for future mathematics and science teachers. As I was planning this course I decided to make it as exciting and relevant for the teacher-candidates and for myself as I could. So every meeting I try to share some interesting teaching ideas with them and to learn from them […]

As I am preparing to my 8th academic year as a Teacher at the Faculty of Education at the University of British Columbia, I keep thinking of my role as a science educator who has a lucky opportunity to help prepare new STEM teachers. I am deliberately using the word Teacher and not Professor, as I think […]

I am very fortunate to be able to participate in the 4th International STEM in Education Conference at Beijing Normal University. I am also proud to represent UBC and to be a member of the Executive Organizing Committee. I feel I am a part of a very exciting group and I hope we will become […]

Every year I feel excited to explore educational technology tutorials created by the students in my ETEC 533 online course that focuses on creative use of technology in mathematics and science education. I hope these tutorials be used not only by my students (who are mostly secondary mathematics and science educators), but by other educators as well. […]

I am getting ready to attend a Euro Science Fun Conference in Iceland. I have been actively involved in math and science outreach for almost two decades now. I am very familiar with the outreach efforts (in math, physics and chemistry) that are going on in North America. I have helped to establish a number […]

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.  Winston Churchill During this weekend, I happened to stumble a number of times upon an idea that failure is crucial for learning. While listening to Bill Nye’s book “Undeniable” in the gym, I  noticed how he talked about Dolly the sheep and […]

As I have been preparing for my Saturday Mathematics for Parents and Children Workshop, I started thinking again about why it is so important to engage adults and children in meaningful mathematics and science studies. Do we do it to have more scientists and engineers? Do we do it to have a scientifically literate population? Do […]