Science In-Between

Scott and Ollie open with playful talk about listener numbers and the strange ways audiences behave.

Ollie and Scott coin the term 'pedagogical offloading' to describe teachers becoming so reliant on AI for feedback, lesson planning, and grading that they lose core professional skills, building on the established idea of student 'cognitive offloading.' They cite OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's stated goal of selling intelligence 'the same way as we sell every other utility, whether it's like water or electricity,' and debate whether AI is really more like electricity, a car, or a heavily regulated technology like x-rays.

Science In-Between hosts Ollie, who has run Millersville University's teacher-education partnerships since 2007, and Scott, who supervises Penn State science-education student teachers, discuss how universities and K-12 schools structure student-teaching placements.

Two co-hosts of Science In-Between, one of whom does AI-focused professional development in K-12 schools, discuss why schools are reconsidering one-to-one laptop and iPad programs as AI complicates assessment reliability.

This episode discusses accommodations in education, sparked by a New York Times article and ongoing debates at universities like Penn State, exploring their origins in K-12 and implications for higher education.

Science In-Between hosts Ollie and Scott are joined by three guests — Elizabeth Langren and Paula of Marymount University's School of Education and Charnette, an institutional-effectiveness administrator at a school on Maxwell Air Force Base — to discuss their research on AI use in qualitative doctoral research.

Science In-Between hosts Ollie and Scott McDonald dig into Pennsylvania's competency-based teacher certification model, which has grown by 22 new state-mandated competencies — covering cultural awareness, trauma-aware mental health, and technology — without removing any older requirements.

Hosts Ollie and Scott discuss Pennsylvania's newly named state science content advisor, Jason Zimmerman, and what the loosely defined role has historically meant for statewide science-standards implementation.

Science In-Between hosts Ollie and Scott examine the difference between 'knowing' facts and 'understanding' them, using AI neural networks as an analogy for how meaning is built from relationships between pieces of information.

The hosts discuss using card games as a tool for science education, sharing their experiences and the prevalence of game-based learning.

Two educators discuss snow days and how schools handle them, blending personal anecdotes with reflections on teaching.

Two educators discuss the challenges and humor of podcasting and science teaching, touching on Bob Dylan's unconventional interview style.

Two hosts discuss their podcast's five-year history and a recurring issue of untitled episodes, blending casual banter with reflections on science education.

Two science educators engage in a casual, reflective conversation about the nature of their podcast and the value of informal musings in science teaching.

Two educators discuss how to support struggling student teachers in science education programs.

Two educators discuss their ambivalence toward New Year's resolutions and their habit-driven approach to personal change.

Two hosts have a casual, unscripted conversation about science teaching and connecting different worlds.

Two hosts engage in a casual conversation about science teaching and connecting different worlds, with playful banter about music and percussion.

Two educators discuss winter preparations and the end of the semester, leading into a conversation about science teaching.

Two educators discuss a recent article from Academe magazine about science teaching and academic life.

Scott and Ollie open with a line about ambiguity and use it to frame a careful conversation about ambitious science teaching, the limits of applied research, and why classroom judgment and research judgment do not always line up.

Science In-Between turns to a faculty search.

Two educators discuss a federal mandate requiring schools to be ADA compliant by April 2026, focusing on digital and physical accessibility beyond ramps.

The hosts discuss unionization efforts in academia, including Ollie's role as union president and a graduate student vote at Penn State.

The hosts banter about a minor injury and celebrate reaching 261 episodes of their science teaching podcast.

The hosts discuss technology challenges in university classrooms at the start of the semester, focusing on wireless projection systems.

The hosts discuss their visually distracting backgrounds and patterns before transitioning to excitement about sharing details of a recent trip to Mexico.

The hosts discuss using virtual backgrounds to simulate being in an office during remote work, with a humorous reveal of switching between virtual and real backgrounds.

The hosts celebrate their 250th episode with humorous banter about the financial losses and lack of wealth from podcasting.

The hosts share listener feedback and a story about a librarian organizing her library around AST, highlighting the impact of their science teaching podcast.

The hosts discuss revisiting a topic about science standards and curriculum evolution in a local school district.

This episode introduces a discussion about thermo aquaticus, a scientific topic, after casual banter about home painting and weather.