My pedagogy matured during the golden age of blogging. I'm incredibly thankful to @rhettallain.bsky.social for being central to that work. Congratulations on your Richtmyer Memorial Lecture Award! #AAPTWM26 "Everything is a real-world physics problem: for large values of real." --Rhett Allain

Jim Perry and I just finished presenting “Live Action Problems” at #AAPTWM26. We both very much appreciate the community for being incredibly welcoming to us as first time presenters. #ITeachPhysics Examples and a framework for writing your own are at kalamitykat.com/2026/01/19/l....

Say what, Gemini?

Happy Hanukkah from our family to yours!

Man, I love teaching fluids. #ITeachPhysics This pic led to a great discussion that included "why does this problem seem to be trying to get you to draw the wrong conclusion?"

It’s so cold today that there are teenagers wearing coats.

My seven-year-old is writing a book #ITeachMath ♾️

Reading 1.000 g/m^3 as 1000 g/m^3 has got to be the most annoying mistake these international students have made this week. Q: How do you differentiate 1.000 as 1 vs 1000? American school with international students. Sure, they should know the density of water, but I'm thinking more abstractly. 🎢

Do y'all have camera recommendations for physics labs in a no-phone school setting? Must be able to capture objects in freefall and have low-enough distortion for video analysis. #ITeachPhysics 🎢 Maybe something like this? www.amazon.com/dp/B01N3QO9JW/

I found your cardboard boat project, @mrsgphysics.bsky.social in the AMTA projects folder. Am considering a similar one. One big question, tho: were you satisfied with the ratio of physicsing to general project fun? Everyone -- I'd love to hear how I can improve that ratio on projects.

Nothing quite like this message the day grades are due, eh @mathmansam.bsky.social?

When the globe is removed, will the scale reading, go up, down, or stay the same? Great test of Newton’s 3rd. #ITeachPhysics #teach180 days 34 & 37 This was part of the balanced forces lab practical on Tues. We revisited it on Fri for families-visit-class day.

Teachers: You don't have to teach this tool.

#ITeachPhysics After too many hours of troubleshooting, I give you The Monkey and the Zookeeper...with a Twist: our monkey has a parachute. The zookeeper needs to deliver a banana to feed the monkey on the fall.

#ITeachPhysics, do you use interaction diagrams (aka system schema) to help students identify interaction pairs? They've never sat well with me because students mistakenly try to apply directional meaning. I give you my modification: the Interaction List. How else are we formalizing ID'ing forces?

Doing the hover puck lab, I finally hit upon language that improves student outcomes, "as smoothly as possible." I still need to work on directions for making a sharp left turn because I want them to see that they need to hit at ~45° to the direction of travel. #teach180 day 22 #iTeachPhysics

#ITeachPhysics Strict no phones policy makes video analysis tricky. Except, I have a dozen or more old Androids from FTC robotics I hope to repurpose. Today, I got video off of one of those phones! This is great because my alternative was the inferior camera on a class set of iPads.

Aug 27 was year 22, day 1. Intro classes for Physics 1 (9th gr), Physics 2 (new course), and accelerated Precalc. Physics 2 opened class by trying to time releasing a marble down a track to hit an X on a rotating disk. #teach180 #iTeachPhysics

Teaching a new course this year that stretches my content knowledge and pedagogical expertise. I’m honored for the opportunity and nervous about the many opportunities to have either exposed. This is my 22nd year teaching; it’s been a decade since I felt this raw. Tell me something to help?

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman may be the design bible for human computer interaction but teachers can take an important lesson from it on errors. Norman says there are 2 types of error, how & when they happen, and how to prevent them. 1/

Grrr, my least favorite verb! Friends don't let friends use a more complicated word when a simpler one will do. I can't think of a case where "utilize" gives more detail than "use."

I appreciated @emmaphys.bsky.social interview on Science Modeling Talks because it was great hearing a fellow Physics Firster talking about why we lean more on graphs and diagrams over equations. #ITeachPhysics

Terrible news from Harvard. As schools increasingly shut down their inclusion offices, where are our students finding much-needed support? Replacing institutional support with individual support is a system that's designed to fail.

The photo I’m sending to Bluesky for verification.

@malmeida.bsky.social, @jedediyah.com, and other #ITeachMath and #ITeachPhysics crossovers: I spent last year getting math students to respect the = by using ≈ when approximating. This coming year, I'll have some of those students in physics. Do I need to continue the charade?

When your Insta Bio reads "exploring gravity", like Bastien Dausse's, you're bound to get lots of #ITeachPhysics followers. www.instagram.com/p/C5yaXofM-P...

You are cordially invited to our Anti-Prime Sale, where every purchase will financially support bookstores, NOT billionaires 🥳

Starting off uniform circular motion with the whirling stopper is classic but the data can be inconsistent. How might I make the central force more uniform without spending hundreds on dedicated apparatus? #ITeachPhysics

Back from a week of Experiential Ed work with teachers from across N America. We explored the Kolb Cycle together, as experienced teachers new to ExEd. #ITeachPhysics

In other words, there is no truth in a machine that assembles strings

@jedediyah.com and @mathmansam.bsky.social hey y’all should know each other as 1) data science teachers and 2) as cool people.

A 9th grader made my day when they appreciated that I *didn't* answer their questions: "You even would take our question and write it on the board and have the class try to solve it as a whole rather than just giving an answer which is better than just giving an answer." #iTeachPhysics

Last day of class, and my big reveal on the contents of their Mystery Boxes. Here’s the task: kalamitykat.com/2023/06/06/s... #iTeachPhysics

It was my absolute honor to be recognized twice this week by the MA Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Ed for being selected as a PAEMST state finalist. First, two reps came to my school faculty meeting to share w/my colleagues and next they held a swanky dinner for award winning teachers. 1/2

OMG OMG, I met @aserkin.bsky.social in real life!!

When you believe “confusion is the sweat of learning” by @rhettallain.bsky.social, something cool happens in your brain — you come to see confusion (like workout sweat) as a point of pride, not shame.

Today I realized slime is a non-Newtonian substance. #ITeachPhysics

I think I accidentally called a male colleague sweetie: "Thanks for the invitation. Unfortunately, we can’t attend this awesome event. Most of my team will be taking AP exams that week, boo!"

Creating a Physics 2 course w/colleagues for next year. Algebra-based, for 11th & 12th grades, second to a physics first (9th grade), interested in modeling (capital M- modeling & computational) and experimentation. Got anything I could build on? Prefer not from scratch. #ITeachPhysics 🎢

OK Go continues to add to this STEM teacher's video vault. This time with mirrors and robots. #ITeachPhysics 🎢 #ITeachMath ♾️ #OMGRobots

Spring is finally doing her thing here in Western MA. (Video shows a flag in the foreground and an old New England church in the background. Sky is crisp blue. Green trees between the two.)

Light a bulb with a battery and just one wire. I prefaced the challenge saying it’s tough but everyone always gets it, so they should work alone for the biggest aha moment. G, in the middle, moved away from his group! #iTeachPhysics 🎢

Register for the AAPT High School Physics Teacher Camp happening on Aug. 3rd! This is a great opportunity for high school physics teachers to discuss topics such as inquiry labs, standards-based grading, equity, and other important issues. ow.ly/V0jp50VpHfV #ITeachPhysics

Chag Pesach sameach to all who celebrate. The holiday begins at sundown Saturday and continues for 7 or 8 days, depending on your tradition.

Public schools change students’ lives every single day, but Donald Trump is trying to dismantle our public education system. I asked, and you shared. Here are a few stories about America’s incredible public school teachers.

Meet the Variable Velocity Tumble Buggy, ready for *even more* adventures in your physics classroom thanks to a DC motor controller. How to do this super simple mod: kalamitykat.com/2025/04/01/v... #iTeachPhysics #modphys

High school STEM teachers -- a good friend at UC Davis is looking for a dynamic HS teacher to teach at COSMOS, their summer program for high schoolers. The program runs July 6-Aug 2 and the topic is Sustainable Transportation. cosmos.sf.ucdavis.edu/cluster-10-s... #iTeachPhysics #iTeachMath

Used Trig War card game by @samjshah.bsky.social today. Thank you, Sam! Everyone else: Sam and this game are the awesomest :) #iTeachMath #MTBoS

High School Physics Teacher Camp is back! August 3rd in DC—the Sunday of the @aapthq.bsky.social Summer Meeting. Please tell every high school physics teacher you know. My favorite day of the year. tinyurl.com/AAPTcamp #iteachphysics #iteachmath #modphys Hope to see you there!

"Modeling What We Cannot See", a discussion I had with my 9th grade physics classes. I'm working on facilitating better Socratic dialogs and today felt like a win worth sharing. #iTeachPhysics 🎢