Inertia Educational Services

02/13/2024

Another deep dive into the science of decision making. A great follow up to "Thinking Fast and Slow", this work moves beyond the study of bias and peers into the realm of everything else that can affect our judgments....which happens to be A LOT.

Some estimates suggest that teachers make, as a baseline, about 1500 decisions per day in addition to asking (and answering!) 200-400 questions (often more).

Teacher friends, if you think you are making objective decisions 100% of the time, think again. There is much we can do to improve our "decision hygiene" in an effort to reduce unwanted noise. Our success, and more importantly, our students' success depends on it.

12/30/2023

A year in books. Learned a lot and finished with a reading wishlist about 5 times as long! The journey never ends. Top picks :

1. The Creative Act - Rick Rubin (I could not put this one down and immediately wanted to reread it. Every page is a gem.)
2. American Prometheus - Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin (An incredible account of a controversial and fascinating character. This one inspired Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" which, incidentally, is my favourite movie of 2023)
3. The Choice - Dr. Edith Eger (another inspiring story from someone who survived one of the darker chapters of human history and went on to lead an exemplary life in the service of others - on par with Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning")

Goal for 2024? Maybe improve my handwriting, or start with a larger page 😜

11/11/2023

Yet another masterpiece from one of my favourite authors. Required reading for teachers, coaches, mentors, hiring managers, administrators, or anyone who has anything to do with bringing the best out of people, including themselves.

Everyone has the capacity for growth and is capable of more than what is showcased on an application or resume. There needs to be a push for systems and organizations to recognize an individual's capacity for growth and their resilience in overcoming obstacles. An assessment of a person's trajectory over time is worth far more than the simple snapshots that are often prized by interviewers or hiring/admission committees.

Here, the evidence is laid bare. There is much room for improvement and the tools and strategies are available. This is not just another collection of inspiring stories. It's a roadmap of concrete, evidence-based actions and practices that can be implemented today to bring the best out of individuals, teams, and organizations. It's difficult to accept the status quo when the path forward can be improved for so many. If you work with people in any capacity, READ THIS BOOK!

And if you're a teacher who believes in evidence-based practices, move to Finland 😉 or disrupt the status quo wherever you are. Cheers!

06/08/2023

Sample Pro-D template with tons of free resources for math/science/physics teachers.
Excellent for those seeking virtual solutions for creating demonstrations and/or lab activities.

Rationale

02/03/2023

Building on the last example, here we have a 270 degree servo being controlled with a potentiometer using a Circuit Playground Express (CPX).

The CPX has a light sensor that is able to measure the wavelength of incoming light. When the button is pressed, the built in LEDs emit bright white light (containing wavelengths of all colors).

Light then reflects off of the Lego brick and the reflected wavelength is measured by the light sensor.

The wavelength value is then converted to an RGB value that is transmitted to the built in LEDs.

Hence, we have a "color detector"!

02/02/2023

Practical application of Python's "mapping" function.

Here we have an analog input (potentiometer = 0-1028) controlling the position of a servo motor (0-270).

Mapping automatically assigns each potentiometer value to a corresponding angle in real time!

Very useful in robotics for controlling specific movements (steering, pivoting, gear rotation, etc.) or for any application where input/output values don't match up.

01/26/2023

Another simple demo that demonstrates the magnetic properties of electrical current.

Students typically note 2 things once they get it working:

1. The presence of magnets induce movement in the coil - more magnets = faster spin.

2. The coil heats up the longer it spins. This also happens in the absence of magnets.

We can easily extend this to create a lab activity with different variables. For example:

-What happens to the spin rate when we add more magnets? when we increase/decrease the coil length?

-What happens when we flip the polarity of the battery?

-What happens when we add a battery?

-Does current still flow in the absence of magnets? How can you tell?

A very cheap, but very effective intro to learning about electromagnetism!

01/25/2023

Quick and easy demo to visualize the concept of variable resistance in electric .

Much easier to understand how current flow is affected when compared with a standard potentiometer.

I'm using a as a power source, but a battery will give the same effect.

01/07/2023

"rather than relying solely on lectures, teachers should facilitate “learning to think in a different way, and there’s real expertise in how to guide people to do that”. Many education experts promote active-learning techniques, such as getting students to work together to solve problems. More than 100 courses at the University of British Columbia were altered as a result of Wieman’s initiative"

A small but growing number of scientific faculty positions are focusing on the science of teaching.