September 14, 2022 • 24 mins
In this episode, Eric Cross sits down with veteran educator and former Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) Middle School Science Teacher of the Year, Marilyn Dieppa. Marilyn shares tips for new teachers, ways to inspire students, and how she utilizes her journalism background to develop literacy skills within her science classroom. She also shares her experiences developing a robotics academy, and the VEX IQ World’s Competition.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
I think my favorite thing is their success.
Whether it's robotics, whetherit's in the classroom, that they
pass a test for the first time,those are my moments of success.
And that's what makes me happy.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Maryland Dipa is a veteran middle school science
educator at Miami dad countypublic schools DEPA launched her
school's stem academy in 2016and developed professional
development through the stemtransformation Institute of
Florida internationaluniversity.
Depo's coached numerous newteachers and was the 2018
Miami-Dade county public school,middle school science teacher of
(00:36):
the year.
In this episode, we discussedher transition from a career in
journalism to the scienceclassroom and the value of
personal and professionalsupport systems for teacher
longevity.
And now please enjoy myconversation with Marilyn Dipa.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Nice to meet you, Eric.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
nice to meet
you too.
Thank you for, uh, being willingto come with a podcast,
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Not a problem.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
So you're out in, you're out in Florida.
Mm-hmm in, uh, Dadecounty.
Yes.
In I'm out here in San Diego.
So I'm like literally on theother side of the country, have
you, were you born and raised inFlorida?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Um, I've been here for 40 years, so I've been here
most of my life.
Yeah.
I, I was I'm Puerto Rican, but Iwas RA you know, my young
childhood, I was in New Jersey.
And then when I was 15, I camedown,
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I looked at like your kind of, some of your accolades,
which are really impressive.
The things that you've done for,for students with robotics
mm-hmm and all theeducation, or, um, kind of like
teacher enrichment, a lot ofmentoring and coaching that you
do.
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I am part of leadership team for the
district.
I do a lot of training.
I work on curriculum.
We, I help with pacing guides tomake sure that everything is
based on what the state wants,what the district wants.
I have done a lot for thedistrict in the last, probably
20 years.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
What got you into teaching initially?
What was your, like why middleschool science were like a
unique group?
This
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Is the second career choice for me.
So I've only been doing this for24 years.
I was a journalism major andthen I got married and then I
had my child and I wanted to dosomething.
My thing was that I wanted to,um, go to Iraq.
I wanted to cover the news.
I have a minor in middle Easternculture.
Um, so there was a lot of thingsthat were in my mind when I was
(02:19):
young remarried.
Um, and after, you know, youhave children, priorities kind
of changed.
So I totally changed pretty muchhad to start from scratch with
my degree because nothing kindof transferred over from
journalism to teaching.
So before I actually did that, Istarted subbing just to see if I
liked it.
And I fell in love with teachingright away.
(02:41):
And that's how I got into it.
So my degree is really inelementary.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Now, when you were subbing, you were doing
elementary school.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yes.
Pretty much elementary.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
How did you go from there to like middle school
science?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
My thing was writing, not necessarily math and
science, but I ended up with mycooperating teacher, my CT.
Um, she was a math and scienceteacher.
So I was put with her and whoknew that I liked science and I
liked math.
Um, so I ended up with that andI infused a lot of labs.
(03:11):
So in elementary you tend to, Ithink teachers are a little bit
afraid of the labs.
So I infused a lot of literaturewith, um, my labs.
I infused all my, I did it likea whole group type thing,
everything I did with my labs, Iincorporated the math.
I incorporated the science.
I incorporated, you know, thereading with it.
And from there, I just, youknow, they ended up putting me
(03:33):
in a lot of leadership roleswith science.
And then my principal wasopening up the school where I'm
at now, my former principal.
And she, you know, she took mewith her.
And so her dissertation was inlooping on how following your
students did that really make adifference in test scores?
(03:53):
So I was part of her like teststudy, and I had students that I
followed for two years in a rowand she would look at data and
that was part of herdissertation.
So that really made adifference.
So I ended up moving with mystudents and my first group of
middle school students, I hadthem for four years.
Oh, wow.
And that was, um, those were mychildren.
I like boohooed when they left.
(04:14):
And I ended up, you know,literally following them from
fourth grade all the way to morethan four years, because it was
all the way until they lefteighth grade.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
What did you think of that model of looping with
students?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I think it's a great model depending on the kids that
you have.
I, I love, you know, the schoolthat I'm, I'm at.
I'm very blessed because it's agreat school.
Mm-hmm,, it'sreally a wonderful school.
I've had really goodrelationship with students.
They always come back and theyalways come back.
When they wanna tell me thatthey're in something in science,
right.
They're an engineer or they're anurse, or they're in, you know,
(04:46):
doctors at this point.
So I've seen it a little bit ofeverything with my students.
And it's, it's very rewarding.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
That's super exciting, right.
When they come back and they'reeither telling you about their
college major or what careerthey're in.
And I like to recruit them atthat point and ask them to come
talk to my students.
Mm-hmm becauseGoogle photos gives you
unlimited storage.
If you have a teacher account,mm-hmm I actually
have photos of students fromlike 10 years ago.
Oh, wow.
And I'll, I'll put their middleschool picture next to their,
(05:12):
and then they're their currentpicture.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Oh, that's awesome.
I've never done that.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
The, yeah.
You could see, like they couldsee the younger version of them.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And it's funny because even with, um, the stem
academy, which I have now, I, Ihave the same group of kids for
three years.
Okay.
So I've had already few groupsthat have gone, gone by, and tho
those kids come back to me, theycome back to our competitions,
they help out, you know, they'revery integrated with their, the
(05:39):
robotics.
So I'm getting those studentsback as well.
So I've maintained thatrelationship with them as
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well.
How do you develop your ownclassroom management style?
How did you figure out whereyour, where you fit and, and
what works for you?
What was your process like forthat?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
You know what I think , um, just by, by teaching
mm-hmm, teachingthem to respect.
And one thing that I'vedeveloped that I don't scream in
my classroom, I just talk to thekids.
I have very good one-on-one, um,communication with them.
I show them respect.
I treat them mm-hmmas an equal.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And what grade are you?
Are you teaching currently?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Eighth grade.
So I do science.
I teach high school science.
I teach comprehensive, which islike our regular students.
Mm-hmm um, I havekids who are inclusion.
I have kids that are easel.
So I teach all, you know,dynamics of students.
And then I have the, theacademy, which is something
separate, but I infuse a lot ofphysics and of course that they
(06:35):
need in order for them to becompetitive.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So tell me about that.
What is the stem academy?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
It is an enrichment program.
So it is an advance enrichmentprogram because they do follow
like the math enrichment.
Um, so they have to be reallygood at math in order for them
to be accepted into the program.
So, one day we got like a grantand we got a little robot, the
vex.
I don't know if you're familiarwith X.
I know it's big in California.
So I was told here, this is foryou.
(07:02):
See what you can do with it.
So I started with an after, um,school club, the following year,
it kind of hit off.
We went to our first littlecompetition.
The kids did really well.
And then the following year,they told me, Hey, we need an
academy, make it happen.
So it's not like I had acurriculum.
I kind of do my own thing, butwe do a lot of different types
of things.
(07:22):
Our big portion is the vex, butI also do sec me, we do future
city.
Um, we do a whole bunch ofcompetitions within the
district, you know, math full.
So I get my kids prepared foranything that really has to do
competitive base.
I do that with those students,
Speaker 2 (07:38):
What age range or which grade range?
Sixth
Speaker 1 (07:40):
To eighth.
We have kids who stay the threeyears and then we have kids that
after, you know, sometimes it'smore the parents that want them
to be part of the engineering.
Um, but sometimes we lose kidsafter the first year and you
know, that's fine because wewanna really have kids who
really wanna be there and are,you know, committed to it
because there's a lot ofcommitments to that program.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Tho those types of programs, there's so many like
outside of the classroom, thingsthat you need to take care of,
if you're gonna competitions andweekends and all those types of
things.
Is there a team of teachers thatare doing this or is it just you
team of one?
a team of one team,right.
Of one like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And how long have you been running this yourself?
Um,
Speaker 1 (08:16):
This is probably like my sixth year.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
So we've been very successful.
That program is totally inquiry.
It's totally on them.
I don't know how to use alittle, you know, remote
control.
I don't know how to do anything.
I'm there for troubleshoot andto make sure that they're on
task, but they have been verysuccessful because I do put
everything on them and I go,it's not my robot.
This is your robot.
So they build everything
Speaker 2 (08:40):
That, and that seems to be the theme, especially with
a lot of times the scienceteachers and encouraging them to
say, you don't have to be theexpert in everything.
Yes.
Teachers tend to be more likerisk taking and innovative when
they're willing to like, nothave to be.
I don't have to know everythingin order to do something.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Exactly.
So we've been very successful,very proud of my students
because you know, um, we've, um,gone to worlds twice.
We've qualified three times inthe six years.
Actually I had two teams thatwent last year.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
What is, what is worlds?
That sounds like a big deal.
It's
Speaker 1 (09:10):
A huge thing.
And it's, it's, um, teams fromall over the world.
You can actually look it uponline.
It's from this year, there wereteams, although they said China
was not gonna be in there.
There were actually some teamsfrom China.
There were teams from, uh, NewZealand.
There were teams from SouthAfrica, the UK, a lot of teams
from, um, from Europe.
And then there are teams fromhere.
(09:32):
We are the host country.
We've been the host country fora while, but it's amazing.
The first time we went, thefirst team that we were paired
up with was a Russian team.
So, you know, there was Googletranslate and the kids and, and
it's it's, they didn't need toknow the same language because
they communicated with therobots.
So it was really amazing.
They work collaboratively.
(09:53):
So it's not like a battle box.
Okay.
So they work two teams togetherand whatever, they both get
together, they both earn thesame points.
Mm-hmm so it's, itteaches leadership and there's
so much more to it than just arobot.
They have to know how tocommunicate because they do get
interviewed.
They do online challenges.
It's, it's so many things.
It's just, I think it's the, oneof the best things that our
(10:16):
district has really likeinvested in because these kids
are so into it and they love itso much for the last two year.
And this year I have the samekids that are in the robotics.
I'm also gonna be teaching themphysical science.
So I have to teach them thatseparation between what we're
doing in our science classesversus what they're doing in the
class.
So there ha there has to be aseparation.
(10:38):
So they see one side of me inthis class where it's very laid
back.
It's very chilled.
No, no, you, you guys do it's,there's no sitting down.
It's like organized chaos.
I call it all the time.
But then in the classroom, ithas to be a little bit more
organized.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Is that something that, that as far as like
getting the, the parts likepeople do, like go fund MES and
donations and donors choose, canyou,
Speaker 1 (11:00):
We get grant money, grant money from the town in
Miami lakes, the town that I, Iwork in.
So the town actually sponsorsus.
Mm-hmm withoutthem, we could not do that.
It is a very expensive, um,activity to do.
If you go online and you look upthe prices, you'll be, oh my
gosh, goodness, it's veryexpensive.
You know?
But the smiles on their faceswhen they come back and they
(11:22):
have those little certificates,I mean, nothing, you know, it's
a little piece of paper, butthat, to me, to them, it means
the
Speaker 2 (11:27):
World.
Well, teachers, if you'relooking for ways to get that
stuff funded, be fearless onbehalf of asking for free things
for your kids, find a localbusiness that somewhat connects
to even robotics and say, Hey,look, mm-hmm, I've
got 50 kids that really want toget after it.
And we need X amount of dollarsso we can buy those robotics
kits.
Mm-hmm, we'll putyour banner up somewhere.
We'll do all these other things,but come support our students,
(11:50):
come to the competition, donatewhatever you can for our, our,
our students.
And many organizations will say,will say yes, many just aren't
asked.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Right?
And a lot of towns do have likeeducation advisory boards.
Mm-hmm you wannareach out to those people, cuz
those are the, the communitieswhere they have money set aside
in order to assist things likethis.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Do you notice any, any carryover between the
students that do get involvedwith these extracurriculars into
the regular science classroom?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
For sure they're more , um, they're more disciplined.
Okay.
They tend to care more about thesciences because they see that
link in the science.
I mean, my kids are talkingabout gear ratios.
They're talking about, you know,mass accelerations.
They had all, they infuse allthese things.
And when they see it in thescience class, they're making
(12:37):
that connection, which is reallywonderful.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It seems like there's a high level of engagement
because this is an authenticthing.
It's almost, this should bescience.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yes.
And not only that, the writingskills that have to be
interpreted because part of theprogram is that they, they don't
necessarily have to have it, butin order for them to go far and
make it to worlds, they have tohave an engineering notebook.
So our strength sometimes is notthe robot, but the engineering
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Notebook, this is where the journalism major
shines.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yes.
And I go, guys, this is yourIkea manual.
You have to explain what you'redoing, what pieces you're using,
what's going.
Right.
You know, and then they have tointerpret and see what didn't
work.
How can they fix it?
So there's so much problemsolving.
It's it's real life.
It's what they're doing there.
More so than sitting andlearning RO you know, vocabulary
(13:27):
or whatever the case might be,cuz they're actually applying
what they're learning.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah.
And that's, that's so criticalis the communication piece
because seems like now insociety, more than ever, even
just being able to communicatesomething with bad science is
convincing to people versus ifyou have great science, but you
can't communicate it, you're notgonna be able to get it out into
the public.
It's so great to see a programthat, that exactly brings
together this literacy aspect,in addition to kind of this
(13:54):
content and skills aspect of, ofdoing the science.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And that's what really, you know, since I
started, that's pretty much whatI've done.
Um, my strength, believe it ornot, when I was growing up was
not the science.
I think I didn't really have areally good science background.
Um, but I remember reflectingand saying, I don't want my
students to feel like I feltwhen I was a child.
(14:18):
I wanna make sure that I givethem everything, you know, give
them the hands on experience.
I think I had one teacher when Iwas growing up and I still
remember him.
He was my second grade teacherand he was just so amazing with
the science.
And it was just like the onlyreally good experience I had.
And I CA I think that alwaysstayed in the back of my mind.
(14:38):
And when I started teaching andI go, I wanna give these kids
these experiences, you know,sometimes I see kids in eighth
grade and I go, how sad they seewater boiling.
And they're just like in a labroom.
And they're just like, I knowbecause there's water boiling
and I go, you guys haven't seenwater boil before.
And he goes, no, no, no, notlike this.
And I go, oh
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Wow.
Even if it's simple, everydayphenomena, everyday things that
people deal with in a scienceclassroom, or when you're a
teacher in that setting, it'sjust a, it's it just hits
different, right?
Like you, you know, you drop dyeinto water and watch it diffuse.
And it's like, whoa, becausethey're looking at it through
like that different lens.
And I that's why one of thereasons why I'm super biased,
but as science teachers, we getto do the coolest stuff.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
We just do it's, it's so much fun.
And basically anything thathappens, that's cool, like in,
in innovation and things likethat, we can figure out ways to
incorporate into our classroom.
Now as a coach and as a mentor,you've had multiple student
teachers in your classroom andwe have, you know, huge need for
new teachers.
I teach teachers who are gettingtheir CR getting their
credential.
(15:42):
And the landscape of educationis, is constantly shifting.
You've watched it shift over theyears.
What are your biggest tips thatyou give to new teachers?
Well,
Speaker 1 (15:49):
I just had a, um, an intern last semester.
I've had a few interns where,you know, not only are they
doing this, but they're alsolearning robotics too.
So they're really gettingaspects on how to incorporate
that.
You don't have to haveeverything separate.
You can include everythingtogether.
But I think, um, I think it justcomes from the foundation where
(16:11):
they're not exposed.
Even me.
When I went to college, I don'tremember doing so many labs as I
should have.
And I think it's just a fear ofthem trying new things and
failing.
And I go, you know what?
I, sometimes my first class ismy Guinea pig class because I'm,
I always change my labs.
I don't like to do the samething over and over again.
(16:32):
If I see something online, I go,oh wow.
You know what, I'm gonna try it.
And I go, Hey guys is first timewe're gonna do this together.
And it it's really, it's just afor them not to be fearful.
And I think as, especially forscience teachers or like even
elementary to give the kids thefoundation that they need,
they're afraid, they're afraidof failing and not trying
(16:55):
something new and say, Hey, it'sokay.
There's other ways of doingthis?
You know?
So I always say, my first classis always my giddy pig class,
cuz that's the class.
I'm gonna try this on.
And then, you know, when youhave to tweak, reflect, then we
do that.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
What are some of the things that you've seen or
encouragements that you give toteachers who are teaching kind
of in this kind of newerlandscape, whereas teachers, you
become more than just a scienceteacher.
I mean, you're a mentor.
You're, you're an encourager.
You sometimes you're a counselorfor students.
And then there, there are thingsthat happen externally that
impact teachers as well.
It's, it's, it's a tough job.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
So I always say, you know, when you have a child, um,
we have to be very aware ofwhat's happening with our
children.
Especially after these two yearsof the pandemic, that was kind
of crazy.
Last year was a really toughyear.
I think for most educators thatwere back in the classroom.
Um, but I always tell'em, youhave to be really aware of
what's going on with these kidsoutside.
(17:45):
When you see somebody who's notdoing anything and then you have
the parents are there supportingthere's something going.
I mean, there has to besomething going on.
Kids are not just going to beso, so defiant, you're gonna
have very few, um, that will belike that.
But most of them is just gottasee and read those kids and see
what's going on and don't beafraid to.
And I always say, I'm not thereto really be your friend, but
(18:08):
I'm there to, to help you.
And you gotta tell'em, you know,if you need to talk, come talk
to me, have an open door policywith those
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Kids.
What's been the, your favoritepart of the job.
Something you really enjoy aboutthe job, especially haven't been
teaching for as long as youhave.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I think my favorite thing is their success.
Whether they have struggled allthe year and they've had that
one piece of success or theydon't realize what they got out
of middle school until they getto high school and they come
back to you and they tell youit's, you know, seeing my kids,
whether it's robotics, whetherit's in the classroom, that they
(18:45):
pass a test for the first time,those are my moments of success.
And that's what makes me happy.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So you get those, those ahas, you get, those wins
those turnarounds and it's like,ah, it's this keeps me going.
This is so good.
But there's something that I sayto myself when I do get
challenges in the classroom isteaching seventh grade.
I say they're 12, they're 13.
They've been on earth for 13years.
And for the first five or six,like, you know, they're just
(19:13):
kind of coming online at thatpoint.
And they're going through allthese changes.
And it grounds me in the factthat cuz sometimes the things
that you experience can bereally, really challenging kind
of interpersonally.
And I remind myself, I was like,you're not 28 years old.
Like you're, you're 12 and 13and you need me to not be Mr.
Cross, the science teacher.
You need me to be, you know, Mr.
Cross, the mentor or Mr.
Cross, the coach, like you weresaying like open door, keeping
(19:35):
that open door, keeping thatrelationship because so much of
what we're doing is, is likelife coaching in addition, and
that connects to their successin the classroom.
Like there's a directrelationship.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Now what gets you back each fall?
Because at the end, you know,every school year it's like,
that was a tough one, especiallywith the last couple years.
Right?
So what's been something.
What, what gets you back in theclassroom every fall so that
you're, you're ready for yourstudents?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
I, I think the support I get at home, Hmm.
I have a husband who is the mostsupportive person ever.
He always tells me your kids aregrown up.
You know, my kids are adultsnow.
Um, enjoy these kids.
What they're doing.
You don't know how much theyneed you.
So he does tell me that he goesand don't complain.
(20:24):
You love it.
And also my administration, theyback me up.
And that's what I think, whatkeeps you coming back?
I love my administration,whatever I ask for.
They don't tell me no.
They tell me I'm crazy, but theydon't tell me a no.
You know, we have these hugecompetitions once a year at our
school, it's it.
Administration has to beinvolved cuz they have to be
(20:45):
there and they go, we do thisbecause we love you.
But you know, you're
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Crazy.
It's interesting.
Cuz both of these things, theyinvolve human connection.
Yeah.
And, and one is your supportsystem at home, which is
incredibly valuable.
Shout out to your husband.
I don't know if he's around andthen the culture like feeling
supported teachers, you know, I,and that's, it's not just an
education, but people I've I'veexperienced will work harder,
(21:08):
longer, be more committed whenthey have that intangible.
When they feel like they're,they're connected to, um,
something bigger than them or ona team, not in a silo and one
person can really create orbreak whether that happens and
just like us in the classroom asa teacher, right?
Like what, what makes you likethis teacher's class?
(21:28):
Well, I feel connected.
I feel safe.
I feel, uh, it's fun.
It's the culture I like to endwith asking this question and
you kind of alluded to an answerearlier, but who is one?
Or it could be multiple teachersor that you've had in your own
life as a kid growing up oryoung person in kindergarten
through 12th grade could even becollege that has inspired you
(21:52):
or, or made a difference in yourlife one way or another.
Like who pops out?
I feel like we all havesomebody.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
One was my second grade teacher, as I mentioned
before.
Mr.
Fernandez never forget him.
And my other teacher was my highschool teacher, Mr.
Velazquez.
It was in, in New Jersey aswell.
And he was the one that reallygot me into the love of writing.
Um, he was my Spanish teacher.
Actually.
He wasn't even, you know, he waslike an elective teacher, but he
(22:20):
just made me believe like, wow,you're like a really good writer
to me.
Those two gentlemen really stoodout very fun memories of being
in school and really enjoyingwhat I was
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Doing.
There are so many teachers thatwe all have had, have been
impacted by.
And many of us now who areteachers, we sit in that same
seat.
We fill those same shoes.
And going back to what you hadsaid earlier, one of the most
rewarding things is when those,those kids come back to you and
I'm thinking about all the workthat you've done, all the
students you've poured into allthe competitions, you've done.
(22:54):
The ones that have come back toyou are a small fragment of the
ones that you've impacted.
Mm-hmm yeah.
Cause we think about our ownstory, right?
Like what you've gone on andpaid dividends for that one
teacher in second grade, youknow, Mr.
Fernandez or Mr.
Velasque is like, they went andthey just gave you exposure to
something or helped you fall inlove with something.
And you went on this trajectoryand if we could see the timeline
(23:17):
right.
Of like this teacher createdMarilyn and Marilyn went and did
this and then what do all thosestudents do?
And that, I don't know, there'sso many jobs that are gonna be
hard work and that are gonna bestrong, challenging, and
stressful.
But that is the thing that Ithink fills me when I listen to
your story.
I just think about like all thestudents throughout Florida that
(23:38):
you have mm-hmm youprobably will never hear from,
but have gone on to do amazingthings or become great people
who would go back and talk aboutyou and say you were an
inspiration for them.
Marilyn, thank you for takingthe time out to be on the
podcast and for not onlyteaching students, but inspiring
and coaching, younger teachersand new teachers, it's so
critical.
And for being willing to spendso much of your time beyond the
(24:02):
classroom, to create theseopportunities for students to do
this awesome, fun, engagingscience and go to worlds.
I wish you a great school year.
Thank you.
We hope to make it to worldsagain and crush in a competitive
collaborative type ofenvironment.
I'll be, we'll be checking out.
I'm sure other teachers willcheck out be robotics.
Thanks for being on the podcast.
(24:23):
Thank
Speaker 3 (24:24):
You.
You two, Eric.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Thanks so much for listening.
Now we want to hear more aboutyou.
Do you have any educators whoinspire you?
You can nominate them as afuture guest on science
connections by emailing stem,amplify.com.
That's STM amplify.com.
Make sure to click, subscribewherever you listen to podcasts
and join our Facebook groupscience connections, the
(24:49):
community until next time.
I think my favorite thing is their success.
Whether it's robotics, whetherit's in the classroom, that they
pass a test for the first time,those are my moments of success.
And that's what makes me happy.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Maryland Dipa is a veteran middle school science
educator at Miami dad countypublic schools DEPA launched her
school's stem academy in 2016and developed professional
development through the stemtransformation Institute of
Florida internationaluniversity.
Depo's coached numerous newteachers and was the 2018
Miami-Dade county public school,middle school science teacher of
(00:36):
the year.
In this episode, we discussedher transition from a career in
journalism to the scienceclassroom and the value of
personal and professionalsupport systems for teacher
longevity.
And now please enjoy myconversation with Marilyn Dipa.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Nice to meet you, Eric.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Thank you for, uh, being willingto come with a podcast,
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Not a problem.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
So you're out in, you're out in Florida.
Mm-hmm
Yes.
In I'm out here in San Diego.
So I'm like literally on theother side of the country, have
you, were you born and raised inFlorida?
Speaker 1 (01:09):
Um, I've been here for 40 years, so I've been here
most of my life.
Yeah.
I, I was I'm Puerto Rican, but Iwas RA you know, my young
childhood, I was in New Jersey.
And then when I was 15, I camedown,
Speaker 2 (01:23):
I looked at like your kind of, some of your accolades,
which are really impressive.
The things that you've done for,for students with robotics
mm-hmm
teacher enrichment, a lot ofmentoring and coaching that you
do.
Now.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
I am part of leadership team for the
district.
I do a lot of training.
I work on curriculum.
We, I help with pacing guides tomake sure that everything is
based on what the state wants,what the district wants.
I have done a lot for thedistrict in the last, probably
20 years.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
What got you into teaching initially?
What was your, like why middleschool science were like a
unique group?
This
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Is the second career choice for me.
So I've only been doing this for24 years.
I was a journalism major andthen I got married and then I
had my child and I wanted to dosomething.
My thing was that I wanted to,um, go to Iraq.
I wanted to cover the news.
I have a minor in middle Easternculture.
Um, so there was a lot of thingsthat were in my mind when I was
(02:19):
young remarried.
Um, and after, you know, youhave children, priorities kind
of changed.
So I totally changed pretty muchhad to start from scratch with
my degree because nothing kindof transferred over from
journalism to teaching.
So before I actually did that, Istarted subbing just to see if I
liked it.
And I fell in love with teachingright away.
(02:41):
And that's how I got into it.
So my degree is really inelementary.
Speaker 2 (02:45):
Now, when you were subbing, you were doing
elementary school.
Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yes.
Pretty much elementary.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
How did you go from there to like middle school
science?
Speaker 1 (02:50):
My thing was writing, not necessarily math and
science, but I ended up with mycooperating teacher, my CT.
Um, she was a math and scienceteacher.
So I was put with her and whoknew that I liked science and I
liked math.
Um, so I ended up with that andI infused a lot of labs.
(03:11):
So in elementary you tend to, Ithink teachers are a little bit
afraid of the labs.
So I infused a lot of literaturewith, um, my labs.
I infused all my, I did it likea whole group type thing,
everything I did with my labs, Iincorporated the math.
I incorporated the science.
I incorporated, you know, thereading with it.
And from there, I just, youknow, they ended up putting me
(03:33):
in a lot of leadership roleswith science.
And then my principal wasopening up the school where I'm
at now, my former principal.
And she, you know, she took mewith her.
And so her dissertation was inlooping on how following your
students did that really make adifference in test scores?
(03:53):
So I was part of her like teststudy, and I had students that I
followed for two years in a rowand she would look at data and
that was part of herdissertation.
So that really made adifference.
So I ended up moving with mystudents and my first group of
middle school students, I hadthem for four years.
Oh, wow.
And that was, um, those were mychildren.
I like boohooed when they left.
(04:14):
And I ended up, you know,literally following them from
fourth grade all the way to morethan four years, because it was
all the way until they lefteighth grade.
Speaker 2 (04:21):
What did you think of that model of looping with
students?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
I think it's a great model depending on the kids that
you have.
I, I love, you know, the schoolthat I'm, I'm at.
I'm very blessed because it's agreat school.
Mm-hmm,
I've had really goodrelationship with students.
They always come back and theyalways come back.
When they wanna tell me thatthey're in something in science,
right.
They're an engineer or they're anurse, or they're in, you know,
(04:46):
doctors at this point.
So I've seen it a little bit ofeverything with my students.
And it's, it's very rewarding.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
That's super exciting, right.
When they come back and they'reeither telling you about their
college major or what careerthey're in.
And I like to recruit them atthat point and ask them to come
talk to my students.
Mm-hmm
unlimited storage.
If you have a teacher account,mm-hmm
have photos of students fromlike 10 years ago.
Oh, wow.
And I'll, I'll put their middleschool picture next to their,
(05:12):
and then they're their currentpicture.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Oh, that's awesome.
I've never done that.
Speaker 2 (05:17):
The, yeah.
You could see, like they couldsee the younger version of them.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
And it's funny because even with, um, the stem
academy, which I have now, I, Ihave the same group of kids for
three years.
Okay.
So I've had already few groupsthat have gone, gone by, and tho
those kids come back to me, theycome back to our competitions,
they help out, you know, they'revery integrated with their, the
(05:39):
robotics.
So I'm getting those studentsback as well.
So I've maintained thatrelationship with them as
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well.
How do you develop your ownclassroom management style?
How did you figure out whereyour, where you fit and, and
what works for you?
What was your process like forthat?
Speaker 1 (05:55):
You know what I think , um, just by, by teaching
mm-hmm,
And one thing that I'vedeveloped that I don't scream in
my classroom, I just talk to thekids.
I have very good one-on-one, um,communication with them.
I show them respect.
I treat them mm-hmm
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And what grade are you?
Are you teaching currently?
Speaker 1 (06:14):
Eighth grade.
So I do science.
I teach high school science.
I teach comprehensive, which islike our regular students.
Mm-hmm
I have kids that are easel.
So I teach all, you know,dynamics of students.
And then I have the, theacademy, which is something
separate, but I infuse a lot ofphysics and of course that they
(06:35):
need in order for them to becompetitive.
Speaker 2 (06:38):
So tell me about that.
What is the stem academy?
Speaker 1 (06:40):
It is an enrichment program.
So it is an advance enrichmentprogram because they do follow
like the math enrichment.
Um, so they have to be reallygood at math in order for them
to be accepted into the program.
So, one day we got like a grantand we got a little robot, the
vex.
I don't know if you're familiarwith X.
I know it's big in California.
So I was told here, this is foryou.
(07:02):
See what you can do with it.
So I started with an after, um,school club, the following year,
it kind of hit off.
We went to our first littlecompetition.
The kids did really well.
And then the following year,they told me, Hey, we need an
academy, make it happen.
So it's not like I had acurriculum.
I kind of do my own thing, butwe do a lot of different types
of things.
(07:22):
Our big portion is the vex, butI also do sec me, we do future
city.
Um, we do a whole bunch ofcompetitions within the
district, you know, math full.
So I get my kids prepared foranything that really has to do
competitive base.
I do that with those students,
Speaker 2 (07:38):
What age range or which grade range?
Sixth
Speaker 1 (07:40):
To eighth.
We have kids who stay the threeyears and then we have kids that
after, you know, sometimes it'smore the parents that want them
to be part of the engineering.
Um, but sometimes we lose kidsafter the first year and you
know, that's fine because wewanna really have kids who
really wanna be there and are,you know, committed to it
because there's a lot ofcommitments to that program.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
Tho those types of programs, there's so many like
outside of the classroom, thingsthat you need to take care of,
if you're gonna competitions andweekends and all those types of
things.
Is there a team of teachers thatare doing this or is it just you
team of one?
Of one like, yeah.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
And how long have you been running this yourself?
Um,
Speaker 1 (08:16):
This is probably like my sixth year.
Speaker 2 (08:19):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
So we've been very successful.
That program is totally inquiry.
It's totally on them.
I don't know how to use alittle, you know, remote
control.
I don't know how to do anything.
I'm there for troubleshoot andto make sure that they're on
task, but they have been verysuccessful because I do put
everything on them and I go,it's not my robot.
This is your robot.
So they build everything
Speaker 2 (08:40):
That, and that seems to be the theme, especially with
a lot of times the scienceteachers and encouraging them to
say, you don't have to be theexpert in everything.
Yes.
Teachers tend to be more likerisk taking and innovative when
they're willing to like, nothave to be.
I don't have to know everythingin order to do something.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Exactly.
So we've been very successful,very proud of my students
because you know, um, we've, um,gone to worlds twice.
We've qualified three times inthe six years.
Actually I had two teams thatwent last year.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
What is, what is worlds?
That sounds like a big deal.
It's
Speaker 1 (09:10):
A huge thing.
And it's, it's, um, teams fromall over the world.
You can actually look it uponline.
It's from this year, there wereteams, although they said China
was not gonna be in there.
There were actually some teamsfrom China.
There were teams from, uh, NewZealand.
There were teams from SouthAfrica, the UK, a lot of teams
from, um, from Europe.
And then there are teams fromhere.
(09:32):
We are the host country.
We've been the host country fora while, but it's amazing.
The first time we went, thefirst team that we were paired
up with was a Russian team.
So, you know, there was Googletranslate and the kids and, and
it's it's, they didn't need toknow the same language because
they communicated with therobots.
So it was really amazing.
They work collaboratively.
(09:53):
So it's not like a battle box.
Okay.
So they work two teams togetherand whatever, they both get
together, they both earn thesame points.
Mm-hmm
so much more to it than just arobot.
They have to know how tocommunicate because they do get
interviewed.
They do online challenges.
It's, it's so many things.
It's just, I think it's the, oneof the best things that our
(10:16):
district has really likeinvested in because these kids
are so into it and they love itso much for the last two year.
And this year I have the samekids that are in the robotics.
I'm also gonna be teaching themphysical science.
So I have to teach them thatseparation between what we're
doing in our science classesversus what they're doing in the
class.
So there ha there has to be aseparation.
(10:38):
So they see one side of me inthis class where it's very laid
back.
It's very chilled.
No, no, you, you guys do it's,there's no sitting down.
It's like organized chaos.
I call it all the time.
But then in the classroom, ithas to be a little bit more
organized.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Is that something that, that as far as like
getting the, the parts likepeople do, like go fund MES and
donations and donors choose, canyou,
Speaker 1 (11:00):
We get grant money, grant money from the town in
Miami lakes, the town that I, Iwork in.
So the town actually sponsorsus.
Mm-hmm
It is a very expensive, um,activity to do.
If you go online and you look upthe prices, you'll be, oh my
gosh, goodness, it's veryexpensive.
You know?
But the smiles on their faceswhen they come back and they
(11:22):
have those little certificates,I mean, nothing, you know, it's
a little piece of paper, butthat, to me, to them, it means
the
Speaker 2 (11:27):
World.
Well, teachers, if you'relooking for ways to get that
stuff funded, be fearless onbehalf of asking for free things
for your kids, find a localbusiness that somewhat connects
to even robotics and say, Hey,look, mm-hmm
got 50 kids that really want toget after it.
And we need X amount of dollarsso we can buy those robotics
kits.
Mm-hmm
We'll do all these other things,but come support our students,
(11:50):
come to the competition, donatewhatever you can for our, our,
our students.
And many organizations will say,will say yes, many just aren't
asked.
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Right?
And a lot of towns do have likeeducation advisory boards.
Mm-hmm
those are the, the communitieswhere they have money set aside
in order to assist things likethis.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Do you notice any, any carryover between the
students that do get involvedwith these extracurriculars into
the regular science classroom?
Speaker 1 (12:16):
For sure they're more , um, they're more disciplined.
Okay.
They tend to care more about thesciences because they see that
link in the science.
I mean, my kids are talkingabout gear ratios.
They're talking about, you know,mass accelerations.
They had all, they infuse allthese things.
And when they see it in thescience class, they're making
(12:37):
that connection, which is reallywonderful.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
It seems like there's a high level of engagement
because this is an authenticthing.
It's almost, this should bescience.
Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yes.
And not only that, the writingskills that have to be
interpreted because part of theprogram is that they, they don't
necessarily have to have it, butin order for them to go far and
make it to worlds, they have tohave an engineering notebook.
So our strength sometimes is notthe robot, but the engineering
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Notebook, this is where the journalism major
shines.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Yes.
And I go, guys, this is yourIkea manual.
You have to explain what you'redoing, what pieces you're using,
what's going.
Right.
You know, and then they have tointerpret and see what didn't
work.
How can they fix it?
So there's so much problemsolving.
It's it's real life.
It's what they're doing there.
More so than sitting andlearning RO you know, vocabulary
(13:27):
or whatever the case might be,cuz they're actually applying
what they're learning.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
Yeah.
And that's, that's so criticalis the communication piece
because seems like now insociety, more than ever, even
just being able to communicatesomething with bad science is
convincing to people versus ifyou have great science, but you
can't communicate it, you're notgonna be able to get it out into
the public.
It's so great to see a programthat, that exactly brings
together this literacy aspect,in addition to kind of this
(13:54):
content and skills aspect of, ofdoing the science.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
And that's what really, you know, since I
started, that's pretty much whatI've done.
Um, my strength, believe it ornot, when I was growing up was
not the science.
I think I didn't really have areally good science background.
Um, but I remember reflectingand saying, I don't want my
students to feel like I feltwhen I was a child.
(14:18):
I wanna make sure that I givethem everything, you know, give
them the hands on experience.
I think I had one teacher when Iwas growing up and I still
remember him.
He was my second grade teacherand he was just so amazing with
the science.
And it was just like the onlyreally good experience I had.
And I CA I think that alwaysstayed in the back of my mind.
(14:38):
And when I started teaching andI go, I wanna give these kids
these experiences, you know,sometimes I see kids in eighth
grade and I go, how sad they seewater boiling.
And they're just like in a labroom.
And they're just like, I knowbecause there's water boiling
and I go, you guys haven't seenwater boil before.
And he goes, no, no, no, notlike this.
And I go, oh
Speaker 2 (14:58):
Wow.
Even if it's simple, everydayphenomena, everyday things that
people deal with in a scienceclassroom, or when you're a
teacher in that setting, it'sjust a, it's it just hits
different, right?
Like you, you know, you drop dyeinto water and watch it diffuse.
And it's like, whoa, becausethey're looking at it through
like that different lens.
And I that's why one of thereasons why I'm super biased,
but as science teachers, we getto do the coolest stuff.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
Yeah, we do.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
We just do it's, it's so much fun.
And basically anything thathappens, that's cool, like in,
in innovation and things likethat, we can figure out ways to
incorporate into our classroom.
Now as a coach and as a mentor,you've had multiple student
teachers in your classroom andwe have, you know, huge need for
new teachers.
I teach teachers who are gettingtheir CR getting their
credential.
(15:42):
And the landscape of educationis, is constantly shifting.
You've watched it shift over theyears.
What are your biggest tips thatyou give to new teachers?
Well,
Speaker 1 (15:49):
I just had a, um, an intern last semester.
I've had a few interns where,you know, not only are they
doing this, but they're alsolearning robotics too.
So they're really gettingaspects on how to incorporate
that.
You don't have to haveeverything separate.
You can include everythingtogether.
But I think, um, I think it justcomes from the foundation where
(16:11):
they're not exposed.
Even me.
When I went to college, I don'tremember doing so many labs as I
should have.
And I think it's just a fear ofthem trying new things and
failing.
And I go, you know what?
I, sometimes my first class ismy Guinea pig class because I'm,
I always change my labs.
I don't like to do the samething over and over again.
(16:32):
If I see something online, I go,oh wow.
You know what, I'm gonna try it.
And I go, Hey guys is first timewe're gonna do this together.
And it it's really, it's just afor them not to be fearful.
And I think as, especially forscience teachers or like even
elementary to give the kids thefoundation that they need,
they're afraid, they're afraidof failing and not trying
(16:55):
something new and say, Hey, it'sokay.
There's other ways of doingthis?
You know?
So I always say, my first classis always my giddy pig class,
cuz that's the class.
I'm gonna try this on.
And then, you know, when youhave to tweak, reflect, then we
do that.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
What are some of the things that you've seen or
encouragements that you give toteachers who are teaching kind
of in this kind of newerlandscape, whereas teachers, you
become more than just a scienceteacher.
I mean, you're a mentor.
You're, you're an encourager.
You sometimes you're a counselorfor students.
And then there, there are thingsthat happen externally that
impact teachers as well.
It's, it's, it's a tough job.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
So I always say, you know, when you have a child, um,
we have to be very aware ofwhat's happening with our
children.
Especially after these two yearsof the pandemic, that was kind
of crazy.
Last year was a really toughyear.
I think for most educators thatwere back in the classroom.
Um, but I always tell'em, youhave to be really aware of
what's going on with these kidsoutside.
(17:45):
When you see somebody who's notdoing anything and then you have
the parents are there supportingthere's something going.
I mean, there has to besomething going on.
Kids are not just going to beso, so defiant, you're gonna
have very few, um, that will belike that.
But most of them is just gottasee and read those kids and see
what's going on and don't beafraid to.
And I always say, I'm not thereto really be your friend, but
(18:08):
I'm there to, to help you.
And you gotta tell'em, you know,if you need to talk, come talk
to me, have an open door policywith those
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Kids.
What's been the, your favoritepart of the job.
Something you really enjoy aboutthe job, especially haven't been
teaching for as long as youhave.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
I think my favorite thing is their success.
Whether they have struggled allthe year and they've had that
one piece of success or theydon't realize what they got out
of middle school until they getto high school and they come
back to you and they tell youit's, you know, seeing my kids,
whether it's robotics, whetherit's in the classroom, that they
(18:45):
pass a test for the first time,those are my moments of success.
And that's what makes me happy.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
So you get those, those ahas, you get, those wins
those turnarounds and it's like,ah, it's this keeps me going.
This is so good.
But there's something that I sayto myself when I do get
challenges in the classroom isteaching seventh grade.
I say they're 12, they're 13.
They've been on earth for 13years.
And for the first five or six,like, you know, they're just
(19:13):
kind of coming online at thatpoint.
And they're going through allthese changes.
And it grounds me in the factthat cuz sometimes the things
that you experience can bereally, really challenging kind
of interpersonally.
And I remind myself, I was like,you're not 28 years old.
Like you're, you're 12 and 13and you need me to not be Mr.
Cross, the science teacher.
You need me to be, you know, Mr.
Cross, the mentor or Mr.
Cross, the coach, like you weresaying like open door, keeping
(19:35):
that open door, keeping thatrelationship because so much of
what we're doing is, is likelife coaching in addition, and
that connects to their successin the classroom.
Like there's a directrelationship.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Now what gets you back each fall?
Because at the end, you know,every school year it's like,
that was a tough one, especiallywith the last couple years.
Right?
So what's been something.
What, what gets you back in theclassroom every fall so that
you're, you're ready for yourstudents?
Speaker 1 (20:02):
I, I think the support I get at home, Hmm.
I have a husband who is the mostsupportive person ever.
He always tells me your kids aregrown up.
You know, my kids are adultsnow.
Um, enjoy these kids.
What they're doing.
You don't know how much theyneed you.
So he does tell me that he goesand don't complain.
(20:24):
You love it.
And also my administration, theyback me up.
And that's what I think, whatkeeps you coming back?
I love my administration,whatever I ask for.
They don't tell me no.
They tell me I'm crazy, but theydon't tell me a no.
You know, we have these hugecompetitions once a year at our
school, it's it.
Administration has to beinvolved cuz they have to be
(20:45):
there and they go, we do thisbecause we love you.
But you know, you're
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Crazy.
It's interesting.
Cuz both of these things, theyinvolve human connection.
Yeah.
And, and one is your supportsystem at home, which is
incredibly valuable.
Shout out to your husband.
I don't know if he's around andthen the culture like feeling
supported teachers, you know, I,and that's, it's not just an
education, but people I've I'veexperienced will work harder,
(21:08):
longer, be more committed whenthey have that intangible.
When they feel like they're,they're connected to, um,
something bigger than them or ona team, not in a silo and one
person can really create orbreak whether that happens and
just like us in the classroom asa teacher, right?
Like what, what makes you likethis teacher's class?
(21:28):
Well, I feel connected.
I feel safe.
I feel, uh, it's fun.
It's the culture I like to endwith asking this question and
you kind of alluded to an answerearlier, but who is one?
Or it could be multiple teachersor that you've had in your own
life as a kid growing up oryoung person in kindergarten
through 12th grade could even becollege that has inspired you
(21:52):
or, or made a difference in yourlife one way or another.
Like who pops out?
I feel like we all havesomebody.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
One was my second grade teacher, as I mentioned
before.
Mr.
Fernandez never forget him.
And my other teacher was my highschool teacher, Mr.
Velazquez.
It was in, in New Jersey aswell.
And he was the one that reallygot me into the love of writing.
Um, he was my Spanish teacher.
Actually.
He wasn't even, you know, he waslike an elective teacher, but he
(22:20):
just made me believe like, wow,you're like a really good writer
to me.
Those two gentlemen really stoodout very fun memories of being
in school and really enjoyingwhat I was
Speaker 2 (22:33):
Doing.
There are so many teachers thatwe all have had, have been
impacted by.
And many of us now who areteachers, we sit in that same
seat.
We fill those same shoes.
And going back to what you hadsaid earlier, one of the most
rewarding things is when those,those kids come back to you and
I'm thinking about all the workthat you've done, all the
students you've poured into allthe competitions, you've done.
(22:54):
The ones that have come back toyou are a small fragment of the
ones that you've impacted.
Mm-hmm
Cause we think about our ownstory, right?
Like what you've gone on andpaid dividends for that one
teacher in second grade, youknow, Mr.
Fernandez or Mr.
Velasque is like, they went andthey just gave you exposure to
something or helped you fall inlove with something.
And you went on this trajectoryand if we could see the timeline
(23:17):
right.
Of like this teacher createdMarilyn and Marilyn went and did
this and then what do all thosestudents do?
And that, I don't know, there'sso many jobs that are gonna be
hard work and that are gonna bestrong, challenging, and
stressful.
But that is the thing that Ithink fills me when I listen to
your story.
I just think about like all thestudents throughout Florida that
(23:38):
you have mm-hmm
but have gone on to do amazingthings or become great people
who would go back and talk aboutyou and say you were an
inspiration for them.
Marilyn, thank you for takingthe time out to be on the
podcast and for not onlyteaching students, but inspiring
and coaching, younger teachersand new teachers, it's so
critical.
And for being willing to spendso much of your time beyond the
(24:02):
classroom, to create theseopportunities for students to do
this awesome, fun, engagingscience and go to worlds.
I wish you a great school year.
Thank you.
We hope to make it to worldsagain and crush in a competitive
collaborative type ofenvironment.
I'll be, we'll be checking out.
I'm sure other teachers willcheck out be robotics.
Thanks for being on the podcast.
(24:23):
Thank
Speaker 3 (24:24):
You.
You two, Eric.
Speaker 2 (24:26):
Thanks so much for listening.
Now we want to hear more aboutyou.
Do you have any educators whoinspire you?
You can nominate them as afuture guest on science
connections by emailing stem,amplify.com.
That's STM amplify.com.
Make sure to click, subscribewherever you listen to podcasts
and join our Facebook groupscience connections, the
(24:49):
community until next time.
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