The MƒA Thursday Think Speaker Series brings accomplished speakers who dive into cutting edge topics in STEM education to MƒA. A unique part of our professional course offerings, these talks, held on a Thursday of every month throughout the school year, invite MƒA teachers and their colleagues, as well as other educators and the general public to learn and engage with these thought leaders and professionals in mathematics, science, and education.
March 16 — Mapping the Universe Across Space and Time Featuring Jacqueline Faherty, Ph.D.
It is an exciting time for space science. With several high-profile astronomy mapping missions sharing their findings, scientists have an unprecedented opportunity to explore this new data for the next big discovery about our place in the Universe. In this talk, Dr. Jackie Faherty will launch teachers into an immersive tour of the most complete map of the Milky Way Galaxy (and beyond) and guide them on an adventure into nearby stellar systems, exoplanet systems, star-forming regions, and more. Specifically, Dr. Faherty will focus on the distribution of objects within 1500 light-years—including stars, brown dwarfs, and exoplanets—and discuss how they form and disperse.
More about Jacqueline Faherty Dr. Jacqueline (Jackie) Faherty is a staff scientist and senior educator at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Her research centers on novel techniques for refining the detection and characterization of brown dwarfs, exoplanets, and exoplanet atmospheres. In addition, Jackie is a passionate educator at AMNH, preparing public programs and sharing her love of space with teachers in the Masters of Arts in Teaching program.
MƒA teachers can register for this event on the Small-World Network. Other guests may register here .
April 20 — What It Means to Be Us Right Now Featuring Cornelius Minor
We know more now than we have ever known—about teaching, communities, numeracy, how to position students on the path to success, and all the different kinds of success that can coexist. Why is it, then, that in many communities, the strategies for student success continue to elude us? The world in which we teach is ever-changing and radically different than it was even two years ago. In this talk, Cornelius Minor, author of the book We Got This , will explore how to strategically listen to students and how to act on what we hear. We are more than enough. We got this!
More about Cornelius Minor Cornelius Minor is a Brooklyn-based educator who works with teachers, school leaders, and community-based organizations to support equitable literacy reform in cities across the globe. His latest book, We Got This , explores how the work of creating more equitable school spaces is embedded in our everyday choices—specifically in the choice to really listen to kids. He has been featured in numerous publications and has partnered with The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, The NYC Department of Education, The International Literacy Association, and Lesley University’s Center for Reading Recovery and Literacy Collaborative. Cornelius was also featured in the documentary “Out of Print.” Most recently, along with his partner and wife, Kass Minor, he established The Minor Collective, a community-based movement designed to foster sustainable change in schools. Cornelius uses his love for technology, hip-hop, and social media to bring communities together. As a teacher, Cornelius draws not only on his years teaching middle school in the Bronx and Brooklyn, but also on time spent skateboarding, shooting hoops, and working with young people. You can connect with him at Kass and Corn, or on Twitter at @MisterMinor.
MƒA teachers can register for this event on the Small-World Network. Other guests may register here .
June 1 — Building Thinking Classrooms Featuring Peter Liljedahl, Ph.D.
What our classrooms look like and what happens in them is often guided by institutional norms laid down at the inception of an industrial-age model of public education. These norms enable a culture of teaching and learning frequently devoid of student thinking. In this talk, Dr. Peter Liljedahl will present results from over fifteen years of research into how teachers can transform their classrooms from a space where students mimic to one where students think. Dr. Liljedahl will draw upon and discuss practices from his recently published book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics (Grades K-12): 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning .
More about Peter Liljedahl Dr. Peter Liljedahl is a Professor of Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author of the best-selling book Building Thinking Classrooms in Mathematics (Grades K-12): 14 Teaching Practices for Enhancing Learning . A former high school mathematics teacher, Peter has kept his research interests and activities close to the classroom. He regularly consults with teachers, schools, districts, and ministries of education on issues of teaching and learning, problem-solving, assessment, numeracy, and building thinking classrooms.
MƒA teachers can register for this event on the Small-World Network. Other guests may register here .
Mycology: Exploring Fungi in the Environment and in the Classroom Featuring John Michelotti
More about John Michelotti John Michelotti is the founder of Catskill Fungi, which empowers people with fungi through outdoor educational classes, cultivation courses, mushroom art, and mushroom health extracts. John is a former President of the Mid-Hudson Mycological Association (MHMA). He serves as Medicinal Mushroom Committee Chair and is a Poison Control Consultant for the North American Mycological Association. He was chosen by the Catskill Center as a "Steward of the Catskills" for his contributions to the environment. He aims to educate and inspire people to pair with fungi to improve the environment, their health, and their communities.
When Does Breast Cancer Risk Begin? Featuring Jasmine McDonald, Ph.D.
More about Jasmine McDonald Dr. McDonald is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. She received her Doctorate from the Biological Sciences in Public Health Program at Harvard University with a concentration in Immunology and Infectious Disease. She has postdoctoral training in breast cancer epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University. Her research integrates individual level health behaviors and the macroenvironment (e.g. physical, social, microbial environment) with biological factors (e.g. endocrine disruption, epigenetic modification, tumor microenvironment) to inform how these multiple levels of etiology impact breast cancer risk across the lifecourse. Much of her research focuses on populations who have a higher burden of cancer including those with a genetic predisposition, racial and ethnic minorities, and young women. An avid teacher and mentor, Dr. McDonald was awarded the 2021 Columbia University Teaching Award for her dedication and excellence in teaching, mentoring, and community engagement. She teaches cancer epidemiology within the Mailman School, is the Assistant Director of the Cancer Research, Training, and Education Center at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC,) and is the Co-Director of the CURE Program at the HICCC, which seeks to bring high school and undergraduate students from traditionally overlooked and underserved communities to cancer-related research fields. Dr. McDonald also actively engages with the community from a research and educational perspective on the harmful role of endocrine disruptors in personal care products.
Statistics and Data Science in Society Featuring Jeffrey Morris, Ph.D.
More about Jeffrey Morris Dr. Morris received his B.A. in Mathematics Education at Messiah College in Grantham, PA in 1993, and his Ph.D. in Statistics from Texas A&M University in 2000. He worked as a professor of Biostatistics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX from 2000 to 2019, before moving to the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 2019 to become Director of the Division of Biostatistics. He has over 250 publications in peer-reviewed journals, received numerous professional awards for research innovation and mentoring, and served in executive leadership positions in statistical professional societies and editorial leadership positions for academic journals. During the pandemic, Dr. Morris authored a blog https://covid-datascience.com in which he attempts to use his skills and perspectives as a statistical data scientist to evaluate and synthesize accruing information in the pandemic, debunking misinformation and filtering out political and other sources of bias, to clearly communicate objective, empirically-based science about various aspects of the pandemic to the general audience. Through these efforts, he has been actively involved in scientific communication through television, radio, online, and print media sources.
Building a Foundation For Culturally and Historically Responsive Education Featuring Gholdy Muhammad, Ph.D.
More about Gholdy Muhammad Dr. Gholnecsar (Gholdy) Muhammad is an Associate Professor of Literacy, Language, and Culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She studies Black historical excellence within educational communities with the goal of reframing curriculum and instruction. Dr. Muhammad’s scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and she is the author of the best-selling book, Cultivating Genius: An Equity Framework for Culturally and Historically Responsive Literacy. Her Responsive Education Model has been adopted in school districts across the U.S. and she has received numerous national awards for her work. In 2022, she was named among the top 1% Edu-Scholar Public Influencers. She was also recognized by Education Week as one of the 200 most influential education researchers, received the 2020 American Educational Research Association’s Division K Early Career Award, and the 2021 NCTE Outstanding Elementary Educator in the English Language Arts. She has led a federal grant with the United States Department of Education to study culturally and historically responsive literacy in STEM classrooms.
Featuring MƒA Storytellers
Learn more about the Story Collider Since 2010, The Story Collider has brought true and personal stories about science to life through their many live shows and their weekly podcast. The knowledge gained has been instrumental in teaching scientists how to use narrative in their work to show that science is now, more than ever, a vibrant and integral part of all of our lives, and that everyone — regardless of class, race, gender, sexuality, or education — has a story to tell about how it has impacted them. At this Thursday Think, you’ll hear from MƒA Master Teacher storytellers as they share the times things went wrong, and occasionally right, in their labs, classrooms, and beyond. Some of the stories will be heartbreaking, others will be hilarious, but they will all be true and very personal.
Featuring Emily Riehl, Ph.D.
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Featuring David Spergel, Ph.D.
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Living With Chimpanzees Featuring Zarin Machanda, Ph.D.
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MT²: Master Teachers on Teaching Featuring MƒA Master Teachers
The Mathematics of Card Shuffling Featuring Francis Su, Ph.D.
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The Science of Wonder Featuring Educational Consultant and YouTube Creator Paul Andersen
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Would We Know Life if We Saw It? Featuring Clara Sousa-Silva, Ph.D.
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Math Anxiety: Who Has It, Why It Develops, and How to Guard Against It Featuring President of Barnard College Sian Beilock, Ph.D.
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COVID-19 Vaccines: What Do We Know Four Months Into Vaccine Rollout? Featuring Florian Krammer, Ph.D.
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Volcanology: Danger, Discovery, and Delight Featuring Volcanologist Jess Phoenix
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Singing in the Brain Featuring Neurobiologist Dr. Erich Jarvis
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Examining Identity, Agency, Positionality and Authority in Mathematics Teaching Featuring National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) President Dr. Robert Berry
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When Content Meets Context: Toward a Revolution in STEM Education Featuring Professor Chris Emdin
More about Chris Emdin
Christopher Emdin is an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he also serves as the Associate Director of the Institute for Urban and Minority Education. He is the creator of the #HipHopEd social media movement and Science Genius B.A.T.T.L.E.S., as well as the author of the award-winning book Urban Science Education for the Hip- Hop Generation and the New York Times best seller For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood and the Rest of Ya’ll Too . Emdin was named the 2015 Multicultural Educator of the Year by the National Association of Multicultural Educators and has been honored as a STEM Access Champion of Change by the White House under President Obama. In addition to teaching, he served as a Minorities in Energy Ambassador for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Made You Look: Statistics Through Data Visualization Featuring Data Editor of Guardian US Mona Chalabi
Hands-On Puzzles Featuring Mathematician and Sculptor Dr. George Hart
For speaker inquiries or speaking opportunities, contact Uzma Shah , Associate Director, Scientific Outreach and Partnerships
March 16 — Mapping the Universe Across Space and Time
April 20 — What It Means to Be Us Right Now
June 1 — Building Thinking Classrooms
Mycology: Exploring Fungi in the Environment and in the Classroom
When Does Breast Cancer Risk Begin?
Statistics and Data Science in Society
Building a Foundation For Culturally and Historically Responsive Education
The Story Collider
The Mathematics of Social Choice
Measuring the Shape and Age of the Universe
Living With Chimpanzees
MT²: Master Teachers on Teaching
The Mathematics of Card Shuffling
The Science of Wonder
Would We Know Life if We Saw It?
Math Anxiety: Who Has It, Why It Develops, and How to Guard Against It
COVID-19 Vaccines: What Do We Know Four Months Into Vaccine Rollout?
Volcanology: Danger, Discovery, and Delight
Singing in the Brain
Examining Identity, Agency, Positionality and Authority in Mathematics Teaching
When Content Meets Context: Toward a Revolution in STEM Education 
Made You Look: Statistics Through Data Visualization
Hands-On Puzzles