As the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts and the state responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, our institution is finding ways to provide educational resources for our students during this period of remote instruction.
We also are encouraging our faculty members to share educational resources they are using in their classes. These resources include educational videos, exercises, and lessons on topics of interest that are not only beneficial for ASMSA students but for students and educators across the state as well.
Please share this page with your fellow educators and students. As our educators share additional resources, we will update this page.
Dr. Whitney Holden - Life Sciences Specialist
Dr. Whitney Holden has been teaching at ASMSA since the fall of 2014. She received a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Arkansas in 2009 and a Ph.D. in Microbiology & Immunology from Vanderbilt University in 2014, where she was also a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. Her dissertation research focused on immune defenses like antimicrobial peptides and symbiotic skin bacteria against the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
Visit her YouTube channel at https://asmsa.me/biologyprofessor where she posts videos on a broad range of topics in biology.
Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak - Life Sciences Specialist
Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak was born in Poland, but has been in the US since she was 11 years old. Both of her parents are chemists and she "inherited" the passion for science from them.
She teaches AP Biology, Genetics, Anatomy & Physiology, and the biological portion of Biomedical Physics.
She obtained her B.S. degree from Brigham Young University in chemistry with emphasis in molecular biology. She went on to earn a Ph.D. degree in human genetics from University of Utah.
For her thesis, Dr. Krakowiak studied the genetic basis of birth defects that affect the limbs. Based on the conducted research and with help of very large affected families, the collaborative group identified specific proteins within the muscle complex as being responsible for causing severe and familial types of clubfeet.
Dr. Krakowiak continued her training at the National Institutes of Health as a post-doctoral fellow. There, she studied birth defects caused by inability to produce cholesterol. In addition to analyzing DNA of the human participants, Dr. Krakowiak also created a mouse without a specific enzyme (a "knock-out" mouse) to further study potential treatments for patients in an animal model. Because the enzyme affected had not been carefully studied in human patients, she, along with her colleagues, identified a new disorder: Lathosterolosis.
Before coming to ASMSA, Dr. Krakowiak worked as an assistant professor at UAMS and ACH for more than three years. Her primary role as a researcher was to study common birth defects such as congenital heart defects in a large, national study. She also mentored many summer students and taught portions of the Medical Genetics class to medical students. Early in her career she taught biology and genetic courses to undergraduate students.
Below are resources Krakowiak recommends for educators and parents for remote instruction.
Laboratory experiences
Labster - an experiment simulator
Quiz/Exercises materials
Peardeck.com (interactive questioning for Google Slides)
Citizen Science Projects
National Geographic Citizen Science Projects
PBSKids Citizen Science Projects
Temporary Free E-book Sources
Society for Science Science News
The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees appointed Corey Alderdice as Director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts in 2012. The school has been recognized by The Washington Post, Newsweek, and The Daily Beast as being among America’s top performing schools with elite students. Additionally, Code.org, Study.com, and the National Consortium of Secondary STEM School (NCSSS), have recognized ASMSA for its national excellence and innovation in STEM education.
In 2013, the Bezos Family Foundation recognized him as one of twelve Educator Scholars. In 2014, Arkansas Business named him to their annual list of “40 Under 40” leaders in business, education, and public policy. The Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) recognized him in 2015 as one of five school administrators nationally for excellence in computer science advocacy. He is a 2016 graduate of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce’s “Leadership Arkansas Class X.” In 2017, Code.org named him and ASMSA among their inaugural recipients of the Champions of Computer Science award. His work in utilizing social media and technology for admissions and campus external relations has been spotlighted in Education Week and The Washington Post.
Prior to serving as ASMSA's director, Alderdice served as assistant director for the Gatton Academy at Western Kentucky University, where he admissions and public relations for the school. Using his experience and expertise, he has developed a series of videos to help students prepare for the college admissions process. You may view his video series at https://asmsa.me/collegeadmissions.
Daniel Moix — Computer Science
Daniel Moix is the director of ASMSA's Coding Arkansas' Future initiative. The program was created in 2015 in response to Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson's requirement that some form of computer science education be offered by every public high school in the state. Moix has taught computer science since 2003 at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts; College of the Ouachitas; and Bryant High School. He is a member of the CSTA Computer Science Advocacy Leadership Team (CSALT), and Arkansas' first K-12 Computer Science Education Specialist. He is the high school lead writer for the 2016 CSTA K-12 Computer Science Standards, and he is also the writer for the K12CS Framework for Computer Science Education.
Moix developed a Java course for ASMSA's channel on Apple Distinguished Educators iTunes U. The entire course, including links to exercises, at https://asmsa.me/javaintro.
He is also sharing a weekly computer science module that educators and parents may use for their students. View the modules at asmsa.me/weeklymodules.
Betty Brown is a Japanese instructor at ASMSA, which is the only school in Arkansas to offer on-site Japanese language instruction. During this period of remote instruction, Brown is using Flipgrid.com to offer prompts for her students to answer using short videos. Brown creates a topic, writes a prompt and records a short video explaining the assignment. Students respond to the prompt with their own videos that meet a certain length requirement. Other students are also able to view their classmates' response, creating a class discussion similar to an on-campus class.
Brown has created a Flipgrid tutorial that can be viewed at https://asmsa.me/flipgrid.
Caleb Grisham — Mathematics Instructor
Caleb Grisham is a mathematics instructor at ASMSA where he teaches calculus, college algebra, and number theory among other courses. He has instructional videos on YouTube as well as ASMSA's Apple Distinguished Educator iTunes U. Below are several links to several of Grisham's lectures and lessons.
College Algebra — Solving Systems of Equations in Two Variables: https://asmsa.me/systemsofequations
College Algebra — Solving Systems of Equations in Three Variables: https://asmsa.me/systemsofequations2
Improper Integrals – Discontinuous Integrands: https://asmsa.me/improperintegrands
Improper Integrals — Infinite Intervals: https://asmsa.me/improperintegrals2
Improper Integrals — Comparison Test:https://asmsa.me/improperintervals3
Improper Integrals — Full Lecture: https://asmsa.me/improperintegralsfulllecture
Indeterminate Forms: https://asmsa.me/indeterminateforms
Related Rates for Calculus I or AP Calculus AB: https://asmsa.me/calculus1
Power Series for Calculus II or AP Calculus BC: https://asmsa.me/calculus2
Walt Levisee — Mathematics Instructor
Walt Levisee is the chair of ASMSA's Mathematics and Computer Science Department. In 1994, Levisee earned an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Upon completing his degree he began teaching mathematics at Wilbur D. Mills University Studies High School. Levisee remained there until 1997 when he came to the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts. He covers several different mathematics topics on his YouTube channel which can be viewed at https://asmsa.me/Leviseemath.
Nikki Kennedy — Mathematics Instructor
Nikki Kennedy is a mathematics instructor at ASMSA since 2014. She has a Master of Science in Mathematics from the University of Arkansas and a Bachelor of Arts with honors in Mathematics and Global Studies from Drury University.
Classes she has taught have included College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus 1-3, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and Complex Analysis. She serves an adviser for student research. In addition, she is a co-adviser of the ASMSA National Honor Society and the ukulele club.
To access her videos on College Algebra and Trigonometry, visit asmsa.me/kennedymath.
Dr. Brian Monson — Physics Instructor
Dr. Brian Monson is a physics instructor and chair of ASMSA's Science Department.
Monson has a B.S. in Physics from the University of Missouri-Rolla and a Ph. D. in Physics from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. His thesis area was non-linear optics and part of his dissertation research was carried out at the US Army Night Vision and Electro-optics lab. He has previously taught at the University of Tulsa and the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics. He is chair of the science department and director of the science fair and teaches AP Physics C, Optics, Biomedical Physics, and Folk Music and Acoustics.
Dr. Monson was the recipient of the Siemen's Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching for Arkansas in 2009.
He has several short physics lessons on YouTube at https://asmsa.me/TeachFromHome.
Dr. Jack Waddell — Physics Instructor
Dr. Jack Waddell is an ASMSA alumnus from the class of 1999. He received a B.S. in physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan.
His dissertation and postdoctoral research were in biological physics and mathematical biology, studying changes between neuron connections during learning, chemical communication among bacteria, the construction of cancer-targeting molecules, and how randomness affects disease propagation and the adaptation of animal traits.
Before returning to teach at ASMSA, he was a professor of mathematics and physics at the University of Michigan and Grand Valley State University.
He has several lessons on YouTube at https://asmsa.me/physicswaddell.