PhysTEC Teacher of the Year
PhysTEC Teacher of the Year
Knowles Fellow Joe Cosette recognized forPhysTEC recognizes outstanding high school physics educators who demonstrate the impact and value of physics teacher preparation programs with their 2023 Teacher of the Year award. The Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) is a coalition of Colleges and Universities from across the country that help prepare future physics teachers. Each year, PhysTEC recognizes outstanding high school physics educators who demonstrate the impact and value of physics teacher preparation programs with their Teacher of the Year award. Each year, one national teacher and several local teachers are selected.
Joe was nominated for the PhysTEC Teacher of the Year award by his alma mater, the University of Minnesota. Joe was named Local Teacher of the Year in 2022, then National Teacher of the Year in 2023!
About winning, Joe says “It has been a huge honor to be nominated in the first place…There are so many amazing physics teachers at my school and across the country that I learn so much from every year and it feels a little weird to be highlighted with an individual recognition like this. I suppose it has been a nice validation that I’m doing something that is making a difference and it’s been pretty wild to be given this platform to share my thoughts about what teaching physics could look like.”
As part of winning Teacher of the Year, Joe was invited to kick off the AAPT Summer Meeting in July 2024 with the open plenary talk. In his talk, “Finding the Joy in Teaching Physics,” Joe shared some of his favorite moments from his last decade of teaching. You can visit his website, Passionately Curious Science, where he shares lesson plans and tips and attracts over 90,000 visitors each year.