Frogs and Boiling Water: Talking Declining Academic Scores With Professor John Richards

Frogs and Boiling Water: Talking Declining Academic Scores With Professor John Richards

From After the Bell: Teaching Tips With a Twist by The Stunt Brothers

April 13, 2026 · 44 min · Season 2 · Episode 33

About this episode

The episode discusses the challenges of teaching and academic performance through the lens of the Artemis II space launch.

In Episode 63, Martin & Roy ponder the history making Artemis II space launch with the spacecraft hurtling through space at thousands of kilometres per hour with a malfunctioning toilet. This moment sparks a powerful analogy: in both space travel and teaching, when something goes wrong, you can’t simply stop, you have to keep going. And in the classroom there are times when you know something’s not working properly but are unable to pinpoint the problem or the cause. All the while you mus...

People in this episode

Hosts: Martin, Roy

Guest: Professor John Richards

Topics covered

  • academic scores
  • teaching challenges
  • space travel analogy
  • problem-solving
  • education

Keywords

  • academic scores
  • teaching
  • space travel
  • problem-solving
  • education challenges

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