Interview Transcript 2: Kaitlin Blanche, Science Teacher
Q: What is your role at IS 187 The Christa McAuliffe School? How long have you been teaching at the school?
A: I teach 8th grade Physical Science. This is my first year teaching at IS 187, I am part of NYC Teacher Collaborative.
Q: What do you teach your students in Physical Science?
A: Physical science covers a mix of chemistry and physics. The main topics are matter, atomic structure, periodic table, forces and motion, energy, waves and sound, chemical reactions, and finally acids, bases, and solutions.
Q: Are you able to incorporate any STEAM practices into your curriculum?
A: Yes! This year my students were tasked to design and build a functional roller coaster that incorporated physics principles, such as gravity, energy transfer, and forces. The roller coaster activity engages students in an interactive and collaborative project that combines scientific concepts with hands-on engineering and creativity. It promotes critical thinking, problem-solving, data analysis, and presentation skills while fostering an understanding of physics principles in a fun and engaging manner. My students had so much fun creating and testing their roller coasters, it was very cool to see their creative side shine through.
Q: Do you think the roller coaster activity engaged your students more than normal (regular classes)?
A: Absolutely, the students were so excited to get to work. They used their background knowledge on forces and energy transfer to work with their team members. Some groups got into heated debates during the design process and needed to prove why their idea would work the best.
Q: Do you think you would be able to collaborate with a math teacher next time you assign this project?
A: Yes, for sure! About a month after we finished the project my students were telling me their math teacher (Mr. Ip) started incorporating physics problems into their class. I spoke to him and we are planning on collaborating next year! He teaches regents algebra and tries to push the students out of their comfort zone. He is also an amazing teacher. I hope to learn new techniques and skills through our future collaborations!
Q: Do you plan on adding any other STEAM projects into your curriculm?
A: Yes, I would love to incorporate more STEAM projects. As a first year teacher I was a little nervous about the project going smoothly and time constraints (since we are prepping for the state exam) but moving forward I hope to add more! The way the students responded to the activity allowed me to form a deeper connection and give them a fun hands on learning experience.
Thank you so much Ms. Blanche!