Rachel Whitecar

High school science educator. Hiker and nature lover. Proud alumni of Stockton University undergraduate and graduate programs.

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

❤️

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Want to know how physics concepts apply to carnival rides, games, and sports? Just ask a bunch of CMS 8th graders to make a model that explains it for you. I am amazed by their creativity and ingenuity. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Fantastic Pops orchestra concert tonight with Collingswood and Voorhees schools at Eastern High School. Mario, you will truly be missed. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Today we modeled energy transfer in ecosystems (the 10% rule). #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Learning about how living things are classified into groups based on their similarities. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Balloon rocket fun! We are comparing the impact that sliding and fluid friction have on the speed of a balloon rocket. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Really proud of my homeroom kids. They all worked really hard putting this one together. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Is the engineering design process an effective way to solve problems? Today we tested our UFO prototypes to see if they landed safely within the landing pad. We learned about gravity, air resistance, surface area, and other forces that impact falling objects. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

How difficult is it to write an easy to follow science procedure? We designed simple Lego sets and typed instructions to find out. When we swapped our Lego sets to see if another group could rebuild based on our instructions, we learned that we all have room to improve. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

We tested three brand of soap to see which brand blew the biggest bubbles! We collected data, analyzed data, made bar graphs digitally (google sheets) and by hand, and used CER to write our conclusions. We learned so much this week and had tons of fun.

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

We had some adorable visitors in class today! #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

So grateful that I get to work with so many amazing people. This morning we met for breakfast before our professional development day, just because. My 20th year at CMS is off to a great start. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Do scientists encounter cognitive bias? How do they avoid it? Today we made observations and inferences about the flavor of gumdrops. It wasn’t until later we learned they were spiced flavored 😂. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Investigating how fortune teller fish work. How can we use observations to formulate testable ideas? Spoiler alert: It’s moisture, not heat, static, or your mood that make them move. #collsedu

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Learning about the impact that limiting factors have on carrying capacity. We are collecting data,graphing, and playing games to learn.

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Today is 2/2/22 and it’s Groundhog Day! We decided to take a break from our regularly scheduled ecology lesson and learn about the ecological importance of the groundhog! Did you know they can climb trees to escape predators?

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Shifting the focus from teaching kids science to teaching them to WANT to learn science again. I could tell kids weren’t truly understanding what an ecosystem was, they really had no interest. So we dropped everything and decided to explore the ecosystem of a single drop of water

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

Engineering design challenge: Design a UFO that will land on a target and as slowly as possible. We had so much fun and learned a ton about flight and engineering! #collsedu #8thgradescience

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

What if...

[Rachel Whitecar @ghs_whitecar]

An excerpt from a special edition of Time Magazine on learning. A reminder that we can’t catch kids up from missed learning, but we can remind them how fun and rewarding learning can be. Present them with challenges, teach them how to think, and above all, build relationships.