Interviewee: Heather McPherson, Ph.D. student, Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE), McGill University
Date: May 25th, 2016

 Q: WHAT WAS YOUR ROLE IN THE CHANTIER SEVEN PROJECT?

A: I was a research assistant, so I was involved with writing and editing some of the lesson plans, and I was also involved in the original literature reviews for the lesson plans.

Q: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT?

A: Since last July or August. July probably.

Q: SO 2015?

A: Yes.

Q: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM BEING INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT?

A: I learned particularly the importance of understanding students' pre-conceptions, before you move on to a new topic. It's something I was aware of, but I'm much more aware of it now. As a teacher I can address those issues better now, having done the project.

Q: IN YOUR VIEW, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP FOR UNIVERSITY PARTNERS TO HELP TEACHERS IN THEIR PRACTICE?

A: It would be nice to do the same kind of thing for grade ten, which involves a ministry exam. So the Chantier Sept as is was designed for grade seven and eight, and I think there's a real need for teachers who teach grade ten, dealing with ministry exam issues, to learn some of the skills, like the pre-conceptions, and also to just have access to more lesson plans.

Q: SO APPLYING THE TOOL FOR GRADE TEN AND ELEVEN STUDENTS AS WELL?

A: Not grade eleven, there is no science grade eleven. So just grade ten. Grade nine perhaps, but I think it's really important for grade ten, since it's the exit exam for science in Quebec.

Q: ALTHOUGH THERE IS THE CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS MINISTRY?

A: It's not ministry, and it's an optional course.

Q: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT TEACHERS FACE WHILE TEACHING SCIENCE? 

A: It depends on the course. I haven't taught grade seven and eight for a long time. The issues we're dealing with... students' lack of background knowledge, or misconceptions. Those were always issues. And also developing lesson plans that dealt with the junior high students’ need to work collaboratively as a group, rather than sit and talk, and have the teacher go "blah, blah, blah" forever.

Q: AS A CURRENT TEACHER, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS CAN LEARN FROM THIS PROJECT?

A: The lesson plans were all set up to follow the principles of high quality teaching. I think it's really good to confirm those skills that the pre-service teachers are learning at McGill. Because the lesson plans are developed with that in mind, I think it's a really good grounding for them, to see how to do what they've been taught to do. I think that was the main thing for pre-service teachers that I thought would be quite valuable.

Q: NOW THAT WE'VE GONE THROUGH ALL THE QUESTIONS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT TO ADD THAT MAY HAVE BEEN LEFT UNSAID?

A: No. Well, I found the experience quite rewarding. I would recommend other teachers to get involved with it. And certainly it gave me an experience to practice more what I've learned at McGill and apply it to the classroom. I think I learned a lot by doing the project, and I brought it to my classroom.

Q: THANK YOU.