This award represents countless hours of hard work to bring a creative and collaborative learning environment designed to foster connections beyond classroom walls. It validates methods of teaching by giving students real-world challenges, with the support of modeling instruction curriculum and engineering design as the process to design authentic solutions. I am humbled by this acknowledgement and owe so much to my colleagues and mentors who have helped me become a great science teacher.

Bryan Colahan Tiverton, RI | 7-12, Science, 2021

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Bryan Colahan has been an educator for over 14 years and has spent the last two years at Rogers High School teaching physics and engineering. Previously, he taught 12th grade Advanced Placement, Honors, and Conceptual Physics at Tiverton High School for three years. Bryan spent the prior three years as the Director of Curriculum Development with ProjectEngin, where he worked with schools and teachers to develop creative problem solvers and give students the tools needed to be lifelong learners. His first seven years in education were teaching physics at LaSalle Academy. Bryan's love of teaching goes beyond the classroom. Bryan worked with his previous district's special education team on a yearly design challenge where his physics students researched, designed, and built an adaptation for a student with special needs. His design teams interviewed the student, special educator, and both the physical and occupational therapist to best meet the needs of the end user. Bryan has presented sessions on engineering design, Biomimicry, and Project Based Learning (PBL) assessment at the National Science Teachers Association’s (NSTA) national conference, as well as NSTA STEM conference, and National Catholic Education Association’s national conference on many occasions. He has led districtwide workshops for integrating PBL through engineering design thinking with many schools throughout the country. Bryan earned a B.A. in business from the University of Rhode Island and an M.A.T., with a focus on physics education, from Northeastern University. He is certified in physics in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Bryan is a member of NSTA, American Association of Physics Teachers, and American Modeling Teachers Association.

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