After browsing through the available grants at GetEdFunding.com, I found myself most
interested in the Association
of American Educators Foundation Classroom Grant. Grants up to $500 are available, and they are
available to full time educators who have not received funding from AAE in the
past 18 months. I am only in my fifth
year of teaching, and while I feel very comfortable in my classroom and with my
instruction, my plate is rather full with teaching and graduate courses. I would not want to apply for a grant that
requires more from me than I can do well.
Therefore, a grant which provides a great deal of funding would require
a great deal of documentation and research which I value, but would simply not
be able to do thoroughly with my current obligations.
Furthermore, I am the type of person who prefers steady
progress rather than a complete makeover.
Therefore, this grant would allow me the opportunity to design, implement,
and evaluate a project which I have been thinking about for quite some time and
which I feel confident that I can complete effectively. The application process would simply require completion
of an online
application requiring some personal and professional information, a resume,
and a grant proposal. The proposal can
be completed online, and it should itemize the necessary materials and costs
and a lesson plan demonstrating the use of the aforementioned materials.
The project for which
I would use this funding is a rather simple project which could have a
significant impact on the success of my students. I would request a document camera and a subscription
to screen-casting software such as Camtasia to create a series of screencasts
(similar in appearance to those found on YouTube channel Minute
Physics) for students to view at home to supplement my in-class instruction
in an attempt to provide more time for differentiation in the classroom. The next steps in the process of applying for
the grant would be to design a lesson plan demonstrating my use of the new
equipment, convincingly write a proposal justifying its use and benefits for
students, and create an itemized list of materials in order to request an
appropriate amount of funding.
I like your approach and I sympathize with your dilemma with school. Your trying to find grant that does not require a lot of effort but can get you funds you need to make the "Big Changes" you want. I agree with you that this is hard find, however, you are lucky because your looking for a grant for science and there are a ton of these. I wish you luck. I think that after school wraps up for you, you may have more time for the this type of thing. Good Luck.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that you want to get funding, but at the same time dont want to over stretch yourself witht the work load. I feel that sometimes we try to complete it all and end up really not being fair to the students we teach, becuase we give only 50% in each area.
ReplyDeleteI can agree with your situation as a full time teacher and taking graduate school full time it would be tough to implement a larger grant, but would $500 be enough for any big steps for improvement in your classroom?
ReplyDeleteI like how honest you were about you abilities and limits at this time in your life. I think that is very beneficial to your students and yourself to be conscious of your limits and abilities. I like the sound of your grant and what you want to do with it. It's great that you want to supplement what you already have instead of inventing something new.
ReplyDeleteScott, your idea to start small can eventually lead to such great possibilities down the road when you have more time. I agree with the comments above regarding how honest you were in your post and how being honest with yourself will, in turn, help you keep your sanity as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteI like your idea. It makes perfect sense for us teachers to focus on ourselves for once. I think this is a great grant that I look forward to applying for in the future
ReplyDeleteI think you made a good decision for the grant you are thinking about. When I went through the list, there were a ton that jumped out at me and seemed interesting, or the number behind the dollar sign was too enticing, but the applicaiton itself was completely unreasonable for me. I think as a first time grant applicant, I want to keep it simple and reasonable.
ReplyDelete