Executive Summary:
My name is Ezra Johnson and I am
applying on behalf of University Laboratory High school. I have been teaching
at “Uni” for over 10 years and have really enjoyed my time here. The students
are very intelligent and eager to learn more. As a “Laboratory” school we are
supposed to preform many projects inside the class room. This idea has been
thwarted by financial issues for a very long time and thus our equipment is
often broken and out of date.
We recently updated a single room
to be more technology based, with a projector and touch-screen TV. This room
has a had a lot of success with teaching and with engaging the students. We
wish to apply a similar concept to other classrooms in hopes of encouraging
more project based learning. Many of the students have complained that they get
bored with lectures, and want something exciting to do. We really want to
encourage this enthusiasm and culture it into something that they can use the
rest of their lives.
We would like the Toshiba America
Foundation to consider a grant of $10,000 to support our efforts of
establishing a more project-based learning environment.
Needs Assessment:
One of the areas
we are really lacking is the science department. Multiple times this year my
colleague in the physics department commented on how old and broken his
equipment is. I would really like to see physics be a class where the students
can experiment with the information they learn and apply it in structures or
machines. Projects like mouse-trap cars, or building trebuchets, any sort of
project that would engage the students and allow them to apply the concepts
they learn in their science classes.
One of the
problems with this new project based curriculum would be creating new lesson
plans and adapting them to accommodate these new projects. Some of the grant
money would go to the teachers for their efforts in planning out these new
projects for the students. The majority of the money would go to buying new
equipment for the students to use. The equipment could include but is no
limited to:
1.
New Physics equipment. Including new large
magnets, new circuitry sets, materials for building bridges and trebuchets and
other projects determine by the teacher
2.
*I’ll add more specifics
Your introduction is very professional and your goal is very clear. I think you can do more to make this proposal more persuasive. It's a little cut and dry. Otherwise, I like how that you are very direct with the grant and leave no room for confusion or misunderstandings. All in all, good job.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren's first point, in that, a little more description as to why such a shift would be exciting (rather than why not doing it would be negative). Those reviewing grants want to see what exciting things will arise as a result of their grant. Good work in making the overall piece concise. Final thing: perhaps correct "colleague" to "instructor" or "professor", since you aren't a faculty member quite yet :)
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