Making it Click: Personal Response Systems to Assess and Enhance Student Comprehension

Michelle Jedlicka, John Tollett, Charlotte Wiggins, Chris Parr, Kristen Jones, MaryAnn Nagyvary, Michelle Cochrane, and Jody Peacock

Amount Received:               $4,974.54

In this age of “multimedia overload” teachers must come up with new exciting ways to engage their students.  While many teachers are currently using PowerPoint lecture notes, these presentations are truly a presentation to the students, and therefore do not encourage active student participation.  This program will allow the use of a student response system, or “clickers”, so that teachers will embed questions within these PowerPoint presentations to make them truly interactive and engaging.

Teaching the World with Advanced Technology

Location: A&M Consolidated High School

Debbie Lange and Zandy Pustay

Amount Received:               $5,000.00

An advanced projection system allows Geography students immediate and free classroom access to images and data increasing their knowledge, perception, interpretation, presentation, and evaluation skills.  These critical thinking skills build upon previous student knowledge while advancing their grasp of spatial thinking illustrating interrelationships between man and his environment.

SMART Science

Location: A&M Consolidated Middle School

Barbara Bowers and Sandy Siddall   

             
Amount received:                $3,896.00

The Science department at A&M Consolidated Middle School is thrilled at the possibility of bringing the interactive SMART board technology, including wireless Airliner slates to our classrooms.  These are tools used to engage students and allow hands-on active participation.  The opportunity to work with the latest technology available is very exciting, for teachers and for students.  Phillip C. Schlechty, in Creating Great Schools (pg. 224) states “For most students, learning today takes place in a multimedia world.”  Use of the SMART board technology with its companion wireless Airliner slate will allow science teachers to take advantage of this new paradigm.  Fred Jones, Tools for Teaching (pg. 21), tells us “Since teachers are typically supervising the students’ work as they move about the room, they get discipline management for free.”  Use of the Airliner slate especially addresses the issue of mobility for the teacher to monitor both student progress on the work and their behavior by not tying the teacher to the front of the room.  The “art” of teaching is rapidly becoming the science of teaching (Marzano, Pickering, & Pollock, Classroom Instruction that Works, pg. 1).  They also emphasize (pg. 157) that “educators must have a desire and commitment to change.”  We have that desire, commitment and belief that the SMART board and Airliner technology will more effectively bring the new “science” of teaching into our science classrooms.

Freedom’s Voice

Location: A&M Consolidated High School

April Wilson

Amount received:                $849.99

Shared Inquiry in Spanish

Location: South Knoll Elementary

Annie Roth

Amount received:                $248.56

South Knoll has hosted Junior Great Books discussion groups led by parent and community volunteers for over ten years.  During the weekly meetings, the students read and discuss literature selections from the Great Books Foundation.  The Shared Inquiry discussion method is used, which emphasizes reading texts closely, having structured opportunities for raising and answering questions, and supporting ideas with evidence from the text.  This year ten different groups are meeting, most during student lunchtimes.  Third grade Spanish Dual Language teacher Mrs. Susana Limpers will be retiring at the end of this year, but has requested to lead third grade Spanish Junior Great Books discussion groups for the 07-08 school year.  New Spanish materials are needed for this project.

The 3 R's:  Readin', 'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic for Special Learners at College Hills Elementary

Location: College Hills Elementary

Janet Boutton, Lilly Moreno and Andrea Siebert
Amount received:                $4,899.40

This grant is written by three Special Education teachers at College Hills.  Collectively, we teach 36 children identified with a variety of language/learning disabilities from autism to specific learning disabilities.  The materials that would be acquired with this grant money will be used to supplement basic instructional materials that are already being used in Reading, Math and Language Arts instruction.  The materials we would like to buy are highly engaging and interesting, many of them are manipulatives and all can be used with all of the students to make their learning more meaningful and enjoyable.
 

Math in Motion

Location:                               Southwood Valley Elementary

Kerry Gray, Leslie Rangel, Jennie Fortner, Lisa Edrington, Christie Scambray, Allison Hanna, and Debbie Furry

Amount received:                $4,948.43

For years, teachers have been encouraged to teach at least part of their day in reading groups to meet the needs of everyone in their class.  Math is often taught through whole class instruction even though students are on as many different levels in math as they are in reading.  We want to be able to engage our students in math at their individual levels.  Math in Motion is a process of teaching math using manipulatives, math activities, workboards, math journals, and small group or individual instruction.  We will create workboards to track the activities students choose and use math journals to incorporate writing into math.  Journals will also be a way to evaluate what the students are learning.  The grant monies will be used to purchase math manipulatives and activities that students can use to work on their individual level while the teacher instructs small groups and individuals.  Parent volunteers will be used to help create materials, assemble math tubs, and work with small groups or individuals.

Connections

Sally Hughes and Kristi Addington

Amount received:                $4,995.57

The Connections Program will enhance student motivation and engagement through the use of technology in the classroom.  Instruction and student projects, integrating all core classes, will be technology based and prepare students for a life in the technology age.  Community partners will assist in the integration and instruction of technological skills.

Writing: Anytime, Anyplace, Anywhere

Location:                               Pebble Creek Elementary

Judy Weir and Janet Ball

Amount received:                $5,000.00

The Neo is a small, lightweight, portable word processor with an LCD display.  Students can take it just about anywhere – to the library to take notes, the school’s garden to record scientific data, or other classrooms.  It runs on three AA batteries, and has an infrared beamer that allows you to beam from Neo to Neo, Neo to printer, or Neo to hub.  The machines turn on instantly allowing the students to begin working immediately because they do not have to enter a username and password.  It is not a laptop with access to the Internet.  Therefore, the students are not distracted by websites, games, and drawing programs thus allowing the students to stay on task.  The machines can be purchased in a set of 30 with a portable cart, a variety of software and a hub.  The hub controls the Neo’s software and functions and also allows teachers to send to or collect information from all 30 Neos.

School of Rock – Learning to the Beat

Location:                               Southwood Valley Elementary and Forest Ridge Elementary

Andrea Poehl and Shelly Rice

Amount received:                $4,524.60

This grant funding will provide iPods with sound docks for each of 10 Head Start Classrooms.  Teachers will download all educational songs from their CD libraries onto iPods to consolidate all their music resources.  With this technology in place teachers will be able to reduce preparation time for daily lessons, provide opportunities for individualization, ease transition activities and maximize student engagement.  Music and movement instruction are critical for the optimal development of young children.

Tiger Claws

Location:                               A&M Consolidated High School

Dawn Galloway, Fara Goodwyn, and Janelle Poe

Amount received:                $2,249.99