Instructional Excellence Grant Proposal Form

Instructional Excellence Grant Proposal Form

Cover Sheet

Title of Proposal: DVD-ROM Collection for Student Projects and Field

Placements

Type of Proposal: Individual: _____X_____ Group: ___________

Project Director: Deborah A. McAllister

Other participating faculty members: ____________________________________

Faculty Status: (circle one): Regular Faculty Two years or less Adjunct Faculty

Funds Requested: $1,498.00

Approval Signatures:

_______________________________________________

Project Director

_______________________________________________

Department Head

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Instructional Excellence Grants Request

Proposal

(Do not put your name on this part of the Proposal)

Proposal Title: DVD-ROM Collection for Student Projects and Field Placements

Briefly summarize the proposed project.
Include a brief problem statement in your brief description.

This proposal requests funds to support a minimum of four courses and a variety of student field placements:

• Education 451 Teaching Strategies and Materials in Secondary and Middle Grades Mathematics, required for students majoring in Secondary Education: Mathematics, and Middle Grades 5-8 Mathematics;

• Education 454 Teaching Strategies and Materials in Secondary and Middle Grades Natural Science, required for students majoring in Secondary Education: Natural Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Physics), and Middle Grades 5-8: Natural Science;

• Education 450 Teaching Strategies and Materials in Secondary and Middle Grades English, required for students majoring in Secondary Education: English, and Middle Grades 5-8 English;

• Education 452 Teaching Strategies and Materials in Secondary and Middle Grades Social Science, required for students majoring in Secondary Education: Social Sciences (History, Geography, Political Science, Economics), and Middle Grades 5-8: Social Science;

• Education 433 Designing Instruction and Evaluation in the Secondary Classroom, required for students majoring in all secondary (Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, English) and K-12 areas (Art, Music, Theater, Health, Physical Education);

• Education 418 Middle Grades Organization, Curriculum, and Instruction, required for all students majoring in secondary or middle grades area;

• Education 522 Instructional Planning and Evaluation, required for all M.Ed. students seeking teacher licensure (secondary, middle grades, elementary);

• PDS I, early field experience for undergraduate students; and

• PDS II, student teaching field experience for undergraduate and graduate students.

Funding of this proposal will provide IMAX DVD-ROM discs for use by Education undergraduate and graduate students as they design and present lessons in mathematics, natural sciences, social sciences, English, and other content areas in the teaching and learning process. Funding will provide current and relevant, multidisciplinary material for classroom use by UTC students, both at UTC and in field placements in the Hamilton County schools.

Identify the project goals and objectives.
Briefly describe your goals and objectives. Include in the description how the outcomes of the project will improve teaching. Indicate also the anticipated reach of your project. In other words, how many and what type of students will benefit from the successful execution of the proposed grant?

Earlier this semester, I purchased the DVD-ROM Cosmic Voyage to show in class as an example of Standard 1 Number and Operations for grade bands 6-8 and 9-12 (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Since the content of the Number and Operations standard is more prevalent in lower grades than in upper grades (basic operations of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division), I wanted to have a good example to show to future high school and middle school mathematics teachers a way in which the standard applies to upper grades, in addition to activities to learn fractions, decimals, and percents. Cosmic Voyage was originally an IMAX presentation; when transferred to DVD-ROM, its screen dimension ratio was preserved for computer/television viewing. (I had the luxury of presenting this on the College's 50-inch Smart Board.) The mathematics content of Cosmic Voyage is powers of 10, beginning with a 1-meter acrobat's hoop in the center of St. Mark's Square in Venice, and progressing upwards by positive factors of 10 until the limits of the universe are reached. Likewise, negative powers of 10 are demonstrated with pond water from a student field trip in Holland, progressing from a drop of water downwards through sub-atomic particles. Student comments are listed at the end of this section.

The goal of this project is to provide current, and relevant, multidisciplinary material for classroom use by undergraduate and graduate students preparing to teach at the secondary (grades 7-12) and middle grades (grades 5-8) levels. Through this project, approximately 65 IMAX DVD-ROM discs will be purchased for classroom use, both at UTC and for students to check out for use in field experiences in the Hamilton County schools. The objective is for students to use the material as they create units, lesson plans, and brief activities, and for classroom viewing. Several IMAX (n.d.) lesson guides are available on-line or through theaters. Each student using the material will be required to submit an electronic copy of at least one activity designed for use with the selected DVD-ROM disc. The activities will be placed on a web site for other students to use. Hamilton County schools in which UTC places students during PDS I and PDS II, especially the magnet schools, have the computer technology necessary to run and project DVD-ROM discs (Hamilton County Department of Education, 2002).

The content of many of the DVD-ROM discs is multidisciplinary in nature, combining natural sciences and mathematics, or natural sciences and social sciences. Education 451 students were recently surveyed, and asked to select up to 20 of the DVD-ROM discs they, or students in similar majors, would be interested in UTC obtaining, if grant funds were available. All 65 of the discs received at least one vote. The most popular included:

• natural science and/or mathematics titles - Blue Planet, Cosmic Voyage, Destiny in Space, Momentum, Super Speedway, Thrill Ride;

• natural sciences titles - Dolphins, Into the Deep, Stormchasers, The Magic of Flight, Origins of Life, Journey into Amazing Caves;

• natural science and/or social science titles - Antarctica, Eruption of Mount St. Helens, Everest, Galapagos, Niagara, Ring of Fire, Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Hidden Hawaii, tropical Rainforest, Yellowstone; and

• social sciences titles - India, Mysteries of Egypt, Titanica.

The content of the DVD-ROM discs supports secondary and middle grades knowledge and skills as defined within Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000), the National Science Education Standards (National Research Council, 1996), and Expectations of Excellence (National Council for the Social Studies, 1994). Typical DVD-ROM viewing time is between 20 and 40 minutes, and will fit into a single class period, or selected portions may be shown. The IMAX material has been selected for its quality and its general nature of non-controversial content designed for public presentation.

Approximately 120 education majors per year take the secondary/middle grades methods courses, excluding duplication by students taking Education 433 and a content methods course (Education 450, 451, 452, 454). Content area methods courses are taught one semester per year. General methods courses and field placements occur two to three semesters per year. Approximately 100-150 students complete PDS I each year, and approximately 150-200 students complete PDS II each year; these numbers also include students preparing to teach in the elementary grades. The project relates to five of the six course objectives for Education 451; other methods courses have similar objectives geared to the other academic content areas:

• The student will demonstrate a variety of teaching strategies to be used in the secondary and middle school classroom. Reflective decision making, a process of reading, reflecting, and responding, will be applied by the student to evaluate ongoing teaching techniques, procedures, materials, and classroom curricular goals, in order to become a reflective practitioner.

• The student will select mathematics tasks to engage the learner's interest, enthusiasm, and intellect, and integrate enrichment material into the standard secondary mathematics curriculum. Activities are detailed in the NCTM standards, methods and materials books, on the Internet, and in computer software.

• The student will understand current issues in mathematics education, including current research methods, materials, and programs suitable to all learners, from the exceptional populations to diverse ethnic and cultural groups.

• The student will seek, and assist learners to seek, connections to previous knowledge and skills. Additionally, the goal is to expand that knowledge and those skills in order to meet the challenges of lifelong needs and learning.

• The student will understand the NCTM principles and standards for grades P through 2, 3 through 5, 6 through 8, and 9 through 12.

Student comments. In an unrelated assignment, preparing students for an on-line project, each Education 451 student was asked to logon to Blackboard and post two messages to the Discussion forum: something they liked about the class, and a reply to another student's message. Several students commented on Cosmic Voyage:

• I enjoyed the Cosmic Voyage movie. Hopefully we get more IMAX movies as the semester continues.

• I loved the movie. I thought that it would be a great piece to show to a school and then conduct a socratic seminar. I think that the movie had something to offer for almost every content area.

• I really enjoyed the Cosmic Voyage DVD we watched this last Wednesday. It not only taught the powers of ten but also incorporated science in as well. All the activities I will want to remember for when I am teaching; even high school students will enjoy the powers of ten DVD and the fraction plates.

• I liked the Cosmic Voyage DVD, too. It showed how the different disciplines are all connected, nothing stands alone. The DVD was visually entertaining as well.

• My favorite activity right now is torn between the fraction plates and the Cosmic Voyage DVD. I remember many times in middle and high school being bored by videos that were shown, although they were full of educational information. Not only was the DVD full of great information, it was also magnificently produced and extremely interesting: a great tool to hold students' attention! You never know what one thing you do is going to make a concept "click" for a student.

• I only remember 1 math video when I was in school - "Donald Duck in Mathemagic Land." It was good but I am glad they are more choices that kids can learn from. The day before big holidays is not a good day to work on something complicated but it is nice to have something content related to show instead of a "theater" movie. [Proposal author's note: Donald in Mathemagic Land is not in current release; I've tried to buy it.]

• I liked the way the DVD visually showed the magnitude of the exponential growth which is involved when increasing the power of ten. As the camera panned back from an area of 1 meter to 10 to 100 to 1,000 and on up you really got a feel for the rate of change which is involved in exponential growth.

• I agree with you that Cosmic Voyage did a wonderful job of illustrating how great things expand exponentially. By just several powers of 10 we were already deep in space, and I can't even comprehend the distances represented by the 10th and greater powers. Since I'm a visual learner, I thought it was an extremely valuable tool to get the idea across.

• One of my favorite activities was watching the Cosmic Voyage video. I have seen the web site that shows the universe in powers of 10 but I did not know there was an IMAX movie about it.

• I was very impressed by the video in class last week.

• I really enjoyed the video because it used something that we could recognize as an example like panning out on a view of the earth in meters to show the size of the powers.

Describe the method with which you will achieve your goals.
Briefly describe your methodology. Include a calendar of target project dates. That is, when will the major steps in the project begin and end?

Materials will be in place for the courses taught as soon as the funding decision allows. Materials might possibly be used during fall semester 2002, and will be used in Education 454, 450, and 522, and field placements during spring semester 2003; Education 418 and 433, and field placements during the summer semester 2003; and Education 451, 452, 433, and 520, and field placements during fall semester 2003. Students in the targeted courses write units, lesson plans, and/or activities to be presented to a class or students or through peer-teaching. Materials will be used after the grant period, also, since they are not consumable. The DVD-ROM discs will be checked out from, and activities turned in to, the project director. Students will be able to preview discs in the project director's office. Faculty may also check out discs for classroom use, at UTC or at field placement sites. Students and faculty will be made aware of the DVD-ROM collection through an email message, a notice on the dept. web site, a Blackboard announcement for those in field placements, and class announcements. Though this project is aimed at teaching and learning in the upper grades, students and faculty in elementary and exceptional learning majors will be welcomed to check out material; the material may be used by the entire college.

As the number of middle grades majors has increased, it has become obvious that the faculty members teaching the secondary/middle grades methods courses must provide for the student's needs, in at least two of the disciplines since each middle grades major selects an area of concentration and a second area of emphasis. The teaching license for these students will be in grades 5-8 for any academic subject. The material selected for this project is multidisciplinary, thereby meeting the needs of the middle grades majors. The material adheres to curriculum national, state, and local standards for teaching and learning.

I have chosen the materials based on expertise in my field. I regularly attend and present sessions at local, regional, state, and national conferences. Prior Instructional Excellence grants have provided child-centered software, mathematics manipulatives, books, videos, cameras, TVs, and VCRs. These materials are used on a regular basis for course components and projects, and are borrowed by students for use in UTC courses and field placements. I purchase additional materials and consumables from personal funds. This grant will not duplicate any funding that is already in place. Additional funding is being sought through external grant activity.

How will you evaluate the success of the project?
Describe your evaluation criteria clearly. How will you determine whether the project is successful?

Each student will be asked to submit an electronic copy of an activity to accompany the DVD-ROM disc borrowed. The activities will be posted to a web site for others students to access and use. Each student will also be asked to self-score a rubric, adapted from Teachnology, Incorporated (n.d.), on success of the unit, lesson, or activity that utilized the DVD-ROM disc. The rubric is attached.

Aside from project and course grades, teaching candidates must pass content area licensing exams (Praxis II). Success is often evident much later as the student takes ideas and techniques to the individual classroom to implement positive change in the teaching and learning process. The effective design and implementation of relevant content and methods, especially within local schools with poor standardized test performance, are important aspects of teaching and learning.

References

Hamilton County Department of Education. (2002, September 2). HCDE magnet schools. Retrieved September 29, 2002, from http://www.hcde.org/magnet/default.htm

IMAX. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2002, from http://www.imax.com/

National Council for the Social Studies. (1994). Expectation of excellence. Silver Spring, MD: Author.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

National Research Council. (1996). National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Teachnology, Incorporated. (n.d.). Presentation rubric generator. Retrieved September 29, 2002, from http://teachers.teach-nology.com/web_tools/rubrics/presentation/

Requested Budget:

Individual: $1500.00 maximum

Group: $3000.00 maximum

Item Cost

IMAX DVD-ROM collection (see attached spreadsheet) $1,362

_______________________________________________ ___________________

Sub-total requested $1,362

Shipping $136

Total (with shipping) $1,498