EDT+704

= = EDT 704 Grant Writing

PDF Proposal -

** The mission of the Sun Prairie Education Foundation is to acquire and distribute resources that enhance extraordinary educational opportunities throughout the Sun Prairie Area School District. **

For additional information in completing this application, contact the Resource Development Manager at (608) 834-6500.

** SECTION A - Identification ** Applicant’s Name Andrew Hayes Position: Math Teacher School: Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School Department: Mathematics – 9th Grade Telephone (work) 608-318-8062 (home) 262-337-1526 E-Mail: ajhayes@spasd.k12.wi.us Project Title: Lego’s 4 Learning Date of Application: February 20th 2011 Proposed date(s) of the project (from) September 2011 to //Distant Future// Funding Amount Requested: $2500.00

** SECTION B – Description ** 1. What are the goals and objectives of the project? Lego’s 4 Learning activities are expected to result in participants having an increased desire to pursue areas of science, technology, and mathematics while having a higher understanding of what engineering jobs entail and the skills in order to get these jobs; increased work-readiness skills; increased reasoning and problem solving skills; and an increased level of intellectual curiosity.

2. What student(s) or student group(s) will participate in the project? The program will be open to all students at Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School (8th and 9th grade). Eventually a mentor program will be put in place where older high school students will be invited back to assist the current participants with their challenge.

3. What student(s) or student group(s) will benefit from the project? Students who participate will directly benefit from the project by their hands-on and collaborative working with students in order to accomplish task or challenge that they have never been faced with before. Students will not only learn about concepts such as gear ratios and programming they will be doing activities that will require them to use these concepts to compete with their peers and to win. Students who have participated in other programs, such as the US FIRST Robotics competition and the US FIRST Lego League Competition have shown to be more successful in their post high school endeavors. Note the attached image from US FIRST. We expect to see similar results from this program as well. And another note, that this program will have all of the necessary materials to enable students to compete in the US FIRST Lego League Competition in time.

Brandeis University’s Center for Youth and Communities, “IMPACT FIRST Robotics Competition Evaluation.” June 2009. Online image. FIRST. January 2011. http://www.usfirst.org/aboutus/content.aspx?id=46

4. Describe the project and its proposed activities. We hope to instill a sense of wonder into each student that participates in our program. They will be given the opportunity to work with other teachers, parents, and even community members on putting their design together and from that we hope to inspire students to pursue careers in engineering, technology, mathematics, and science. Students participating in the program will: · Learn about gear ratios · Learn about sensors · Learn about basic programming and logic · Collaborate · Meet deadlines Initial challenges are: · Drag race · Following the path · Obstacle course · Transporter · Tug of War

5. For grant requests larger than $500, describe what you expect to achieve when the project is 50% complete. Half way through the year students will be expected to have an emerging understanding of the basic principles of working in their teams, the fundamentals of the robot kits, and the ideas of mechanical advantage. The students should also be capable of completing a basic challenge individually successfully, that is, they know how to do each part of the design, build, and testing phase on their own.

6. Explain how the project is instructionally innovative. We believe that this program is the best fit for these students and to provide these opportunities to students with these specific interests because we are the only program on the horizon that gives students the opportunities to build, discover, collaborate, and compete. This program also takes things that many students are familiar with, Lego’s, and puts their ability to use them to the test.

7. Describe how the project will enrich the educational experience of the target student population. This project gives students an opportunity to explore and to implement the concepts that they learn about in their course work. Students will be asked to be creative, hypothesize, criticize, revise, collaborate, and compete. And as the participants in Lego’s 4 Learning become more familiar with these concepts they will be able to use those skills in the rest of their academic career.

8. How does this project support the mission of the Sun Prairie Education Foundation on behalf of the target student population? This program opens up the world of technology and engineering to students in way that is currently not possible at Cardinal Heights, or anywhere else in the district for that matter. The first step in every challenge is to have the students be creative and come up with their own unique solutions to the challenge. Each challenge that the students face will require them to work hard, work cooperatively, and be timely with what they do so that they can achieve excellence in both the competition, their academics, and in their future.

9. How will you evaluate and measure the success of this project upon its completion? What is the timeline for project completion? The project is an after school program that will run throughout the school year. Students will be evaluated based upon their team’s performance in the competition, their contributions to their team during the building phase, and by their peers at the end of each competition.

10. If your project spans multiple years, identify possible funding sources to continue the project in subsequent years. Lego’s 4 Learning is a very sustainable project that only requires minimal funding. The only consumable component of the project is the batteries and by using rechargeable batteries that should significantly lower the demand for additional funding. Additional funding for replacing small parts or battery packs will come from the students’ activity fee paid. The Sun Prairie School District has also agreed to make funding available for paying the project leader, per Ryan Ruggles the principal at Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School.

11. List the key individuals who will be involved in supervising or coordinating the activity. Briefly describe the role of each individual. Indicate one individual who will have the principal responsibility for overseeing the activity (i.e. the Project Leader). __ Participant’s Name Role in Project __ Andrew Hayes Project Leader

12. List and briefly describe any support services (i.e. computer services, transportation etc.) that will be required for the project and its proposed activities. Computers will be required for the programming portion of the competition and the computers are already in the classroom.

Please attach any letters of endorsement and support to this application. Such letters are not required, but may assist the committee when reviewing your application.

** SECTION C – Budget **

Provide a complete budget for the project. For each budget item, provide a written justification for that item. Attach additional pages as needed. Expenses in their entirety will be covered for the foreseeable future through the grants funds for the sustainable and reusable Lego MindStorm Robotics Discovery Kits and the use of rechargeable batteries. All other materials and needs are currently in place at the school building. All other needs of the project will be handled by the program supervisor through the Sun Prairie Area School District. The district is willing per Ryan Ruggles, the building principal at Cardinal Heights UMS, to partner with the grant by supporting the development and growth of the program through provisions of paid curriculum time and ongoing support as an official after school club. The program is completely self sustainable for the next ten years as the robotic kits have a long lifespan and the use of rechargeable batteries will also cut down on the operating costs of the robot kits. Over time components will need to be replaced but through the funding of student fees and in club fund raisers the program will be able to cover the annual operating costs. Equipment and Supplies
 * Lego Mindstorm NXT 2.0 (x8) $2240
 * Duracell Rechargeable Batteries $200
 * Shipping and Handling $60

** SECTION D – Signatures and Endorsements **

Name (printed) Signature

Applicant Andrew Hayes

** Required endorsements ** You, the applicant, need signatures from only those people who are directly related to your project. However, signatures by the Principal and either the Curriculum Coordinator or Grade Level Chair are required.

I have reviewed this Sun Prairie Education Foundation Grant Application, and endorse and support this grant proposal.

Name (printed) Signature

Principal Ryan Ruggles

Curriculum Coordinator, or Grade Level Chair

__ Endorsements supporting this grant proposal: __

__ Support Services __

Computer Services

__ Technical Education __

Buildings and Grounds

__ Transportation __

Printing

__ Other (Specify) __ _ __ Mail the completed application to: Sun Prairie Education Foundation, PO Box 836, Sun Prairie 53590. __