|
Moursund, D.G. (2002). Obtaining resources for
technology in education: A how-to guide for writing
proposals, forming partnerships, and raising funds.
Copyright (c) David Moursund, 2002.
Appendix A: Sample NSF Preliminary
Proposal
This is an example of a preliminary proposal. It is a
slightly modified form of a preliminary proposal submitted
to the National Science Foundation. An NSF Program Officer
provided useful feedback on the merits of the proposed
project and its likelihood of being funded.
The preliminary proposal given here is not intended to
represent an ideal preliminary proposal to be copied.
Rather, it is intended to illustrate a combination of good
and not-so-good features. As you study it, look for its
strengths and weaknesses. What you would do to make it
better?
One of the weaknesses in this preliminary proposal is
that the proposed project cuts across two quite different
components of the NSF. It would require a collaborative
effort by two program officers to fund the proposed project.
If the program officers are not used to working together and
if they are over burdened by their workloads, this might
work against such a proposal being funded.
One of the strengths of this proposed project is that it
is apt to stand the test of time. That is, the problem that
it addresses is growing on a yearly basis.
Letter to National Science Foundation
Date
Dr. (First Name) (Last Name), Program Officer
Informal Science Education Program
National Science Foundation
Washington, DC 20550
Dear Dr. (Last Name):
The enclosed preliminary proposal is a follow-up of the
telephone conversation that we had on (date). In that
conversation we discussed a number of ideas that had been
developed for a Planning Grant to be submitted to the
Informal Science Education Program. As a consequence of our
conversation, you suggested that it would be more
appropriate to submit a preliminary proposal.
I appreciate the help you provided in our phone
conversation and the suggestion that a preliminary proposal
would be more appropriate than a Planning Grant
Proposal.
As noted in our phone conversation, this project probably
belongs someplace in-between Informal Education and Teacher
Enhancement. Long term success of the project requires
community involvement and close cooperation between informal
and formal education. However, the initial thrust in this
project will be more toward informal education than toward
formal education.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. David Moursund
Student Exhibits for Science Education (SESE)
(SESE is pronounced as "See See")
----------------------------------------
Preliminary proposal submitted by:
David Moursund
President, Willamette Science and Technology
Center (WISTEC) and
Executive Officer, International Society for
Technology in Education (ISTE)
1787 Agate Street
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Phone 503/346-2401 or 503/346-3564
E-mail moursund@oregon.uoregon.edu
Abstract
This Student Exhibits for Science Education (SESE,
pronounced "See See") project is designed to significantly
improve science and technology education in this country. It
addresses two major educational problems:
- Relatively few students are engaged in learning to
design and build science and technology projects. Indeed,
many students now complete high school having never even
put together model kits.
- Relatively few students are learning to help other
students learn about science and technology.
The SESE project will develop and pilot test the idea of
elementary and secondary school students creating hands-on
exhibits designed to help people learn key ideas in science
and technology. Important features of this project
include:
- Training of students, parents, teachers, and
volunteers to work together to produce exhibits that can
be used in the community.
- Developing a set of guidelines that would allow
judging of exhibits in local, regional, and national
competition.
- Developing instructional support materials that
facilitate widespread implementation of the SESE project
idea.
The initial development and implementation will be done
locally. However, the intent is to design SESE so that it
can be scaled up to regional, statewide, and national
implementation.
Organization Profiles
This will be a joint proposal from two nonprofit
organizations: the Willamette Science and Technology Center
and the International Society for Technology in
Education.
The Willamette Science and Technology Center (WISTEC) is
a 501(c)(3) nonprofit science and technology museum. It is
located in Eugene, Oregon, and serves a metropolitan area of
approximately 250,000 people. WISTEC has an annual budget of
about $150,000.
WISTEC was established in 1961 and is housed in a
facility rented from the city of Eugene for one dollar a
year. Initially, the museum was the South West Oregon Museum
for Science and Industry--a branch of the Oregon Museum for
Science and Industry (OMSI). WISTEC members are still given
free admission to OMSI.
The International Society for Technology in Education
(ISTE) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit professional society of
educators with a mission of improving education. ISTE's main
offices are located in Eugene, Oregon. ISTE also has a
national office located in the Washington, DC, area.
ISTE publishes 12 periodicals, holds conferences, has a
broad-based committee structure, and publishes a wide range
of instructional support materials. It currently operates on
a budget of about $1.6 million per year.
Project Description
Project SESE is designed to actively engage students and
their parents in designing and constructing the types of
exhibits that are used in hands-on science and technology
museums. The project addresses two problems in science
education:
- Relatively few students are engaged in learning to
design and build science and technology projects. Indeed,
many students now complete high school having never even
put together model kits. Also, many have little
experience in the computer-based electronic equivalent of
kit building, such as designing and implementing
interactive multimedia software.
- Relatively few students are learning to help other
students learn about science and technology. This is
detrimental to adult life in a world of lifelong learning
in which people have a major responsibility of helping
their coworkers and others to learn.
The underlying educational philosophy in this project is
that all students should be both learners and teachers.
Every student has the capability of being both a creative
learner and a facilitator of other people's learning. This
project is designed to help students develop their skills as
independent, self-sufficient learners and as facilitators of
learning.
Ultimate Goal
The ultimate purpose of SESE is a small but significant
change in science and technology education in this country.
This will be done by bringing the concept of the hands-on
science and technology museum into the classrooms of our
schools and the communities of our nation.
In communities that have a hands-on science and
technology museum, the museum will play a continuing and
central coordinating role in SESE. In effect, the museum
will develop a school classroom-based outreach program. In
communities that lack a science and technology museum, the
effect of the project will be to create a school
classroom-based "distributed" museum.
The Goal Viewed Locally
Imagine a museum exhibit team. The team might consist of
one or more students (perhaps from different grade levels),
one or more parents, and a volunteer mentor, perhaps from a
local high-tech company. The makeup of a team will vary
widely with the implementation site.
A team, with some guidance from the teacher(s) of the
student(s), will design and construct a hands-on,
interactive exhibit. The exhibit will be designed to help
its users learn some important idea from science,
mathematics, or technology.
The exhibit may become part of a student's portfolio.
Clearly, this orientation is a strong connection to formal
education and enhances the value of the project in states
such as Oregon that are focusing on students developing
portfolios.
Typically, the exhibit will be entered into a
competition, first at the classroom or school level, then at
the district level, and so on. When SESE has been
implemented on a national level, there will be national
competitions and outstanding exhibits will receive national
recognition. Winning exhibits at all levels will go on tour.
For example, a school-level winner might be exhibited at
locations in the community as well as at a science and
technology museum.
The Goal Viewed Globally
The underlying philosophy of this project is hands-on,
cooperative learning involving teams of people that contain
both students and adults. The flavor of this project can be
considered as a combination of ideas from the Westinghouse
Science Talent Search, Invention Convention, Soapbox Derby,
and other individual and locally based, but national
competitions.
When implemented on a nationwide basis, the project could
entail the yearly involvement of thousands of students. Over
a period of years, schools will institutionalize the idea
that students learn to facilitate the learning of others
through the development of hands-on exhibits.
Not all students, classrooms, or schools will choose to
participate competitively. In any classroom, the project can
and should be implemented so that the real joy and value is
in participating--every participant is a winner!
However, an essential aspect of the design and production
of any exhibit is a combination of formative and summative
evaluation. Such evaluation (feedback) can come from a
number of sources, including peers, end users, teachers, and
competition judges. For those who decide to participate in
having their exhibits judged, there will be recognition and
prizes. This will require a carefully constructed
partnership with the corporate sector.
Materials and Infrastructure
To a large extent, the design of this project is
summarized by "Think globally, act locally." The
infrastructure and the materials that are developed need to
fit both a local and a nationwide context. The initial
project will be a local project. However, there will be a
focus on how to scale up the project to regional, state, and
national levels.
A wide range of print and video materials will need to be
collected and developed. The materials need to be grounded
in the best practices of hands-on science, mathematics, and
technology education. They need to be readable/viewable by a
wide range of teachers, parents, and volunteers. Materials
are also needed for students and teachers to facilitate
integration of exhibits construction into the everyday
curriculum.
Audience Impact
There are five major "audiences" in this project. All
will be significantly impacted.
- Students. Initial emphasis in the project will be on
students in upper elementary through high school, roughly
grades 4&endash;12.
- Science, mathematics, and technology teachers. The
project will be designed so that any individual teacher
can facilitate the participation of some or all of the
students that they teach.
- Parents and volunteers. Somewhat paralleling the
ideas in the Soapbox Derby, the project will be designed
to facilitate and encourage participation of parents and
volunteers on the exhibit teams.
- Hands-on science and technology museums. In
communities that have such museums, it is quite likely
that the museums will take the lead in local
implementation of this project.
- Local communities. There will be a strong focus on
community involvement and of "be proud of our kids, their
teachers, and their schools." Local implementation of the
project will include substantial involvement of the media
(public relations) and of the business community.
Brief Summary of Three-Year Project Activity
The proposal will seek funding that extends over a period
of three years. Project activity during this time will be
divided into four phases.
- Getting started. This will include a more detailed
needs assessment, formation of a broad-based advisory
group, design of a pilot study, and initial work on
collecting and creating SESE support materials.
- Small pilot study. The ideas of project SESE will be
pilot tested with a few teams of participants at the
elementary, middle school, and high school levels. There
will be continued work on finding and developing needed
materials.
- Expanded pilot study. The ideas of SESE will be pilot
tested with whole classrooms of participants at the
elementary, middle school, and high school levels. By the
end of the expanded pilot study, the project ideas and
project materials have been refined to a level to support
wider implementation and dissemination.
- Pilot study of "scaling up" the project. Explore the
difficulties of getting the project implemented in some
school districts that have not been involved in
1&endash;3 above.
If the project proves to be successful, then additional
sources of funding will be needed to scale the project up to
state and national levels. Such funding might come from a
combination of private foundations and/or corporate sources,
as well as from state and federal funds.
Staffing and Estimated Project Costs
I view SESE In its current conception as a project
requiring an investment of approximately $150,000 per year
for three years.
The proposal will come jointly from the Willamette
Science and Technology Center (a local hands-on museum) and
the International Society for Technology in Education (a
nationwide organization). There will be letters of support
from key people in the local school districts to show they
understand the project and are willing to have their
students and teachers participate.
WISTEC will take the lead in the local implementation of
the project, including gathering and preparing needed
materials. ISTE will take the lead in materials production
and dissemination, as well as in ensuring that the project
ideas can be scaled up to state and national levels.
The co-PIs will be Dr. Ray Hull, who is currently the
Director of WISTEC, and Dr. David Moursund, who is the
Executive Officer of ISTE.
Both of the prospective PIs are also currently faculty
members in the College of Education at the University of
Oregon. Dr. Hull's work in the College of Education has
focused on science education. Dr. Moursund's work in the
College of Education has focused on computer-related
technology and on mathematics education.
The project will have a local advisory committee
consisting of students, parents, teachers, representatives
from local businesses, and so on. The ISTE Board of
Directors will serve in the role of a national advisory
group.
Bibliography
A Nation at Risk: The imperative for educational reform.
(1983). National Commission for Excellence in Education.
Washington, DC: Author.
A SCANS Report for AMERICA 2000 (1991). What work
requires of schools. U.S. Department of Labor. Washington,
DC: Author.
Educational Leadership (1992, May). The entire issue of
this ASCD periodical is devoted to performance
assessment.
Exploratorium (1975). Exploratorium Cookbook.
Exploratorium (1990). Exploratorium Science
Snackbook.
Fort, D.C. (1993, May). Science shy, science savvy,
science smart. Phi Delta Kappan. PP 674-683.
Moursund, D.G. (1990). Effective inservice for
integrating computer-as-tool into the curriculum. Eugene,
OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1989).
Curriculum and evaluation standards for school mathematics.
Reston, VA: Author.
Oregon Department of Education (1987). Mathematics:
Common curriculum goals.
Oregon Department of Education (1988). Science education:
Common curriculum goals.
Phi Delta Kappan (1990, May). Five articles in this issue
of Phi Delta Kappan focus on science education with a major
emphasis on hands-on science.
Rutherford, F.J. and Ahlgren, A. (1990). Science for all
Americans. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wilson, K.G. (1992). A national plan for overall
educational reform (rough draft). Project Discovery, Smith
Laboratory, The Ohio State University, 174 W. 18th Ave.,
Columbus, Ohio 43210.
Vita
Vita for Dr. Ray Hull (Not included in this Appendix)
Vita for Dr. David Moursund (Not included in this
Appendix)
Top of Page
|
