I NEED Educational technology expert

Sample Martha Holden Jennings Draft Proposal

Students in Cleveland have few opportunities to obtain experiences with gardening and even fewer opportunities to understand what it takes to grow food. For this project we propose to create a community garden project. For the students and families at XYZ school, this project will enrich academic learning, nurture relationships between teacher and students, and create a positive neighborhood environment that enhances students' lives outside of school. Many students growing up in an urban community may not have the opportunity to gain the knowledge, experience, and determination to grow their own food. This project will allow students to work together towards a common goal and enable them to focus on an activity with positive outcomes.

As students build the garden, prepare the soil, and harvest the fruits of their labor they will gain an understanding of the importance of how the agricultural revolution was able to jumpstart civilizations. Exploring how food is and has been grown and consumed across history will help reveal a great deal about communities, cultures, economies, and human settlement.

A garden as an external environment offers students an opportunity to explore learning outside of the classroom and apply critical thinking skills to real world scenarios and challenges. This school garden will not only benefit the social studies classroom, but every classroom in the school. There exists an unlimited amount of opportunities for both science and math lessons to take shape in the school garden. This project has the potential to benefit every class and every student at the school and in the community. This project will focus on a diverse group of 8th graders. The students live in the city of Cleveland with families who rank very low on the socioeconomic spectrum. Many of my students are from neighborhoods that lack access to community gardens.

Students will be tasked with many responsibilities throughout the duration of this project. Some of these responsibilities will include, setting schedules, updating the group on weather reports, working the land, and managing the equipment. This project will also require every student to perform extensive online research to determine which methods of farming are best for us, what crops have the greatest chance to grow, what tools will we require, and what kind of skills we need to practice. Every student will apply what he or she have learned and be ready to solve any problems we encounter. Also, the students will ultimately decide how we will use this garden to benefit our school.

I believe this project addresses the Martha Holden Jennings “deep learning” theme, because the lessons learned through building this school garden will enable students to take the same approach in solving problems and issues facing their own neighborhood. Ultimately, this project is a service project and will create a sense of civic duty for each student who participates. Every student will gain a better appreciation for their school and community after spending the time and effort in making the project successful.

Our objectives for this project will be growing and harvesting four successful crops during the current school year. As a group we will determine which four types of plants or produce will be included into our community garden. This type of objective creates a real life goal for students to focus on and accomplish. At the conclusion of this project students will have gained the knowledge and experience it takes to plant and provide food for others. This project will also give students the opportunity to improve upon their communication and organizational skills while they work closely with classmates throughout the year.

Students will be actively engaged in the planning, organization, decision-making, and maintenance of the garden. They will work together to problem solve and determine what will planted, where our garden will be placed to ensure success, what equipment will be required, when students will work to maintain the garden, and how to ensure the longevity of our garden.

During this project In order to ensure my own growth as an educator I plan to keep a detailed journal. In this document I will record the both the successes and failures of this project, any observable student improvement, and my personal thoughts about the effectiveness of the project as a learning opportunity. My hope is that this journal will allow me to become more reflective on my experiences and struggles as an educator. I also am planning to utilize digital video and capture the important events during this long journey so that students will be able to revisit and witness any personal growth that they have achieved.

With your funding we will be able to purchase the need supplies and equipment to make our school garden become a reality. Any funds we secure will be used to buy the topsoil, various gardening tools for student use, garden implements, and seeds and plants. This idea should be funded because many of my students place low on the socio-economic spectrum. Many of them have never had the opportunity to participate in an activity like this before.

Proposed Budget

1. Gardening Equipment (shovels, rakes, gloves, etc.) = $800.00 (estimated)

2. Earthgro Top Soil (40 lb. bag) ($1.47 x 20) = $29.40

3. ECO Smart Fertilizer ($12.79 x 5 ) = $ 63.95

4. Seeds (various types and species) = $ 80.00 (estimated)

5. Tarp = $ 22.00

6. Additional Expenditures = $ 50.00

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Total = $ 1,045.35