Proposal to be presented to the board of managers of TTT Teachers’ College
Need
The poor performance of students in mathematics continues to be a bother to all stakeholders. While not accepting sole responsibility for the dismal performance of students, the teachers of mathematics are cognizant of the benefits that professional development courses offers to the teaching/learning process. The teachers however are challenged with finding the time to attend the professional development courses due to other commitments.
Programme description
Moodle for Mathematics Teachers! Project will enable teachers in the secondary schools within the cooperate area to enhance their teaching strategies in mathematics through the offering of the course Mathematics Education II and III via the Learning Management System, Moodle. The teachers who are taking this course will be able to access secure and safe course materials in a personalized environment from a central learning environment so as to ensure consistency in the delivery of the course (http://www.cleo.net.uk/index.php?category_id=579). The Moodle for Mathematics! Project is consistent with the Seven Principles of Good Practice (Chickering & Gamson (1987).
After exploring various other Learning Platforms, Moodle best supports teaching/learning and it has a fairly simple approach for setting up and running. Some of the features include content creation and delivery, communication, collaboration, management, and assessment tools. With Moodle the teachers will be able to (a) work collaboratively and cooperatively, (b) give prompt feedback, (c) communicate high expectations, and (d) respects diverse talents and ways of learning (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). Learning becomes a social activity (Bates & Poole, 2003)
Goals and Objectives
The goal of the Moodle for Mathematics! Project is to enable teachers of mathematics at the secondary level to develop their repertoire of teaching strategies for the teaching/learning of mathematics to the point where there will be an increase in students’ performance in mathematics.
The main objectives include:
a) Provide teachers with a personalized learning environment which is readily accessible
b) Provide an active, safe, and secure environment for learning
c) Provide teachers with resources which can be readily applied to their classroom situation
Table1
Timeline
|
Activity |
Start Date |
|
Submit Proposal
|
July 7, 2009 |
|
Expected Proposal Notification
|
August 10, 2009 |
|
Establishment of a working committee/ delegation of roles and responsibilities
|
August 17, 2009 |
|
Setting up of Moodle
|
August 31, 2009 |
|
Setting up of course on Moodle
|
September 21, 2009 |
|
Test run of course and review
|
October 21, 2009 |
|
Opening of course to participants
|
January 4, 2009 |
The Budget
While Moodle is a free software, there are hardware and software requirements. The hardware and software needed to run Moodle have their own costs. A thorough knowledge and understanding of these costs are fundamental to offering an online course (Bates & Poole, 2003). The institution however has the necessary hardware and software needed to host Moodle. Nevertheless there are additional cost which will be incurred for the Moodle for Mathematics! Project. The focus is now on the maintenance of the system, putting the content in the appropriate form, and support for the users.
Table 2
Budget
|
Reource Person |
Required Skills |
Cost |
|
Moodle Administrator |
|
$ 150,000 per month ( this will be paid each month for the duration of the course) |
|
Content Creator |
|
$70, 000 (This is a stipend to be paid on completion of the course content) |
Evaluation
The evaluation of this project will be done via a web survey to ascertain from teachers the impact of this course on their teaching of mathematics.
References
Bates & Poole. (2003). “A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology.” In Effective Teaching with Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pages 75-105
Chickering, W., & Z. F. Gamson. (1987). Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/7princip.htm.
PGMAC.com Encyclopedia. Definition of :LMS. Retrieved June 7, 2009 from
http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=LMS&i=46205,00.asp
U.S.-Israel Science & Technology Foundation Tips on How to Write a Proposal.
Retrieved on June 3, 2009 from
http://www.usistf.org/download/RFP/Universal/Proposal_writing_tips.pdf