This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
I teach in an inner-city high school whose focus is on the visual and performing arts. The students in this school are very talented, creative, and passionate about the arts and work hard to excel in their field. Their passion and excitement energizes and motivates me constantly to find new and interesting way to engage them and help them to succeed. Physics is a difficult subject for most high school students.
Nevertheless, in my physics class, these hard working students have learned to work together, collaborating and pushing each other to succeed.
Over tree quarters of my students come from low-income families. Due to the environment in which they live, they are challenged daily with a host of social and emotional issues that undeniably interfere with their educational success. These challenges were compounded recently by the covid-19 pandemic which took away not only their school – for many a safe haven which provided them with the basics for survival, but also access to their education.
My Project
I would like to incorporate an iPad and accessories to use as a “fix” to our current technological problem, allowing me and my students to better connect and work together to solve physics problems. By screen sharing the iPad, students would be able to see the process of problem solving and contribute to the solutions. Moreover, the over-arching goal for this project is to increase the technological capabilities in my class once we return to the physical classroom. My artist-students are not your typical students that readily learn in conventional ways. I try to take every opportunity to engage and motivate the students to believe they can succeed. A large part of this is using technology as a tool to motivated them.
The addition of a class iPad will allow me to try to maintain a level of normal for my students by creating lesson videos and problem solving during live lessons.
In class we utilize the technology available to us, including a smart board, chrome books and personal cell phones to help motivate students and differentiate instruction. When school returns to physical learning, the students will be able to take on a more active role by taking the iPad in their hands. They will become the teacher for their peers, using the iPad to demonstrate their knowledge and in real time solve problems for each other thus building their knowledge and their community together.
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Dr. Hnatczuk and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.