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
Help 8th graders discover a love for science with a projector! Learning about physics and chemistry concepts can be difficult, boring, and seemingly irrelevant or it can be inspiring, interesting, and totally cool to see how abstract physics and chemistry concepts are actually at work all around us!
My students are 8th grade students living in urban Maryland.
The majority of my students come from low-income backgrounds and are students of color: 40% Hispanic, 50% African American, 10% white. Our school is a charter school, but has struggled in recent years due to a high principal turnover rate. Despite several changes in administrative policy that affect both classroom procedures and school culture, my 8th grade students have remained flexible, good-humored, and excited to learn. Although the area is relatively impoverished, there is a strong sense of community in the neighborhood (I live 1.3 miles from the school). In addition, although the media typically portrays our city as a dangerous and unpleasant place to live, my students have an incredibly strong sense of pride in our city and are eager to prove themselves intelligent, caring, and capable young adults!
My Project
Physics and chemistry concepts are hard to understand because of their abstract nature- our class will be learning about concepts or systems that are not visible with the naked eye and therefore hard to intuit or grasp quickly (even for adults!). The ability to project illustrations and simulations of concepts such as potential and kinetic energy or electron orbits will greatly increase the ability of my 8th graders to learn and internalize these scientific concepts.
It will also make learning physics and chemistry fun! There are great resources online for science education that illustrate scientific concepts in ways that are engaging and interesting. Even as an adult I find the ability to manipulate variables in a simulation on density, volume, and mass much more engaging and educating than just reading about it. Being able to demonstrate science concepts using pictures, videos, and simulations will interest and invest students much more than simply asking them to copy notes.
My students need access to the same resources that students in wealthier school districts enjoy.
They are energetic, bright, and capable of great things. A projector would help our class to explore physics and chemistry concepts in a way that will inspire my students to take an active interest in mastering the concepts. An early understanding of and appreciation for the amazing ubiquity of physics and chemistry forces will inspire my students to pursue science in high school and beyond.
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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 Ms. Rickman and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.