Grant Proposal Sadia M Syed California State University Northridge SED 610 Current Issues in Education 04 19 2007 Professor Dr Kenneth Berry Page 1 of 18 CURRICULUM FUNDING PROJECT Funding Agency The Citigroup Foundation Citigroup Smarter Schools Smarter Classrooms Grants Funding Request 440 100 00 for Twenty six months Principal Investigator Sadia M Syed Project Name Technology Integration in Algebra Instruction Bringing Success for Educators and Students Investigator Credentials Mathematics Teacher at Renaissance Arts Academy M Ed and B Ed in Science Education University of Dhaka MA in Education California State University Northridge Page 2 of 18 Proposers Project Personnel Sadia M Syed Researcher Principal Investigator In this project Sadia M Syed will be the Principal Investigator as well as the Researcher She has previous experience in conducting Educational Research in K 12 settings Her previous research project includes a quasi experimental study which investigated whether or not using the software Graph during the instruction of polynomials can improve students understanding of function and their ability to create and interpret graphical representation of functions Mrs Syed will be in charge of coordinating and implementing all project goals She will also analyze create and publicize monthly Formative Evaluation Reports She will work constantly and consistently with the teacher and the TA to ensure proper and adequate integration of technology in the classroom which consequently bring this project to a successful ending She will be responsible for communicating with the staff of the granting agency regarding all project reporting and overall management and oversight of the program grant She will be also responsible to hire the TA and the Project Evaluator She will work closely with the evaluator during the project evaluation process Beside weekly classroom observations Mrs Syed will also conduct various interviews and surveys through out the project She will be gathering and analyzing data in order to conduct the research and publicize the findings For additional academic and professional qualifications please see the attached resume Page 3 of 18 Edward Estrada Classroom Teacher In this project Edward Estrada will be the classroom teacher Mr Estrada will be in charge of delivering the instruction and integrating the technology in the instruction He will create weekly lesson plans that will highlight the technology integration in the lessons He will work closely with the researcher to ensure that all the project goals are achieved Page 4 of 18 Technology Integration in Algebra Instruction Bringing Success for Educators and Students The key purpose of this grant proposal is to secure funding for a longitudinal research project on technology integration in mathematics instruction The research will be conducted over twenty six months which will be an extension of the small scale study I have conducted to find out whether or not using the graphing software during the instruction of polynomials can improve students understanding of function and their ability to create and interpret graphical representation of functions This research project will be conducted to further investigate the influence of integrating computer technology on students learning during mathematics instruction in algebra classrooms Mathematics instruction in public education has yet to fully integrate computer technology in the classrooms According to a recent survey conducted at Renaissance Arts Academy Middle and High School it is evident that only 15 of the students utilize computer in their learning of mathematics and only 25 of the mathematics educators incorporate computer in their instruction Recent reform movements in mathematics education encourage the use of computer technologies in the classroom and in particular the use of computer supported explorations as contexts for mathematics instructions Manoucherhri 1999 The availability of computers and mathematics software has great potential to take a positive step towards engaging students more actively in a process of mathematical thinking and learning Even though all aspects of a complex mathematical idea can not be expressed with a single representational system Kaput 1992 argues that the ability to make translation from Page 5 of 18 one representation of a function to another is a particularly important aspect of mathematical thinking which may be enhanced by technology Most secondary schools in the USA are now equipped with computers and connected to the internet According to Educational Technology Fact Sheet the ratio of students to computers in all public schools in 2003 was 4 4 to 1 The Mathematics 2000 report states that the availability of computers in classrooms increased by at least 20 percentage points from 1996 to 2000 although the use of computers in mathematics teaching have not increased at the same rate Ruthven 2002 The research I have conducted was related to incorporating of computer technology Graphing Software in the mathematics instructions of polynomial functions Unfortunately the classroom related to the research had only two computers I had to borrow five more computers from the neighboring classrooms for three weeks to successfully complete the study During the research I have realized that without sufficient computers and related financial and technological supports technology integration in math instruction is not feasible Several research have been conducted to understand the influence of computers on students understanding of the concept of functions and their ability to create and interpret graphical representation of functions e g Asp Dowsey Stacey 1994 Hollar Norwood 1999 Kaput 1992 Manoucherhri 1999 Ruthven Hennessy 2002 Simmt 1997 Yerushalmy 1991 The findings from these studies have provided strong indication that the use of computers as a thinking aid and an intellectual tool enrich learners mathematical understanding facilitate students growth of mathematical explorations and improve their problem solving skills and concept developments The Page 6 of 18 access provided by computer software for numerical and graphical representations of a verity of Algebra concepts may assist students to develop a broader and deeper understating Page 7 of 18 References Asp G Dowsey J Stacey K 1994 Linear and Quadratic Graphs with the Aid of Technology University of Melbourne Hollar J C Norwood K 1999 The effects of a graphing