CALL FOR PROPOSALS

TO: Members of the MSUNER
FROM: Cheryl Hopper and Monica Taylor
RE: 2010-2011 Grant Opportunity: Dodge Project
DATE: March 24, 2010

We are delighted to inform you that the Montclair State University Network for Educational Renewal will continue, for the 14th year, the Team Approach to Professional Development with funding support from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. This memo is to inform you of the project and invite your applications for participation.

The 2010-2011 Dodge Project is a competitive grant. It will involve teams of six people (five teachers and one administrator or supervisor) from up to four MSUNER member schools in a year long intensive action research/self-study professional development experience that involves researching and transforming teaching practice. The team members can be from different or same grade levels or departments. The major criteria for forming a team should be willingness and capacity to work together on investigating and improving teaching and learning.

Each team will decide what the focus of its inquiry will be. Their inquiry should revolve around an authentic burning question that engages the team members. Their investigation should result in a long-term change or transformation of practice. Some possible topics could be authentic assessment, teaching for critical thinking, interdisciplinary work, inclusion, infusing technology into the curriculum, developing an innovative curricular model or instructional strategy for a particular subject area, project-based learning, or any of a myriad of possibilities that relate to the Agenda for Education in a Democracy.

Each Dodge Project team will have a budget of $1,500 to buy books, materials, videos or other resources to aid in their work. In addition, when the final report has been accepted, each team member will receive a $600 stipend to conduct and write up the action research project for a monograph. (The stipend is usually awarded in the summer after the project and final report has been completed.)

Please see the attached document for full details and the application for the Dodge Grant Project or visit msuner.org to download the application.

Applications are due May 12, 2010.
DodgeRFP2010.pdf