I wasn't sure what to expect from this course given its title, but I was pleasantly surprised by the content I learned. Writing grant proposals has ended up being a component of teaching that I had not realized that I was going to have to do. If we want something outside the normal realm of classroom supplies, then its up to us to find the money for it (and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon). This class helped refine my grant writing skills and I am grateful for the information I learned. I usually write all my grants myself as I am reluctant to trust other people to contribute in a timely and productive manner. However, my viewpoint of that has changed given what I saw from the members of my proposal group. I saw that others were capable of contributing high quality grants and I am now more open minded to asking for colleagues to help with writing a grant. I also learned that asking for others to review my proposal before submitting it was a great idea. The thoughtful feedback was very helpful in making improvements to my example proposals. I will also use that feedback for future proposals so that I make those improvements as part of the original proposal.
One of the most impactful course readings from this semester was Chapter 2 of Licklider's Grant Seeking in Higher Education. This chapter provided multiple databases that I plan to use later in order to find sources for funding for projects and resources/materials for my classroom. My new school has laptops, but I am not sure if they have the calculators I am planning to use for my math class next year. This database will help me find possible sources of funding to purchase the TI-84plus calculators that I will need for my students next year.
In addition to learning more about finding sources for funding, I also gleaned a lot of information from Justin Dunnavant's article "The Unspoken Benefits of Grant Writing." He suggested that it would improve my Curriculum Vitae that I would submit for a potential job application (Dunnavant, 2014, para 2). While I did not complete a grant proposal prior to attending/being admitted to my EdD program, I have since then started an application for a grant and hope to receive a positive outcome from that application and this class provided a lot of beneficial attributes for completing that application.
While I did not complete a grant proposal in class, I would like to research and find a grant that provide funding for research with learning design approaches and kids with Autism. For my dissertation, I would like to research which learning design for teaching math online (or another specific subject) would work best for the majority of kids with Autism. I know that no two kids with Autism are the same, so the inclusion of the word "majority" was meant to make the findings something that would benefit most of those with spectrum disorders.
References
Dunnavant, J. (2014, September 24). The Unspoken Benefits of Grant Writing. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/gradhacker/unspoken-benefits-grant-writing
Licklider, M. M. (2012). Grant seeking in higher education : Strategies and tools for college faculty. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.