Technology Education
                TE GAP
              General Information

Recommendations by the TE GAP Advisory Council

Common Questions asked by past grant recipients

Additional Resources

General Overview

The suggestions in this document are designed to help you prepare for the writing of your own grant application and to make it as painless as possible.  There is a great deal of enthusiasm about program improvement among our Technology Education professionals in Missouri and the assistance that this grant provides in facilitating the improvement process through professional development activities and financial reimbursement.  You are about to embark on a challenging but valuable journey as you research the development of a Technology Education Grant for your school.  The workshop approved by the department for this grant is a valuable opportunity for you to ensure that your program is prepared for the future.

There are a number of questions that are frequently asked about our agency grant that need some explanation.  Our agency wants to know if it is getting its "money's worth"; the superintendent wants to know if the teachers are using the items purchased in their curriculum and whether the curriculum improvements are affecting student achievement and motivation; parents want to know if the new acquisitions are improving their child's achievement; the curriculum director wants to know if the effect on teacher performance and student skill development has improved.  Someone has to try to answer these questions.  For better or for worse, this someone is you!

Yes, there are strings attached to the grant.  In this age of limited resources, people want to know if the money they are spending is producing results, and they want answers soon.  Yes, your time is limited.  Your are still trying to coordinate the purchase of the new equipment and make sure that it is running properly.   Your are also trying to make sure that the appropriate training is being used to gain the most effective results to improve your program.  On top of all of this you are trying to do what's best for your students and trying to satisfy all of these different interests.  About now you are asking yourself this questions, "How can I be successful and satisfy all these interests?"

That is what we hope to accomplish with this "Tips and Suggestions Guide for Developing a Technology Education Grant."  View this grant and the development process as a friend to your programs future and you will have a great opportunity to do some great things for students.

Recommendations by the TE GAP Advisory Council

It is a goal of the Technology Education Grant Awards Program (TE GAP) is to offer as much assistance as possible to our teachers in developing quality TE Programs.  Please review this list carefully to ensure that your grant application is as thorough as possible in your efforts to improve your program.  The department recommends that the TE GAP give careful attention to the following in your TE GAP application.

Be sure to:

1.      focus on the Career Exploration or the PLTW (Project Lead The Way) Major.

2.      focus on technological literacy integration by design rather than limiting it to computer technology.

3.      use current terminology in your academic research and supportive documentation.

4.      focus on complete Technological Literacy Integration rather than only Technology Education Modules.

5.      provide sufficient evidence for planned student activities, student assessment and student objectives.

6.      provide strong evidence of quality student leadership and skill development activities.

Your Technology Education grant is a valuable and important tool for improving your schools program.  Your participation in the TE Grant Awards Program plays a critical part in delivering a quality program so all students can gain quality skills in technological literacy.

Common Questions that past Technology Education grant writers have asked:

1. Why am I evaluating my Industrial Arts/Industrial Technology Education Program?

There are a variety of reasons why you would evaluate your program.   The many project directors who have gone before you have viewed this process as very nerve-wracking and/or challenging.  Here are some suggestions to follow to reduce the challenge of evaluating your program:

search for information on the various programs that work well

     and to identify potential problems.

guide future efforts and develop a regular process to keep the

     program current on a long-term basis.

provide information about potential technical assistance or

     professional development needed.

determine what impact the program is having on all

     participants future careers.

Continual improvement of your own professional skills and the programs effectiveness should become a continual process that is embraced and understood.   Making these decisions along with a commitment to improving your program long term are the best choices.

2. Where do I start in the planning process of developing our Technology Education Grant?

You will need to start by doing some research into making the grant a successful one for all parties accountable in the grant process.   You can accomplish this by doing some informal questioning and data collection related to the program evaluation activity.  If you have several teachers within your department, then begin by making some assignments that would be beneficial for everyone.  Here are some suggestions for planning:

Be sure to gain the support of your principal and

     superintendent before pursuing the project.

Check for any special requirements or workshops they you

     need to participate in as pre-requisite to receiving the grant. 

     They will provide you valuable resources for a successful

     grant and continued success for your program

Contact previous Technology Education Professionals who

     have been involved in the grant writing process to gain their

     insights and experiences.  You may even want to plan some

     professional trips to evaluate first-hand a quality program,

     such as one of our Missouri Model Secondary Technology

     Education Programs (see the directories on this web site for

     that information).

Begin by developing a vision of what the program should look

     like, even though you most likely will change it several

     times.  It has been stated by many previous grant project

     directors that the program improvement and change process

     becomes an ongoing one and provides you with many

     professional improvement opportunities.  You will be

     encouraged to stretch yourself and look at some of the big

     picture issues that have potential impact on your program.

Plan early in the process to distribute a press release on the

     day of the approval and acceptance of the Technology

     Education Grant.

Develop a filing system to store and record any and all

     information related to the program study for the grant

     application.

Keep good minutes of regular meetings and any

     correspondence related to the grant research.

Develop a flexible plan for forwarding on time to the Grant

     review process the appropriate grant information requested in

     the RFGA.

Remember, this is a process that requires certain motivation, flexibility, and tenacity to follow through in the process from beginning to end.  Press on!  You can do it!

3. How do I keep up with my regular assigned duties and be certain that I meet all of the deadlines specified for the various documents required in the grant process?

Management and organization will be very important to you and your staff in order to maintain a level of confidence in following through with the process, as well as earning the respect of your principal and superintendent for future applications.   Many of our effective Technology Education teachers who continue to have successful grant applications have earned that respect and enjoy the benefits for them and their program.  It is worth the effort to organize!  It has been said that 90% of a successful project is in the planning and management at the beginning of the process.

The following suggestions will help you prepare an organized plan to achieve success.

Have a wall chart of project deadlines posted in an

     appropriate place where you see it frequently on a daily

     basis.

Maintain a file system to keep copies of all communications;

     phone, email, letters, faxes, etc., for future reference.

Always maintain extra copies of all official forms forwarded

     during the grant process.

Maintain regular contacts with the vendors used in your

     requests to ensure successful and on-time delivery of your

     items purchased.

Prepare periodic reports for your administrators in order to

     keep them informed of how things are progressing.

Type all forms for clarity and understanding.  The easier you

     make the task of processing your paper work, the easier it

     will be for those processing paperwork to find solutions to

     problems if they arise.

MEET ALL DEADLINES REQUIRED BY THE GRANT.

4. I have turned in all of the required forms, reports, and reimbursement requests for the grant.  Do I need to do any final project activities?

Before you celebrate the completion of the grant project you should take one last opportunity to go through your check list to make sure all items have been processed.  Your administrators will appreciate this tremendously!  Some suggestions to ponder at the end of the project:

Now would be a good time to begin working on another Grant

     project.   Many grant writers who are successful say that

     writing another grant immediately following an already

     successful one breeds more success.  It is certainly a great

     deal of work, but the benefits to your program and your

     students will make it all worth while.

Volunteer to be a grant reader for the Technology Education

     Grant Review Team.  This will improve your skills for future

     grants and allow you to give something back to all students

     and Technology Education programs throughout Missouri. 

Additional Resources

"Missouri Institute for Technology Education",  This is a significant professional development activity for all Missouri public schools professionals to evaluate and improve their industrial arts and industrial technology programs in order to align with state and national standards.

Facilitators Guide to "The Makings of Good Meeting", This web site provides valuable information to you as a facilitator for managing an effective Advisory Council.

New Missouri Technology Education Guide (latest version), "Technology Education Scope and Sequence" and "Program Evaluation".

Facilitator's Guide "Partnerships and Advisory Groups",  This is a product of the Instructional Materials Lab at the University of Missouri-Columbia, catalog # 30-5492-I.