I did not know of Donors Choose prior to this activity. I enjoyed that there are many teachers who are willing to find any way to give their students what they need, especially if they are not receiving it from their schools and districts. I like that Donors Choose allows any public school teacher to apply and allows anybody to donate if they would like. I can see how keeping the descriptions for the projects short in order to give a quick overview. However, I think the teachers could benefit from being able to share specific activities that would represent how the donations would impact their classrooms and students. I chose three projects that focused on elementary classrooms but whose projects would serve completely different purposes.
The first project focused on a classroom in which the teacher wants a class set of headphones to allow the students to focus on their daily tasks. I thought it was important that students are given the opportunity to individually be able to focus on their assignments. However, the project had a shorter description and did not seem to share how the headphones would help students beyond their reading and math activities. I know it would increase the donation amount but I also worry about the sanitary issues as the headphones will be a classroom set. The project does not state whether the students will keep their headphones.
The second project asks for manipulatives for a math classroom. I really enjoyed this project because it provides more specific uses for the different manipulatives asked for donations. I liked that the teacher explained how manipulatives allow students to explore mathematics in their own way. I agree with the teacher that the manipulatives will help ELLs in their visualization of mathematics but it does not address if they will help with their language comprehension and communication of the mathematics they will be visualizing.
The final project was also not specifically related to enhancing student learning but on helping classroom management. The teacher is asking for a rug for her students to be able to engage in classroom interaction at the front of the room. I thought it was good that the teacher provided specific ways the rug would help her students. I know the use of rug time can be beneficial for young students so the project really put into perspective how the rug can change the classroom focus for students and the teacher. The teacher also provided a lot of detail about the community of her students and the school. I believe the detail is important for donors to decide their reason to donate but it seems odd that teachers have to include that their students are from low-income households in order to possibly get donations for their classroom projects.
The first project focused on a classroom in which the teacher wants a class set of headphones to allow the students to focus on their daily tasks. I thought it was important that students are given the opportunity to individually be able to focus on their assignments. However, the project had a shorter description and did not seem to share how the headphones would help students beyond their reading and math activities. I know it would increase the donation amount but I also worry about the sanitary issues as the headphones will be a classroom set. The project does not state whether the students will keep their headphones.
The second project asks for manipulatives for a math classroom. I really enjoyed this project because it provides more specific uses for the different manipulatives asked for donations. I liked that the teacher explained how manipulatives allow students to explore mathematics in their own way. I agree with the teacher that the manipulatives will help ELLs in their visualization of mathematics but it does not address if they will help with their language comprehension and communication of the mathematics they will be visualizing.
The final project was also not specifically related to enhancing student learning but on helping classroom management. The teacher is asking for a rug for her students to be able to engage in classroom interaction at the front of the room. I thought it was good that the teacher provided specific ways the rug would help her students. I know the use of rug time can be beneficial for young students so the project really put into perspective how the rug can change the classroom focus for students and the teacher. The teacher also provided a lot of detail about the community of her students and the school. I believe the detail is important for donors to decide their reason to donate but it seems odd that teachers have to include that their students are from low-income households in order to possibly get donations for their classroom projects.