With these funds I will...

purchase 40 constant velocity buggies ($6.99 each) to be placed into 4 physics classrooms in the greater cleveland area (Elyria, Mogadore, Cleveland Metropolitan School District) so that the 4 cleveland area teachers trained to use them in the Modeling Mechanics workshop this summer being held at BWU June 13-July 1. 

You can find more about that workshop here: http://www.bw.edu/graduate/education/professional-development/ 

Those teachers are giving up 3 weeks daily to be trained because they want to be more effective teachers and want their students to learn more deeply and practice more critical thinking.  If they have the equipment they can more effectively implement the training they will receive.  The concepts of teaching data collection and analysis and the use of graphs to teach students how to think in models is introduced early in the year with these devices and teachers would not be as effective if they don't have the buggies.  The link for purchasing the buggies is here: http://www.thescienceoutlet.com/prod-Constant_Velocity_Buggy-58.aspx

Also we would get whiteboards and markers for the teachers if we have leftover money since the use of the whiteboard to make thinking visible and to encourage the scientific dialogue that is a hallmark of the modeling method of learning science.  Whiteborads are purchased at Home Depot or Lowes depending on who gives us a better deal.  http://modeling.asu.edu/modeling/BlantonP_interactiveWB_TPT.pdf

You can learn more about the modeling method of science instruction here https://modelinginstruction.org/ and here http://modeling.asu.edu/ which is where  was trained while doing my masters work in physics and physics education.

If any of the 4 Cleveland area teachers in the workshop would identify that they need whiteboards and markers and already have buggies, then we would get them more whiteboards.  

If for any reason we still had funds the list of items that we will train teachers to use for the paradigm lab that begins a modeling cycle (the lab that produces the reliable data that will give students a platform for discussion and learning), that list is quite extensive, so we would have no trouble figuring out what each teacher might find useful for his or her own classroom.  Spring scales, sensors such as motion sensors and force sensors are almost indispensable for the labs which introduce the models of accelerated motion, gravitational force, Newton's 3rd law, etc.  These can be purchased at Vernier. For example, the motion sensors ($79 each) are shown here:  http://www.vernier.com/products/sensors/motion-detectors/md-btd/?search=motion%20&category=autosuggest

If we don't reach our fundraising goal any money collected will be used to give some practical equipment to each teacher which will help that teacher out implementing the training in his or her physics classroom.  All students in the trained teachers classroom will directly benefit from your donation if you choose to support this cause.  I know from personal experience that other teachers will also want to use the equipment and try out the labs and so students in other STEM classrooms may also be positively impacted.

Back Up Plan