Mr. Stern's Classroom Edit display name

Past projects 105

• Interactive Math Manipulations with Graphing Handhelds -- Part 1

  Funded Aug 23, 2017

  Thank you so much for funding my proposal, which mostly went to a classroom set of graphing handheld calculators. My students were really excited as we unpacked the cartons.

  One of the first classroom projects we did related to a school trip we took to an ice skating rink in Manhattan. In advance of the trip, I assigned some data for students to collect. The enjoyed the trip, and then back in the classroom we analyzed information related to velocity, acceleration, and position. We also performed to statistical analyses of numbers of students, types of skates, and other attributes.

  All this was made possible with the help of your generous donation. Thank you again.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Sergey Brin Family Foundation and 3 other donors.

• Handhelds Held in Our Hands

  Funded Mar 30, 2017

  Thank you for your generous and selfless contribution to my students. Your thoughtful donation allowed the purchase of handheld calculators.

  My school already has class sets of graphing calculators, but they are of a previous generation. In fact they are from a generation older than most of my students, and, as you probably know, in technology years that makes them ancient. These new calculators which you have helped purchase have color, backlit, higher resolution displays, and most importantly for me, are able to interface with the TI-Innovator Hub.

  My students were very happy to engage in engineering explorations using the new graphing calculators. Once again, I think you for your contribution.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and one other donor.

• My Students Want to Print

  Funded Mar 30, 2017

  Thank you for your generous contribution to my project.

  You helped purchase printer toner and cardstock. Neither of these items is particularly glamorous, but both were needed for some projects I had planned for my students. Printer toner is, of course, the lifeblood of a laser printer. Without it, the printer may as well not exist.

  The cardstock was used to generate some geometry manipulatives that I used with several classes of my students. After cutting out the shapes, they enjoyed and learned by physically exploring the way the printed shapes meshed with each other.

  You made this possible with your contribution. Thank you again for your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 2 other donors.

• Kit and Kaboodle of 3Doodler

  Funded Mar 29, 2017

  Thank you for your assistance in funding this project. I had seen this item advertised for a few years, and thought about classroom applications, but until there was this generous match offer available, it seemed to pricey to request for classroom use.

  Immediately on opening the boxes I set my students to work. We happened to be doing a unit on trigonometry, and, in particular, the tangent function. Using the 3Doodler you helped get for us, I had the students trace a section of the graph of the tangent function in PLA plastic. Each student had his own "tangent" in his hands. They were able to kinesthetically explore both periodicity (they way the graph of the function repeats) and symmetry.

  I don't think it would have been feasible to try to teach the lesson this way without the material you supplied. My students enjoyed it immensely. Thank you again.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and 2 other donors.

• STEM: Innovating with Coding and Electronics Part 2

  Funded Dec 2, 2016

  Thank you for your generous contribution to this project. My students were thrilled to hear about the funding. Additionally, I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces when the boxes arrived and they had the chance to open them. It was like Christmas morning for them.

  The Innovator hubs allow us to program and interact with electronic components and sensors in an immediate way, as the programming is done using a handheld calculator. This makes the activity more concrete for my students, as they don't have to imagine that some expensive computer is needed for them to code and program.

  Again, thank you so much for your contribution.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Con Edison and 3 other donors.

• STEM: Innovating with Coding and Electronics

  Funded Dec 1, 2016

  Thank you for your generous contribution to this project. My students were thrilled to hear about the funding. Additionally, I wish you could have seen the joy on their faces when the boxes arrived and they had the chance to open them. It was like Christmas morning for them.

  The Innovator hubs allow us to program and interact with electronic components and sensors in an immediate way, as the programming is done using a handheld calculator. This makes the activity more concrete for my students, as they don't have to imagine that some expensive computer is needed for them to code and program.

  Again, thank you so much for your contribution.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Con Edison and 2 other donors.

• Office Apps for Computer

  Funded Mar 15, 2016

  Thank you for your generous contributions to this proposal.

  The goal of this project was to get some modern productivity software for our classroom computer. It is important that students have experience with current versions of computer applications, so they will be better prepared when the get out into college and the workforce. It is an unfortunate fact of life in my school system that most classroom computers are woefully out of date, both in hard and software.

  Your donation allowed me to get the current versions of some of the popular applications installed on the machine we use in class. Thank you for your generosity.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 2 other donors.

• Brain Plasticity and Learning Math

  Funded Jun 15, 2015

  Thank you for your help funding this Professional Development (PD) project.

  There were two major components to the PD. The first was attending the biannual CAS in Education conference in Cleveland. CAS is a technology which allows computers (and advanced handheld calculators) to manipulate symbols instead of just values. It presents some amazing opportunities for educators, in that it allows students to explore relationships without getting hung up on calculations. I learned a lot by interacting with other teachers who use CAS technology in their classrooms.

  The other component was an online class from Dr. Jo Boaler of Stanford University. Dr. Boaler is one of the leading proponents of Growth Mindset in math education. I am constantly trying to improve my craft as a teacher, and one powerful way to do so is to shift my style to encourage growth mindset in my students. Dr. Boaler has giving me tremendous insight into my own style as a teacher.

  Thank you again for helping fund my project.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and 3 other donors.

• Laptop For Robotics Program

  Funded Mar 12, 2016

  Thank you for your kind and generous assistance in funding this project, which provided an current generation laptop computer for use in my robotics and coding classes. It is only through the kindness of people like you that I am able to bring additional resources to my students.

  The robotics program was new in my school, when I launched it in two school years ago. We were lacking resources (can you believe that I even had to start with NO robots to work with?) but little by little, I managed to cobble things together. The laptop forms a crucial link, as a means to program the robots the students build. The students need to learn a version of the C language in order to get their robots moving.

  Your help made this all possible. Thank you again.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern

  This classroom project was brought to life by #BestSchoolDay and 4 other donors.

• Harmonic Waves: Empowering Students Through Art

  Funded May 19, 2016

  Thank you so much for your generosity in helping fund my project here on DonorsChoose.org. It is through the help of philanthropists like you that I am able to bring enrichment activities to my students.

  This particular project was intended to help bring math and arts into concrete focus, as students experience with their own ears the relationships between harmonious sounds and ratios of string length. These demonstrations are very similar to some of the experiments Pythagoras and his followers are reputed to have used thousands of years ago.

  Your help brings so much to my class. On behalf of my students, I thank you.”

  With gratitude,

  Mr. Stern