Spring 2007 Grant Recipients
Digi-Block, Inc., Announces the 2007 Annual Grant Recipients
Grant will place materials in Chattanooga Valley Elementary School (GA) and Winfield Elementary (MD)
Chattanooga Valley Elementary School, Walker County, Flintstone, GA - $5,000 Winner
This year, Digi-Block is happy to award the $5,000 Annual Grant to “Turning on the Lightbulbs”, proposed by Ashleigh Swinford, 3rd Grade Teacher at Chattanooga Valley Elementary School in Flintstone, Georgia. With new Georgia state standards focusing on students’ conceptual knowledge of math and using representations, Mrs. Swinford proposed the use of the Digi-Block Program to facilitate their new math workshops in Kindergarten through Grade 4 classes. Digi-Block materials will provide a hands-on learning experience, allowing them to have a more solid grasp on math concepts and meet several of the Georgia Performance and NCTM Standards. Mrs. Swinford, who first realized the power of the Digi-Block program through the company website and subsequently visited the Digi-Block booth at the NCTM conference for a demonstration, states, “The conceptual knowledge of our number system is at the center of all mathematical knowledge… The Digi-Blocks will allow conceptual understanding to be accessible to all students. The Digi-Blocks are consistent to the theories of how students learn, such as hands-on learning, and will allow students to work together in cooperative groups, as well as assist teachers in differentiating instruction.” Pre and post-tests will be administered and collected six times during the school year to determine the effectiveness of the program and results will be shared with Digi-Block.
Winfield Elementary, Carroll County Public Schools, Westminster, MD - $1,000 Runner Up
This year, Digi-Block unexpectedly awarded a $1,000 Runner Up Grant to the “DIGI See What I Learned Today?!” proposal submitted by Melissa Gotard, Mathematics Resource Teacher at Winfield Elementary School in Westminster, Maryland. Mrs. Gotard reported that after observing “the positive impact that the concrete experiences with the Digis” had on a group on students, more than 20 staff members attended a Digi-Block training session even though they did not yet have access to the materials. According to Digi-Block president Michelle Alves, “We had originally intended on only choosing one grant winner, but Ms. Gotard put together such a strong proposal we decided to also extend a grant to Winfield Elementary School. We are very happy to award this round of the Digi-Block grant to two very deserving schools.” The school will receive Digi-Block materials for Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 4 that will be used in whole-group classroom settings, as well as small intervention groups.
