Hofstra University • Office for Research & Sponsored Programs Spring 2014 Issue 2
The
GRANT Seeker
A spotlight on excellence in grant development by a Hofstra University employee
Dr. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks Dr. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks is a professor in the Department of Teaching, Literacy and Leadership. After earning a bachelor’s degree in education many years ago, openings in teaching were few and far between. She went back to school and earned a master’s in urban and public sciences, a degree that brought her to the Congressional Budget Office where she worked on statistical forecasting for the Department of Defense. In a casual conversation, a colleague asked, “Why would you be doing this if you could be a teacher?” Dr. Brooks asked herself the same question. Today she directs Hofstra’s STEM Studio, a clinical practice site for the School of Education, and IDEAS, an institute that brings science to the general public through lecture series and special events. Off campus, Dr. Brooks is president of the board of the Maritime Explorium, a children’s museum in Port Jefferson that engages families in environmental education. Dr. Brooks’ passion for education, she admits, is not driven by a love for school as she experienced it, as much as it is driven by a love for what she knows schools can be at their best. “I didn’t like school growing up. I wanted to learn, and my classrooms didn’t help me do that,” Dr. Brooks says. “So I decided that I would like to work at changing what it means to go to school.” At the root of what Dr. Brooks offers her students and colleagues is the philosophy and pedagogy of a constructivist education. The constructivist approach emphasizes that every student is capable of taking building blocks and constructing new knowledge by using those blocks in novel and interesting ways. “We know a lot about what makes for good learning and teaching. When people have the courage to engage in those types of educational enterprises, the rewards are enormous,” Dr. Brooks says. This is the approach Dr. Brooks espouses at the STEM
Dr. Jacqueline Grennon Brooks
Studio. Teachers from local schools bring their students to Hagedorn Hall to engage with Hofstra teaching interns in interactive lessons on fundamental concepts of science, math, technology and engineering, all rooted in social themes.
“Hofstra teaching interns learn how to show children a few foundational steps, then work with them in using those basics in multiple, open-ended ways. We see Hofstra students and local public school students negotiating time, space and ideas together,” Dr. Brooks says. “That’s the difference between the mimetic educational tradition and the kind of education of which I’m a proponent — seeing ideas as negotiable.” Learning can be “free,” but buses, safe materials, and a welcoming setting are not. Dr. Brooks realized that the costs of supporting materials, instruction, professional mentoring and transportation to the STEM Studio required funding, and she sought grants to help cover these “practical aspects” of the studio. In 2013 Dr. Brooks’ STEM Studio received a $75,000 grant from the American Honda Foundation, which covered the costs of materials and bus transportation for middle schools and Hofstra’s secondary teacher education students. This grant has effectively supplemented two consecutive years of Motorola Solutions Foundation funding ($60,000 and $50,000), which has gone toward covering similar fees to support elementary schools and Hofstra elementary teacher education students. The American Honda Foundation grant involved a site visit as part of its process, and the Motorola Solutions Foundation grants required in-person reporting of findings.
“Grant writing requires tenacity,” Dr. Brooks says. “At the National Science Foundation, the average grant is submitted 2.7 times before being funded.” While Dr. Brooks was fortunate to have Honda accept her proposal with its first submission, the Motorola Solutions Foundation grant came only after the second attempt. Before securing any grants, Dr. Brooks encountered her fair share of rejection letters. As a grant seeker, Dr. Brooks says that proposing an innovative idea is not enough. “What I’ve learned is that having a good idea is necessary, but not sufficient. Securing a grant requires convincing someone not familiar with your work that you have taken into account the many considerations needed to achieve what you want to achieve,” Dr. Brooks says. “Also, and most importantly, there has to be a strong match between your idea and the mission of the granting agency. The STEM Studio’s constructivist approach to education has been found intriguing by the industries that have funded us.” “One funder told me that my work was like a boutique, and that I wouldn’t be funded until I could find a way to make the boutique into a department store chain, so that big numbers of people would be able to benefit,” Dr. Brooks says. “I’m still working on that department store chain idea. But, in the meantime, I find teaching is a way to evoke change, and I try to contribute to making change happen. One of the young teachers I taught many years ago is now a professor here at Hofstra in the Psychology Department!”
Hofstra thanks you!
Your scholarly achievements enhance Hofstra’s reputation as a leading educational institution. If you are interested in pursuing a grant opportunity or have any questions, please contact the ORSP at 516-463-6810.