2011-2012 Annual Report - Dr. Stirling McDowell Foundation for ...

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Table 3: McDowell Foundation Annual Expenditure on Research 1994-95 $39,411 1995-96 24,974 1996-97 29,850 1997-98 25,605 1998-99 42,849 1999-00 61,200 2000-01 73,303 2001-02 78,884 2002-03 77,728 2003-04 74,530 2004-05 88,093 2005-06 82,106 2006-07 72,032 2007-08 50,310 2008-09 101,680 2009-10 83,858 2010-11 64,912 2011-12 79,969 TOTAL $1,151,294 Each spring the McDowell Foundation offers an orientation session to new researchers who are receiving a McDowell Foundation grant for the first time. The orientation helps teachers and other researchers to become aware of the values and purposes of the McDowell Foundation and their role in manifesting these values and purposes in the field. Part of each orientation is devoted to discussing the many ethical issues that may arise in the course of school-based research and the steps that teacher-researchers can take to avoid such problems through planning, communications and collaboration. The orientation also allows new McDowell researchers to form an educational research support network and become familiar with the way that McDowell Foundation grants are administered and supported. Fourteen researchers from five new projects attended the 2012 orientation on June 2. The payment and reporting schedule for most McDowell projects includes the submission of a brief interim report that allows the Foundation to identify problems or changes in the research. For reasons that are sometimes beyond a researcher’s control (e.g., changes in schools or teaching assignments or events in the school or among the students), research cannot be completed as planned. The Foundation then works with the researchers to develop a research report that describes the research experience and encapsulates what was learned from it for the information of future researchers. To date, only one McDowell Foundation project has failed to contribute to the growing body of teacher research. It is a basic expectation of every McDowell Foundation project that the researchers will submit a final research report that the Foundation can make publicly available. Usually this report is a written document that is published in hard copy and posted on the Foundation’s website. However, since McDowell researchers have consistently identified AnnuAl RepoRt 2011-12 pAge 9
the writing of the final report as one of the most difficult and least satisfying parts of their research experience, the Foundation offers report-writing assistance to interested researchers. On January 28, 2012 eight McDowell researchers came together for a report-writing workshop in Saskatoon. The style and format of final reports, along with the transition from raw data to a completed research report, were examined. Participants had the opportunity to share their experiences with one another which supported the ongoing research process. As shown in Table 4, most researchers, regardless of their level of research experience, tend to underestimate the time and energy involved in a research project, while overestimating the amount of money needed to support the research. McDowell researchers currently spend approximately 85 per cent of their research grants, returning the rest to the Foundation to support future research. Some also take several months more to complete their projects than they originally expected, while a few have taken up to several years more. Flexibility and realistic expectations continue to be two elements that the Foundation urges researchers to build into their research projects. It remains a basic principle of the Foundation that research should enhance teachers’ professional practice and satisfaction rather than act as a drain on their time and energy. Table 4: Duration and Cost of Completed McDowell Foundation Research Projects* To 1999 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Completed Projects Average Expected Duration (Months) Average Actual Duration** (Months) Total $ Granted Total $ Spent % Grants Spent Average Cost Per Project 24 12 16 $91,121 $79,129 87 $3,297 13 12 25 55,112 48,598 88 3,738 15 17 19 100,131 83,164 83 5,544 9 12 25 63,078 47,220 75 5,247 15 13 16 87,082 62,690 72 4,179 12 14 17 58,181 45,980 79 3,832 13 12 20 69,774 51,326 74 3,948 13 17 31 100,966 78,243 77 6,018 12 16 22 54,473 35,075 64 4,539 13 16 22 88,457 61,531 70 4,733 11 22 31 85,736 73,283 85 6,662 5 12 12 72,651 72,144 99 14,429 6 16 18 50,038 39,433 79 6,572 5 12 16 45,972 38,853 85 7,771 * Development projects and project extensions are not included in this table. ** Duration is calculated from the start of the fiscal year in which funding began to the date that a final report on the project is received. pAge 10 AnnuAl RepoRt 2011-12
Page 1 and 2: AnnuAl RepoRt Dr. Stirling McDowell
Page 3 and 4: Contents Message From the President
Page 5 and 6: Message From the Manager New Beginn
Page 7 and 8: Boards, Committees and Staff in 201
Page 9 and 10: The Work of the McDowell Foundation
Page 11: Table 2 shows the geographic distri
Page 15 and 16: 2011-12 learning from Practice conf
Page 17 and 18: Fundraising Strategic DirectionS: 1
Page 19 and 20: Table 7 breaks down the donations t
Page 21 and 22: Lanette Kuchenski was hired as mana
Page 23 and 24: Basis for Qualified Opinion In comm
Page 25 and 26: DR. STIRLING MCDOWELL FOUNDATION FO
Page 35 and 36: Donors to the McDowell Foundation i

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