BCScTA Roots Grant

Information & FAQ's

What is the Roots Grant?

BCScTA provides funding to its members to support and facilitate collaboration among colleagues in order to explore science education initiatives. Groups are eligible for a grant up to $2,500.

Who can apply?

- A minimum of two teachers (no teachers teaching on-call, TTOC’s)
- Applicants (and all members of their collaboration team) must be members of the BCScTA. Membership fees can usually be claimed as a Pro-D expense, locally.
- Priority will be given to first-time applicants, but past recipients are welcome to reapply for more funding to continue their project or start a new one.

How do I apply?

- Fill out this form
- Note: Only one member of the collaboration team needs to submit an application on behalf of the group.
- There are two application cycles per year, one in the fall and one in the spring. Application deadlines are November 7th for the fall intake and March 7th for the spring intake. Stay tuned to our website, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter for announcements that applications are open.
- A BCScTA sub-committee will review the applications and award a maximum of 2 grants per intake cycle.
- Unsuccessful applications will not be carried forward to the following intake cycle. If you do not get selected for a Roots Grant, please submit another application in the next cycle.

What can I use it for?

- Covering TTOC costs so that team members can collaborate during working hours.
- Purchasing resources to help you explore science education initiatives (such as copies of a book for each member of your collaboration team).

What can I NOT use it for?

- Purchasing classroom materials, such as books, equipment, or software, that will be used for teaching or by students, including demonstrations (demos).
- Post-secondary/graduate degree or certificate programs (tuition, textbooks, etc.)
- Generally, restrictions are similar to Pro-D funding restrictions.

Is there an application deadline?

November 7th for the fall intake and March 7th for the spring intake.

What is required of me as a recipient?

- Projects must be completed within a year of being funded.
- You must share the results of your project with the BCScTA (including products created) to be made available to our membership, e.g. resources, assessment tools, guides, etc.
- Teams are encouraged to present their learning at a subsequent BCScTA Catalyst Conference.

Hear From Past Recipients

Examples of past Roots Grant projects

A group of BCScTA members used a book study with the intent of developing more inquiry opportunities for students in kindergarten, Grade 1 and Grade 5. Members anchored their inquiry with Totem Pole Carving by Vickie Jensen. Using the concepts and ideas in Jensen’s book, the project team connected students to a better understanding of place and their environment through an indigenous lens. Students built an understanding of the importance of cedar trees to Salish communities and culture. Essential questions for these grades were created to inspire and guide students in their inquiry of First Nation scientific concepts and relating them to establishing a richer understanding of scientific competencies and ecological interconnectedness.

A secondary science department found that they have had little time to implement meaningful and thoughtful ways to address and assess the curricular competencies at the Grade 8 and 9 levels. This very collaborative science department plans to use release time to create useful resources that they will use collectively as a whole. They are working towards creating meaningful and useful assessment tools, such as rubrics, of those curricular competencies. The assessment tools are meant to be customized and used with all labs and inquiry activities that students already perform. Further to the assessment tools, they are planning on looking at the new resources available for inquiry activities and build those into their repertoires and pair them with the correct assessment tools.

Would you like to benefit from the Roots Grant?

Apply now