While writing a grant proposal, you may be asked for an explanation of BrainPOP. We’ve created this backgrounder to help you do that.  Please don’t hesitate to get in touch should you have questions.

In classrooms, on mobile devices, and at home, BrainPOP engages students through animated movies, learning games, interactive quizzes, primary source activities, and more. Our offerings are developed with a fundamental multimedia principle in mind: that information is more effectively processed when presented in words, pictures and sound than when presented in words alone (Mayer, 2005).

BrainPOP’s award-winning resources include BrainPOP Jr. (K-3), BrainPOP, BrainPOP Español and, for English language learners, BrainPOP ELL.  They span Science, Math, Social Studies, English Language Arts, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Music, Health, Reading, Writing, and English as a Second Language.

We are also home to GameUp, an educational games portal for the classroom; Make-Map, an innovative concept mapping tool powered by Ideaphora®; and My BrainPOP, which lets teachers creatively customize assessments, effectively incorporate gaming into instruction, spur meaningful reflection, and keep track of learning. BrainPOP’s mobile learning apps are available for all major platforms and have been downloaded millions of times around the world. All resources are supported by BrainPOP Educators, which offers professional development and an array of lesson plans, webinars, video tutorials, graphic organizers and a rich curriculum calendar.

Ideal for both group and one-on-one settings, BrainPOP is used in numerous ways, from introducing a new lesson or topic to illustrating complex subject matter to reviewing before a test. Content is carefully mapped to the Common Core and aligned to other academic standards.  Our global web sites host more than 11 million visits each month.

A 2009 research project conducted by SEG Research found that students in classes using BrainPOP made significant improvement in Science, Reading Comprehension, Language, and Vocabulary as compared to students in classes that did not use BrainPOP. BrainPOP was found to be effective at all three grade levels included in the study (grades 3, 5 and 8). The controlled study included 1,100 students within 46 classrooms across Florida and New York. The study was controlled for students’ initial ability. BrainPOP users finished the year with scores that were 16 scale-score points higher in Reading Comprehension, 13 scale-score points higher in Science, eight scale-score points higher in Language, and five points higher in Vocabulary than the Control Group on the SAT 10 assessments. BrainPOP was found to be equally effective for boys and girls; students of different ethnicities; and both students receiving free or reduced lunch services and those not.

Best of luck to you on your grant application!

  For a printable copy of this resource, download the Grant Writer’s Reference (PDF) version!