Construction of a Solar House Promotes Sustainability Education
This is a Solar House construction activity originally from Wendy Van Norton developed for College Board AP Environmental Science but can be used at both Middle School and High School levels successfully. The activity engages teams of students in the design and construction of a passive solar house. The students are assessed on the performance of their house in retaining heat in the winter and staying cool in the summer. It is creative quantitative activity that engages the student in a “real world” situation that promotes an understanding of sustainability.
Issues this Best Practice Addresses:
This lab is designed to engage the student in issues of passive solar energy, sustainability and collection of quantitative data.. It involves teams of students with following detailed directions , determining proportions and provides an activity that promotes creative problem solving.
Major Challenges to Implementation:
The major challenges to the implementation of this lab are the class time it takes to plan and construct the passive solar house ( approximately four hours in class). Additionally, the group dynamics as this is a project that requires that the student develop a mutually supportive working group. If the work devolves into one or two people then the time to plan and construct the house becomes burdensome.
Benefits Derived from Implementing this Best Practice:
This is an activity that engages the students interest and attention. They have an outlet for their creativity in addition to a structured goal. It leads them to self discovery of many of the concepts associated with sustainability and passive solar energy. They finish with a greater appreciation for building design.
Evidence Illustrating Success:
Test results on energy questions. In particular passive solar energy questions.
Additional Materials:
Click here for a detailed description of the Solar House Activity
Submitted by: Michael R. Mayfield and Wendy Van Norton, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities