Let it Rain!

Aug. 10, 2020
Twenty-five 4th-12th grade teachers are echoing the headline's sentiment after participating in APW's online AquaSTEM Rainwater Harvesting System Design Academy. This 6-week professional development workshop started with teachers exploring extreme heat in our community, which led them to design a rainwater harvesting system to grow shade with available rainfall. Each week the teachers participated in a one-hour zoom lecture that introduced them to weekly topics and assignments. Just as their students will do, teachers completed work that included inspecting their site, analyzing soil, quantifying the amount of harvested rain, selecting plants, calculating watering requirements, performing a water budget, sizing a basin, and sketching their design. As teachers moved through the iterative engineering design process, they made mistakes and re-designed. One teacher commented, "This process is eye-opening and the tools are excellent. I look forward to completing the course and making more errors! I am learning for sure and can see how to impart some knowledge to students as well." At the culmination of the class, the teachers presented their final designs for peer review. They all agreed that the class was "challenging" and "fun" as highlighted in the word cloud. A few other teachers, highlighted on APW's Facebook page, are taking the opportunity to install their designs at their own homes