As part of this work, she is collaborating with Theresa Knipe, a teacher at Hammond (IN) High School. As part of the project, 10^th grade students in Knipe’s chemistry class designed a zero-energy house, meaning it uses the same (or less) amount of renewable energy that it creates. Dr. Purzer and her team collected data on how students engaged in informed design behaviors and learned science concepts as they designed. The grant also inspired Knipe to organize an Energy Expo at her school.

“This was an opportunity to involve engineering in my classroom,” she says. “I thought building the houses would make learning about energy more interesting.”

The students used an open-access Computer Aided Design (CAD) program called Energy3D to create their three-dimensional houses. That is a learning tool Knipe says she always wanted to add to her teaching. The engineering design project led the students to gain new knowledge about energy and conservation.

“Students enjoyed creating houses and wanted more time to create the ‘perfect’ house,” she says. “Having students participate in the Energy Expo and display their work helped with their communication skills.”

The “Expo” on Dec. 9 at Hammond High allowed the student teams to show off their work to family and friends, and talk about how the use of insulation, special windows and position to the sun made their houses energy efficient and affordable.

“Each house got better through the design process,” Knipe says. “Overall, this was a great experience.”

The project is in collaboration with the Concord Consortium in Massachusetts and aims to reach thousands of students by its completion in 2018. The grant funding comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF:1348547).

Dr. Purzer’s team is looking for middle and high school teachers in Tippecanoe County, and counties adjacent to it, who want to get their classes involved. If you are interested, contact her at (765) 496-1684 or senay@purdue.edu.