teaching green school buildings

This long-running research agenda examines school buildings that were intentionally designed to be teaching tools for sustainability. While many school districts pursuing LEED for Schools certification may attempt to achieve "teaching tool" status, there is very little empirical work to support these efforts.  The results of our ongoing studies suggest that green school buildings can engender greater awareness of green building practices, even without curricular interventions. However, many schools studied have yet to unlock the deeper potential of their school buildings to enhance science or art education -- and hopefully deeper understanding of green building features for students. It became clear that teachers needed curricular tools to make the connections between green building themes and classroom learning. This work led to the recent curriculum projects on Energy in Your Environment, Raising the Green Roof, and Learnscapes for Energy Education.  

See the summary of this research in the Green Schools Catalyst Quarterly article entitled "School Buildings for Sustainability Education: A Review of the Evidence." See also the variety of publications listed here under GREEN SCHOOLS.