As many of you know, I’m pursuing a Masters in Building Construction at Georgia Tech. What you might not know is that I’m teaching a residential green building course this summer! The course is cross-listed for both undergraduate and graduate credit. Class meets Thursday evenings from 6:05pm to 9:25pm. I’ll be a Graduate Teaching Assistant and the sole instructor. I have a very comprehensive syllabus ready and we’re using the textbook (Green Building: Principles and Practices in Residential Construction) I coauthored with Carl Seville.

And here’s my question/request…

To all of the green building trainers out there, do you have any in class exercises you’d recommend I incorporate into the course? I have taught hundreds of courses over the years that range from 1-hour seminars to weeklong HERS Rater courses. Typically, I either don’t have much time to incorporate in class activities or I’m constrained by focusing on exam preparation. I’m now completely free to establish the learning objectives and evaluation tools. I welcome the freedom, but I’m also aware that I need more activities to breakup the evening lecture. My goal is for the class to be as interactive and engaging as possible. I never want to promote death by PowerPoint!

My goal is to not subject my students to death by PowerPoint! Image from http://jennifermccrea.com/2011/12/death-powerpoint/

I have at least one field trip planned to perform a BPI Building Analyst style audit that includes blower door, duct blaster, and combustion safety testing. I also have a bunch of discussion topics planned for small groups and a handful of short activities.

Any activity suggestions are greatly appreciated!