Student Projects

As explained in the Program Overview, a Green Building Professional Certificate will be awarded to students who attend all class sessions, and attain at least 70% of the maximum number of possible points based on the following:

Quizzes
Student Project
Final Exam

This document explains our expectations for the Student Projects.

The objective of the Project is to provide an opportunity for students to apply the ideas and concepts learned in the Program. We strongly encourage students to integrate their projects within their local, County, or State communities (non-profits, governments, agencies, schools, etc). In doing so, we hope to have the broadest and most powerful impact on the built environment as possible. To use the analogy of a pebble dropped in the water, we’re hoping for small stones making big waves.

We envision at least four different types of Projects:

Building/construction project
Public policy work
Research
Writing, public presentation

Student projects must demonstrate:

A broad integration of the Program materials
Independent research and creative thinking
Application of current Green Building “Best Practices”
Grounding in specific, relevant standards

Projects can be done independently or collaboratively within small group “teams.” We expect that each student will spend a minimum of 60 hours over the course of the next 10 months working on his or her Project.

While we acknowledge that it would be much easier for us if we had everybody do the same type of Project, we are hoping to encourage creative work and broader impact by imposing fewer strictures. Because we are all responsible adults, the Student Projects are almost entirely self-directed and self-paced. We nonetheless have high expectations and high standards. Here are a few more details:

A Project Proposal is due at the third (March 1st) class session and must address all of the following:

Who: Your name. If the project will be a group effort, list the names of all co-conspirators. If applicable, list the client (and contact person), and project location.
Why: a statement of the Big Idea, the context, the goals or objectives
What: a description of the Project. Make sure you mention the form of the final project (video, Powerpoint presentation, informational kiosk, built work, skywriting, cartoon manual, etc.) in addition to the required report.
How: a brief outline of the steps needed to get from here to there.
When: A timeline would be mighty impressive!

The Project Proposal must be no longer than 2 pages!

Each student will then be assigned a faculty advisor (Bruce or Pete) who will provide feedback directly (via e-mail) before the fourth class session.

Final Project Reports are due at the last class session, on December 6, 2008. We offer the following as a short-form guideline of what we’re looking for. The content will obviously vary depending on type of Project, as well as on a large number of other variables:

Content	# of pages	Description
Introduction and overview	1 to 2	Including a sense of personal involvement/interests/inspiration, the larger context, current practices, etc.
Table of Contents	1	Table of contents
Executive Summary	1	The evening news version.
Process	4 to 9	Discussion of goals, standards considered/used, decisions faced, compromises made, results achieved extent of applicability, etc.
Conclusion	1 to 2	Include a look ahead: where do you/we go from here?
References	1 to 2	Bibliography, weblinks, local resources, etc.
Total	9 to 17

Photographs, diagrams, sketches, and supporting documents are all welcome, but they do no count toward the minimum number of pages outlined above.

Students who choose to build an informational kiosk, host a Green Building Conference, produce a feature-length documentary, or produce any other sort of product, will still be required to submit a written report.

The following are additional comments and suggestions based on several years of experience:

We are looking for a report that meets the grammatical, organizational, and other standards appropriate to a college or university term paper. Reports must be clearly organized, neatly-presented, and well-written. Use of spell-checking is appreciated.

Instead of simply re-processing (recycling?) material presented in class or available elsewhere, we expect that the bulk of the Project will be the original, creative work of each individual student: a distillation of your own learning, in your own language. We expect that any material contained in the report that is not original work be clearly labeled and appropriately attributed.

We expect that students will present and discuss their subject matter within the context of the 21st century and reference current global indicators that have immediate relevance to our lives (water scarcity, world oil supplies, global climate change, etc.)

It is our intention that student Projects will have broad applicability. If, for example, you choose a remodeling project as the subject for your Project, we would expect that you treat it as a case study: generalize from your own experience, extract lessons wherever possible, make connections, suggest implications, suggest alternatives for other builders and for the larger society.

We want these Projects to be more than just a didactic exercise. We hope and expect that your audience would include interested others who might benefit from the insights that you have gained. Imagine that you are writing a magazine article instead of a term paper!

It goes without saying and bears repeating: reports need to be contained in some kind of a binder known to our civilization. Examples include spiral binding, stapling, three-ring binder, etc. Please: no loose papers!

On group Projects, we expect to see a clear description of the roles and contributions of the individual students. On all projects, we expect to see some mention of who the heck you are.

At the last class session, there will be approximately twelve 15-minute slots available for students who wish to make an in-class presentation in addition to a written report. All of the standards noted here apply to students who choose to make an in-class presentation in addition to a written report. For all the additional work incurred and public humiliation suffered, students who make an in-class presentation will earn up to a 10% increase in the score of their submitted report (ie: Bonus!!!).

We ask that all Projects be submitted in both printed/hard copy and digitally (on a CD). Projects may be submitted at the December class session or subsequently to:

Marcia Harrigan
Sonoma State University School of Extended Education
Stevenson Hall #1012
1801 East Cotati Avenue
Rohnert Park, CA 94928-3609

Finally, to get the creative juices flowing, here is a short list of ideas for possible Student Projects. Take this list as a starting point for your own ideas.

Take an individual topic of interest to you (composting toilets, mycoremediation, construction waste recycling, green cleaning, etc.), research it thoroughly, and write a concise overview/summary that would be useful to others (and worthy of inclusion in next year’s Reader).
Write a series of articles about green building topics for local, regional, trade, and/or national publications and have them published.
Enter a design competition that has a sustainability theme or angle. Or – even better – win a design competition that has a sustainability theme or angle! (The USGBC’s Emerging Green Builders has an annual design competition that might suit the purpose…)
Help catalyze change on the scale of your community by leading a visioning session in your city or town. Help your community imagine what the future looks like. Work toward adopting a set of guiding principles.
Educate your local school district about Green Building and help them work toward integrating sustainability in their curricula and in their campuses.
Work with your local newspaper, create and conduct a public opinion poll on selected Green Building issues of your choosing. Analyze, interpret, and publish the results.
Assemble a set of outline specification/general notes for residential projects of limited scope that address all relevant aspects of green building. Make it as powerful and as useful as possible. Have it “peer-reviewed” by as many green architects as possible.
Research solar water heating and compile your findings in a format that minimizes the intimidation factor for homeowners, developers, builders, plumbers, and others. Make the economic arguments. List local sources, local designers, local installers.
Research the costs and benefits of building green at the residential scale. Interview custom/production builders who are using to GreenPoint Rated guidelines or base your report on your own experience.
Work with your local municipality to help implement Green Building. Ideas for possible inclusion: planning and hosting Green Building events or workshops, assembling Green Building materials for distribution at City Hall, hosting a Green Building Film Series, helping implement a Climate Protection Action Plan, etc.
Volunteer with a local non-profit or government entity working to promote a more sustainable world (by reducing sprawl, addressing climate change, increasing recycling, etc.). The Redwood Empire Chapter of the USGBC, Climate Protection Campaign, Co-op America, your local municipality, etc.

That list is only a start….

Be creative, color outside the lines, have fun , and go for the biggest bang possible!