Calling Environmental Science Teachers to A Project about Safe Drinking Water
**** Apply by August 20 for September Training ****
Are you a high school environmental sciences teacher interested in engaging students in scientific research that applies to their everyday lives? Do you live in a city with issues of lead-in-drinking-water? Become a Crowd the Tap Teacher! Crowd the Tap offers two opportunities.
Level 1 - Pipe & Chemistry Program: All high school science teachers are eligible for Level 1, which involves studies of pipe material and water chemistry. This program provides teachers with a lesson plan and kit#1 (water chemistry strips) for all students, and provides student households with estimates of risk of lead in water and guidance on drinking water safety. Level 1 instructors can also earn an open badge (digital credential to share on LinkedIn and related sites) and certificate documentation so that teachers can arrange to receive Continuing Education Credits with their district.
Estimated time: Two 45-min class periods
Number of teachers: Unlimited
Level 2 - Home & Lab Program: We will select up to 30 high school teachers for the Home & Lab program which includes two ways for testing water for the presence of lead. This program provides student households with measurements of lead in water and guidance on drinking water safety. Each Teacher receives curricular materials and online training, plus in-home/school water-testing kits for up to 32 students, and ship-to-lab water-testing kits for up to 12 students ($700 value). Upon successful completion, each teacher receives a stipend of $300, an open badge (digital credential to share on LinkedIn and related sites), and certificate documentation so that teachers can arrange to receive Continuing Education Credits with their district.
Estimated time: Two 45-min class periods. However, all teachers and students must first complete the Pipe & Chemistry Level 1 program (two 45-min class periods) before the Home & Lab program Level 2 (two 45-min class periods) for a total commitment of four 45-min classes.
Number of teachers: 30 (limited -- ONLY Fall 2021)
Application required. See link below.
The project in a nutshell:
Crowd the Tap is an EPA-funded public science project that investigates access to safe drinking water. Student households and other participants share information about drinking water pipes and plumbing and easy-to-measure water chemistry parameters in order to receive an estimate of risk of lead in water (Level 1). Currently, the only way to confirm lead in water is by sending water samples to a lab for professional analysis. Off-the-shelf kits do not provide reliable tests of lead in water. However, researchers at Virginia Tech developed a “hack” to improve the reliability of one type of off-the-shelf kit. We refer to the hack as the Lemon Test and need to determine if it works reliably in all types of water systems. The Level 2 Teachers will guide their students in Crowd the Tap and the Lemon Test. If the Lemon Test holds up, then it will be possible for any household to reliably test their water for the presence of lead.
What Level 2 Teachers do:
This special program involves teachers engaging their students (and parents) in Crowd the Tap as well as a field/lab testing of “The Lemon Test.”
Responsibilities
· Attend 2 virtual training sessions, each 2 hours duration
· Attend check-ins with the project manager for 5 milestones. Each check-in is 15min, or longer if you need more support:
o Students introduced to public science and kit #1
o With parental consent, students enroll in Crowd the Tap via SciStarter
o Students complete Crowd the Tap to be eligible for kit #2
o Students bring in tap water samples from home for in-class use of kit #2
o Subset of students eligible for kit #3
· Handle logistics of distributing kits #1 & 2 and returning results
· Handle logistics of distributing kit#3 and shipping completed kit#3 to lab
What Level 2 teachers will bring:
We’ll prioritize the selection of teachers based on the following:
● Students living in a city or town with known or suspected lead-in-water issues. This map can help you know.
● Ability and flexibility to allocate approximately 4 hours of classroom time, ideally in October, to Crowd the Tap’s curriculum (Level 1 and Level 2)
● Desire to collaborate with scientists and help students address real environmental problems.
● Track record of innovative teaching and learning with high school students.
● Demonstrated ability to collect and manage data with attention to detail.
What we’ll provide to Level 2 teachers:
Working with Crowd the Tap, you can expect contact and support from the project scientists and project manager. This is a great opportunity to incorporate real science into the classroom. Crowd the Tap data (anonymized) are publicly available for teachers with interest in real data to assist students in learning math, science writing and research methodology. This program is best suited for educators interested in citizen science, applied science, environmental science, public health, and water safety. To help, we’ll provide:
· Preparatory workshops (4 hour total)
· Project curriculum
· Kit#1 - Water Chemistry Strips for all students
· Kit#2 - Lemon Test kits for up to 32 students
· Kit#3 - Water Collection Bottles for Prepaid Lab Tests for 12 students
· Prepaid return postage for box of Kit#3 (about 40lbs of water to ship to lab)
· Teacher Stipend, badge, and documentation for Continuing Education credits
To learn more or apply for the ambassador program visit: http://crowdthetap.org/ambassador/
Apply to be a Level 1 or Level 1&2 teacher here: Teacher Application
Key Dates:
· Applications close 20 August.
· Level 2 Teacher training in September.
· Students use Crowd the Tap in October.
**** Apply by August 20 for September Training ****
Are you a high school environmental sciences teacher interested in engaging students in scientific research that applies to their everyday lives? Do you live in a city with issues of lead-in-drinking-water? Become a Crowd the Tap Teacher! Crowd the Tap offers two opportunities.
Level 1 - Pipe & Chemistry Program: All high school science teachers are eligible for Level 1, which involves studies of pipe material and water chemistry. This program provides teachers with a lesson plan and kit#1 (water chemistry strips) for all students, and provides student households with estimates of risk of lead in water and guidance on drinking water safety. Level 1 instructors can also earn an open badge (digital credential to share on LinkedIn and related sites) and certificate documentation so that teachers can arrange to receive Continuing Education Credits with their district.
Estimated time: Two 45-min class periods
Number of teachers: Unlimited
Level 2 - Home & Lab Program: We will select up to 30 high school teachers for the Home & Lab program which includes two ways for testing water for the presence of lead. This program provides student households with measurements of lead in water and guidance on drinking water safety. Each Teacher receives curricular materials and online training, plus in-home/school water-testing kits for up to 32 students, and ship-to-lab water-testing kits for up to 12 students ($700 value). Upon successful completion, each teacher receives a stipend of $300, an open badge (digital credential to share on LinkedIn and related sites), and certificate documentation so that teachers can arrange to receive Continuing Education Credits with their district.
Estimated time: Two 45-min class periods. However, all teachers and students must first complete the Pipe & Chemistry Level 1 program (two 45-min class periods) before the Home & Lab program Level 2 (two 45-min class periods) for a total commitment of four 45-min classes.
Number of teachers: 30 (limited -- ONLY Fall 2021)
Application required. See link below.
The project in a nutshell:
Crowd the Tap is an EPA-funded public science project that investigates access to safe drinking water. Student households and other participants share information about drinking water pipes and plumbing and easy-to-measure water chemistry parameters in order to receive an estimate of risk of lead in water (Level 1). Currently, the only way to confirm lead in water is by sending water samples to a lab for professional analysis. Off-the-shelf kits do not provide reliable tests of lead in water. However, researchers at Virginia Tech developed a “hack” to improve the reliability of one type of off-the-shelf kit. We refer to the hack as the Lemon Test and need to determine if it works reliably in all types of water systems. The Level 2 Teachers will guide their students in Crowd the Tap and the Lemon Test. If the Lemon Test holds up, then it will be possible for any household to reliably test their water for the presence of lead.
What Level 2 Teachers do:
This special program involves teachers engaging their students (and parents) in Crowd the Tap as well as a field/lab testing of “The Lemon Test.”
Responsibilities
· Attend 2 virtual training sessions, each 2 hours duration
· Attend check-ins with the project manager for 5 milestones. Each check-in is 15min, or longer if you need more support:
o Students introduced to public science and kit #1
o With parental consent, students enroll in Crowd the Tap via SciStarter
o Students complete Crowd the Tap to be eligible for kit #2
o Students bring in tap water samples from home for in-class use of kit #2
o Subset of students eligible for kit #3
· Handle logistics of distributing kits #1 & 2 and returning results
· Handle logistics of distributing kit#3 and shipping completed kit#3 to lab
What Level 2 teachers will bring:
We’ll prioritize the selection of teachers based on the following:
● Students living in a city or town with known or suspected lead-in-water issues. This map can help you know.
● Ability and flexibility to allocate approximately 4 hours of classroom time, ideally in October, to Crowd the Tap’s curriculum (Level 1 and Level 2)
● Desire to collaborate with scientists and help students address real environmental problems.
● Track record of innovative teaching and learning with high school students.
● Demonstrated ability to collect and manage data with attention to detail.
What we’ll provide to Level 2 teachers:
Working with Crowd the Tap, you can expect contact and support from the project scientists and project manager. This is a great opportunity to incorporate real science into the classroom. Crowd the Tap data (anonymized) are publicly available for teachers with interest in real data to assist students in learning math, science writing and research methodology. This program is best suited for educators interested in citizen science, applied science, environmental science, public health, and water safety. To help, we’ll provide:
· Preparatory workshops (4 hour total)
· Project curriculum
· Kit#1 - Water Chemistry Strips for all students
· Kit#2 - Lemon Test kits for up to 32 students
· Kit#3 - Water Collection Bottles for Prepaid Lab Tests for 12 students
· Prepaid return postage for box of Kit#3 (about 40lbs of water to ship to lab)
· Teacher Stipend, badge, and documentation for Continuing Education credits
To learn more or apply for the ambassador program visit: http://crowdthetap.org/ambassador/
Apply to be a Level 1 or Level 1&2 teacher here: Teacher Application
Key Dates:
· Applications close 20 August.
· Level 2 Teacher training in September.
· Students use Crowd the Tap in October.
