Air Quality Curriculum for Teachers

Getting Organized

If you are new to air quality monitoring, our plan builder will help you get started. The AirCasting Actions 6-step curriculum is designed to familiarize students with what particle pollution is and the importance of reducing and avoiding it. Students will plan and execute a day of observation and measurement using AirBeam air quality monitors. After completing their day in the field, students will report and discuss their findings in class. Depending on where you are and what the students find, the lesson can be extended to encourage the students take action and campaign for cleaner air. AirCasting Actions is intended to inspire and nurture the next generation of civically engaged community scientists. In addition to the basics, there are a variety of optional activity and discussion ideas that can extend the curriculum. Typically, the lessons are taught over 3-5 days. Before getting started, we suggest first perusing the Air Quality 101 page and familiarizing yourself with this planning process/document. (This document will also be used as a tool in the classroom to get students thinking about and planning the day or recording observations.)

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1

step one

Identify your concern.
Determine a goal.

First, you will need to identify a concern and goal for the project. Maybe that starts with you. Is there a source of pollution near your school? Do you want to start with general education about air pollution by measuring daily exposures during a walk around the school or while the students are commuting? Might you want to explore disparate pollution exposures and try to uncover more complex problems, like the difference in air pollution levels between more affluent and less affluent neighborhoods? Is smoke from residential heating or restaurant charbroiling a concern? Is construction activity creating dust problems? Is the air quality better inside or outside the school building? You can explore all these possibilities during your pre-planning session.

2

step two

Decide when and for how long you will monitor.

Think about your daily schedule and the availability of your students to determine if your goal is feasible and what the monitoring timeline looks like. For example, consider when and where your students will be available to conduct air quality monitoring and whether they can access the areas selected for air quality monitoring? If not, you may need to identify a different concern or update your goal so there’s a better fit with the availability of your students and the accessibility of your selected areas. You will also want to consider how long it makes sense to monitor based on desired outcomes.

 

 

3

step three

Where and how will
you monitor?
Fixed or mobile?

How you’ll monitor is directly related to your goal. If you want to compare particle pollution measurements over time at a single location or between locations to determine when pollution levels are highest or lowest, fixed monitoring might make the most sense. If you want to measure variance in personal pollution exposures based on location, mobile monitoring might be more suitable. There is a trade-off in the decision.

Fixed monitoring will provide data with high temporal resolution, helping to answer questions like when is the air quality best/worst, whereas mobile monitoring will provide data with high spatial resolution, helping to answer questions like where is air quality best/worst. The tradeoff is that if you’re only doing fixed monitoring or only doing mobile monitoring it can be challenging to discern whether the particle pollution levels are high or low because of time or location. The approach you choose should be based on your goal, the availability of your students, and whether your school has the right equipment to support fixed or mobile monitoring (whichever you choose).

4

step four

What equipment
will you use?

When planning your AirCasting campaign you need to be aware of what‘s needed to complete the project. Fixed monitoring and mobile monitoring require different resources. Fixed monitoring requires:

  • a secure place to hang your AirBeam3 where it won’t be vandalized or stolen
  • a power outlet or other power supply (e.g. photovoltaic panel or lead-acid battery)
  • a 2.4 GHz WiFi connection that doesn’t require consent to terms and services via a web browser or a 4G cellular network plus a compatible and activated SIM card
  • an Internet-connected Android or iOS device, and the latest version of the free AirCasting App.

Mobile monitoring only requires an Internet-connected Android or iOS device and the latest version of the free AirCasting App.

Note that in the case of fixed monitoring, the Android or iOS device is only needed for the initial AirBeam3 configuration and mobile monitoring can be conducted in standalone mode, which allows the AirBeam3 to record and map measurements in the field without the need for a companion Android or iOS device. That is to say, a single Android or iOS device can be used to configure multiple fixed AirBeam3s or sync the data from multiple mobile AirBeam3s.

5

step five

Determine your team.

It is best to divide students into small teams. Roles for team members include AirBeam transporter, cartographer, observer, timekeeper, and phone carrier. Based on your classroom, you may decide to assign students multiple jobs or conversely assign multiple students the same task (such as observation).

 

6

step six

Decide what success
looks like.

Defining what success looks like brings the project to a close, or in some cases, marks the beginning of a new project. Decide what makes sense based on your unique goal, timeline, the sophistication of the students/participants, and your teaching style.

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Planning Guide

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User
Stories

  • “Know what you are exposed to, it will literally save your life!”

    – Ruzmyn Vilcassim

    UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM

  • “The AirBeam increases visibility of what’s invisible.”

    – Dawn Roberts-Semple

    YORK COLLEGE, CUNY

  • “AirCasting puts air quality data collection in the hands of ordinary people and under-resourced organizations. Also, it has been a powerful experience for people impacted by poor air quality to measure air quality first hand.”

    -Jen Chantrtanapichate

    CLEANUP NORTH BROOKLYN

  • “The AirBeam is a critical tool for enabling communities to understand and advocate for change in their local environments.”

     – Andrew Mondschein

    UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

  • “The AirBeam is a low-cost and very accessible way to put hyperlocal air quality data in the hands of community members who need it the most, who are most affected by poor air quality, and who can use it as a starting point to understand personal exposures to air pollution.”

    -Wendy Gutschow

    USC ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH CENTERS

  • “The AirBeam is an essential tool for citizen science and learning about air quality in our classroom.”

    -Anna Mello

    THE CHAPLIN SCHOOL

  • “AirBeam + AirCasting generates a lot of classroom excitement and good discussion when teaching 8th graders about air pollution.”

    – Charles Stanier

    UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

  • “AirCasting is an easy and interesting way to find out how the air quality around you is and use this data to discuss ways of improving your community.”

    – Henrique S. Benites

    UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WHALES

  • “AirBeams are a great way to show students of all ages what is in the air they are breathing in real time. It is an invaluable tool to provide education and outreach about air pollution sources and how small changes can make a big difference.”

    – Anna Leonard

    PIEDMONT TRIAD REGIONAL COUNCIL

  • “Being able to see how a truck passing by impacts our air inspires folks to advocate for themselves and their community – as well as sparking interest and curiosity into how these technologies work from a back-end perspective.”

    – Sadie Coughlin-Prego

    QUEENSBRIDGE TECH LAB

Take your anti-pollution
project to the next level.

Want More? If you have been air quality monitoring and are interested in using your data for change-making on a larger scale, you might consider reading some of past AirCasting campaign success stories for inspiration.

Learn More
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