ENGR 110 - Reflection #2

11/3/17

Christi McKnight, Shane Buck, Marina Predovic

The California Department of Education (CDE) is the regulatory agency in charge

determining what the curriculum for all california public schools are, how each school will be
held accountable for their education via generalized tests, how each school is funded, which
specialized programs are put in place, and how they can further support learning in these schools.
However, after browsing their website it appears to be fairly standardized to the entire state, and
doesnt quite capture some of the support necessary for underserved schools such as Gardner
Academy.

There are various organizations scattered around the United States whose attempt to
educate and emphasis elementary aged students, each with a specific mission that is reflected in
the motives of our design. The first relevant element of our weather board was that it was meant
to be located outside in Lisas interactive garden. This was necessary because Lisa wanted to
look for ways to integrate learning activities of the classroom into the outdoors, where the
students creativity can flourish without the restraints of the classroom walls. AORE, also known
as the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education, is a well known organization that aims
to provide opportunities for students in which they can use outdoor education to promote the
preservation and conservation of the environment.1 Another aspect of our weather board was that
we wanted to emphasis how climate change is affecting our world, which is why we settled on
some of the particular educational tools that are on there. This idea is substantiated by the
Alliance for Climate Education (ACE), whose mission is to educate young people on the
science of climate change and empower them to take action.2

Our team went through a partner, who is aware of the regulations of putting something
like a weather station on public school grounds. In addition, we wanted to put our wind vane on
the roof, however, we would have to get permission to place it on the roof of a public school.The

1
History, Mission & Bylaws. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2017, from
https://www.aore.org/history_mission_bylaws.php
2
Alliance for Climate Education: What We Do. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2017, from https://acespace.org/what-we-do
area near the garden has some minor gang activity, so we had to be cognizant of the colors we
selected. We chose to go with lighter pastel colors that looked colorful for children. We avoided
colors like dark blue or dark red.

For an elementary school, we were regulated by the schools policy for safety. First of all,
when we originally arrived to the school we signed in at the front desk, where they took note of
our intentions, who we were working with, and took pictures of our faces so that we would be
recognizable anytime we went on the school grounds. In terms of our actual project, we kept
safety in mind when selecting materials and fasteners. Over a foot of the actual posts are
cemented into the group according to the regulations seen on the cement bag, in order to prevent
any potential tipping that may occur if the student climb on it. We had to consider the students
height, what would be easy to read for them, and what was helpful for the teachers curriculum.
Our design takes into account that the school is bilingual, so we will be translating labels into
Spanish as well. While digging in the garden, we followed safety precautions recommended by
OSHA. Without an accurate survey for power, gas, and water lines underground, we resorted to
digging by shovels. We also ensured that no children would come close to the holes so nobody
would hurt themselves.