Pathlight International, a non-profit organization that provides training to teachers in Belize, invited LWN Director Sam Stier to give a one-day, online training to 40 teachers working in primary and middle schools across the country of Belize. It was the first time the teachers had been introduced to using biomimetic design in their classrooms. Based on the foundation of this training, teachers will now develop their own ways of incorporating Nature-inspired design into their classrooms this fall.
Below: Teachers do a hands-on biomimicry activity, iteratively designing, testing, and redesigning towers made of dry spaghetti based on biological strategies they discovered outdoors for creating tall yet stable structures (from the upper elementary version of Engineering Inspired by Nature). Well-designed teacher trainings can be conducted effectively by video conference, reaching more teachers at low cost, while simultaneously modeling for teachers good distance learning practices for working with students.
