Grantee Research Project Results

2013 Progress Report: New Methods of Teaching Renewable Energy to Students

EPA Grant Number: SU835068
Title: New Methods of Teaching Renewable Energy to Students
Investigators: Jacobson, Mark Z. , Willman, Lindsay , McNary, Amanda , Thomas, Emily , McDonough, Peter , DeBrito, Mariana , Yeskoo, Tim , Hamann-Nazaroff, Daniela , Vogel, Laura , Arnold, Emily , Shekhar, Veenu
Current Investigators: Jacobson, Mark Z. , Willman, Lindsay , McNary, Amanda , Thomas, Emily , McDonough, Peter , DeBrito, Mariana , Yeskoo, Tim , Hamann-Nazaroff, Daniela , Vogel, Laura , Arnold, Emily , Woogen, Sarah , Menon, Carishma , Shekhar, Veenu
Institution: Stanford University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: August 15, 2011 through August 14, 2013 (Extended to October 1, 2015)
Project Period Covered by this Report: August 15, 2012 through August 14,2013
Project Amount: $36,500
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2011) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Objective:

Our goal is to teach the next generation of students about the fundamentals of climate change and renewable energy. Previous research has found that standard outreach approaches require time, money, and flexibility that most teachers in K-‐12 classrooms do not have. In response, we are designing new, inexpensive, yet effective ways to introduce renewable energy to K-‐12 students. Rather than writing how-‐to guides or curriculum tools, we are creating accessible prefabricated learning kits and lesson plans that address or expand on California Science Standards.

Develop inexpensive yet high-‐quality learning kits to teach K-‐12 students about renewable energy and climate change - We will provide valuable learning kits and lesson plans to teach students about climate change, energy efficiency, and renewable energy. Raising awareness about these issues will eventually help us change and progress as a society. We believe it is important to reach our audience while they are young, getting them familiar with the situation and teaching them from the start about the available solutions. The learning kits will be inexpensive and made from local and simple materials in order to reach a large audience. However, the kits will still be of high quality, providing students with meaningful lessons.
Track and evaluate the success of the lessons and learning kits to improve science education methods - Using pre-‐ and post-‐lesson tests to determine material retention by students, we will evaluate the effectiveness of our lesson plans in order to keep improving them until we reach a successful model. With these tests, we will be able to determine if our lesson plans and learning kits lead to the conceptual understanding we are aiming for.
Interact with students firsthand and participate in preliminary workshops - We will be personally involved in preliminary workshops and first trials of our kits in classrooms. Prior to using the learning kits with students, we will hold workshops with teachers to obtain feedback and improve the lessons. We are also interested in working with the students and observing firsthand what is effective and how we can best teach them about renewable energy concepts. We will work with local schools that have already shown interest in using the learning kits for either a single class or possibly a series of lessons. With feedback from both teachers and students, we will improve the lesson plans and learning kits in order to obtain the best-‐possible results.
Ensure longevity of the project by preparing teaching tools that can be easily implemented and used independently by teachers - The learning kits will be inexpensive and easy to make with local and simple materials. We will produce instruction videos to go with our learning kits, which will show teachers how to make the kits, how to use the kits with the lesson plans, and what the final product should look like. The videos will prepare teachers to use the materials effectively in the classroom and will include ideas and suggestions on how to go through the lesson plans. Additionally, the lessons will be flexible, allowing teachers to use a lesson for a single class or expand on the lessons with additional projects and/or related lessons and learning kits.
Promote awareness of renewable energy education via the Tape and Scissors website - The Tape & Scissors website will periodically showcase schools that have made progress in renewable energy education efforts. It will put successful class projects in the spotlight and share past success stories with potential partner schools. Additionally, a forum for teacher discussion will be available, where instructors can share experiences and give feedback on the lesson plans. It will be a great way to get more teachers involved and serve as a venue for valuable ideas on how to improve the materials we provide.
Focus on outreach to underprivileged schools - We plan to raise awareness about climate change and renewable energy technologies throughout different sectors of the population, making sure we reach a large audience. Specifically, we plan to bring these opportunities to students who otherwise would not have had them (since more privileged schools may already have similar programs in place).

Progress Summary:

We have found that it is possible and effective to create technical renewable energy education kits for students that are both local and inexpensive. We strongly believe that our model for renewable energy education will be successful. So far, we have worked with students in grades 5 through 8 to test two of our five lesson plans. These beta tests involved observing students and testing their understanding of the concepts with pre-‐ and post-‐tests. Preliminary results indicate that our approach to renewable energy education is successful. Students have especially enjoyed learning through hands-‐on education that reinforces important concepts.

Future Activities:

In the next year, we will continue to improve the existing lessons with feedback from teachers and students. We will also be testing the remaining lesson plans in classrooms in the Bay Area. Additionally, we hope to modify the lesson plans and learning kits to reach elementary through high school grade levels. The Tape and Scissors website will also be updated to include instructional videos, forums, and completed lesson plans.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Teaching, students, education, renewable energy, classrooms, activities, science labs

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.