How Kids Teaching Kids Works in My Classroom

Author: Anthony Darby; Published: Oct 18, 2012; Category: Classroom materials, Energy Education; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, energy education, Energy4me, Environment, oil, Petroleum, science, SPE, STEM, students, Teachers; Comments: Comments Off

 

Guest blog by Jeannine Huffman, CTE Energy & Design Instructor, San Joaquin County Office of Education – Stockton, CA. Courtesy of The NEED Project.

How did Jeannine Huffman convince her students to not only want to learn about energy content, but remember it as well? Her strategy was kids teaching kids… read more in this fascinating blog post!

At the end of the school year my high school students know energy transformations, energy sources, and electricity generation by heart. In fact, when Pacific Gas and Electric sent a team to help students conduct an energy audit, the professionals said that our students were the only students they had ever worked with who could name every form and source of energy, each transformation, and how electricity was generated.

How did I accomplish this? I first had to convince my students at the beginning of each year to want to learn and remember the energy content.  I did this by introducing them to the Learning Pyramid. I have known about the Learning Pyramid, but have not had an opportunity to fully put its method into action until I began using NEED curriculum. I have grown more and more convinced that the Pyramid is representative of the belief that when Kids Teach Kids they retain and apply the content more effectively.

How does it work in my classroom?  I post the Learning Pyramid Chart and refer to it during class, reminding the students that our goal is to reach the top. At the bottom of the chart is Lecture 5%, so I say to my students, “If I stand up here and lecture, you will only remember 5%. In fact, you probably wonder how you are ever going to remember everything.” Student buy-in is critical and right away they see on the chart that they will only remember 10% if they read along with my lecture. As students move up the chart, adding visuals to reading and lecture, the retention increases to 20%. This affords the students a chance to tap into their meta-cognitive skills which means they are thinking about their own learning and taking personal responsibility to examine how they learn.

Demonstrations help students remember a concept but it has been suggested that they will only remember 30%.   How do I know this? When asked to explain energy transformations, or energy flow from the sun, most cannot explain the concept completely. Allowing students to discuss in groups and as a class may increase their retained knowledge up to 50%.  As a teacher you will reap rewards, and they will too, by allowing them to discuss and collaborate.  It is OK for a classroom to be noisy.  Science and technology aren’t silent.   After demonstrations and discussion about half the class can explain the energy flow well.

When students practice by doing, the retention can increase to 75%.  Through repetition, most students are able to easily explain the energy transformation. Let your students experiment, explore and work in teams. It is more work for you to set up multiple labs, but the return on the investment of teacher time is significant.  NEED’s hands-on kits (wind, solar, Science of Energy and more) come with equipment for demonstrations and experiments like the Hand Generated Flashlight that students use to see how motion energy transforms to electrical energy.  Hands-on learning always requires more investment of time in the classroom, but it pays off in student performance and classroom success.

The biggest return on the investment is when students are afforded the opportunity to teach others. This is not a surprise to NEED teachers. For example, once you became a teacher, your first lecture on electrons made much more sense and led to more personal understanding.  The same holds true for your students. Unless they can explain each step accurately, they do not really understand the concept. What a perfect way to assess your students on the spot! The work that goes into preparing to teach a class prepares students for energy presentations and other academic presentations they will give throughout the year. It is an effective, and fun, way to bring important concepts about energy out of the classroom and into the community.  Teach each other, teach others.

What is the gain by taking extra classroom time for every student to teach each other? A whopping 90%.  I believe it! There is a great deal of satisfaction in observing them as they teach and as I assess them informally.  Once students are trained in this method, they know they do not leave the classroom until they have taught others. By the time the student teams have practiced and presented lessons, they have heard the concepts better than they ever expected.  Moreover, students seem to compete with one another to see who can give the best presentation! The classroom becomes a truly cooperative learning space and students all pay better attention, are more engaged and accountability and responsibility for learning skyrockets.  One freshman, who was struggling to grasp a concept after several attempts to explain, finally had an AH HA! moment and said, “I will never forget this!” This is what a teacher lives for!

To embed this knowledge, I reinforce regularly in a playful way. Out of the blue I will say, “I just heard a noise outside who can trace that energy flow from the sun?” Hands shoot up as students have become very aware of energy around them.

This about this:  I was talking with my niece about teaching electrolytes in my chemistry class. My niece said, “I memorized what the definition of an electrolyte was and passed my chemistry class last year, but I can’t even tell you what it is now.” This statement disturbed me. How many of us are good at memorizing facts but still don’t know how to apply that knowledge? Teach them to teach and they will never forget!

I love the NEED curriculum.  But it is only recently that I have come to realize the importance of the motto, “Kids Teaching Kids.” It was not until I had firsthand experience with the Learning Pyramid that see and know how well it works.

Learn more about the NEED project at www.NEED.org

Join the conversation on Facebook— www.Facebook.com/Energy4me. You can also connect with us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Energy4me! 

Visit a Petroleum Museum… They Tell Fascinating Stories!

Author: Anthony Darby; Published: Sep 6, 2012; Category: Classroom materials, Energy Education, Volunteering; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, energy education, Energy4me, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Environment, Petroleum, Student, students, Teacher, Teachers; Comments: Comments Off

Want to enhance your knowledge of the petroleum industry? How about a petroleum museum! At the museums, watch history come to life with interactive displays, informative guides, and live demonstrations. Some even have specific, focused, elementary, middle and high school educational tours. From Calgary to France to West Virginia, petroleum museums tell fascinating stories of oil discovery, production, to showcasing some of the modern uses of oil you might not know about.

For instance, at the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Energy exhibit, the Exploration gallery features the latest techniques used to search for hydrocarbons, from magnetometers and gravimeters to seismic vibrator trucks. In the Geology in the Field interactive, gaze across a barren, mountainous landscape, and watch as holographic illusions of two petroleum geologists materialize and explain what they are doing in the middle of nowhere. A massive Vibroseis truck interrupts them, sending its booming vibrations deep into the rock below.

At the Indonesian Oil and Gas Museum, the exhibits display how important the role of oil and gas is as the source of energy, for fuel, lubricants and petrochemical products. There’s even an oil tree that symbolically displays at its branches various products resulting from the refinery processes of oil and gas.

Check out our full petroleum museum listings HERE. Have plans to attend one on the list? Share your experience with us by Joining the conversation on Facebook— www.Facebook.com/Energy4me. You can also connect with us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Energy4me!  

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University Make Discovery!

Author: Anthony Darby; Published: May 24, 2012; Category: Energy, Energy Education, Energy sources; Tags: energy education, Environment, students; Comments: Comments Off

By Marva Morrow, Educational Consultant

Researchers from Virginia Commonwealth University were looking for ways to store hydrogen for use in hydrogen-powered cars when they discovered a new class of materials that efficiently trap and remove carbon dioxide from a mixture of gases. Their work was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

An article recently published in Energy Wire states this new way to capture carbon dioxide in a technology holds promise both for carbon dioxide capture and storage and for the natural gas processing industry. “From the well to the pipe to the end-user, you need to significantly remove CO2 and other sulfur-containing materials,” said Hani El-Kaderi, who invented the material with his colleague Mohammad Rabbani. This is done in gas purification plants, so when the gas reaches consumers, it contains about 2 percent CO2.

The new material can remove even that 2 percent CO2 impurity, which would result in a purer gas that burns hotter than the unprocessed fuel. And the 2 percent of volume occupied by CO2 would also be saved, which could make a big difference in the fuel tank when compressed natural gas (CNG) is used to power vehicles.

The new nano-engineered material is called BILP (benzimidazole-linked polymers). A 1-gram chunk, about the weight of a size to the cap of a pen, contains within it the surface area of 11 tennis courts. The material is covered in pores, so that when natural gas is passed over the material, the CO2 impurity gets trapped in the cavities. It is more efficient than MEA at trapping CO2, according to research by the scientists published in the journal Chemical Communications.

The greatest advantage would be to the natural gas purification industry. Lowering the pressure in the chamber allows CO2 to escape the cavities, and the material can then be reused. The material can be synthesized cost-effectively on a mass scale, since industry already makes similar chemicals for other applications, said El-Kaderi.

In the Barnett Shale in Texas, where hydraulic fracturing was first employed with great success, the region has gone from zero processing capacity in 1999 to being able to process more than 4 billion cubic feet of gas per day. The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that shale gas production will increase from 5 trillion cubic feet in 2010 to as much as 13.6 trillion cubic feet in 2035.

What are your thoughts on this subject?  

Join the conversation and discuss  with us on Facebook— www.Facebook.com/Energy4me. You can also connect with us on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Energy4me.

Happy Birthday, Mother Earth!

Author: Anthony Darby; Published: Apr 19, 2012; Category: Energy Education, Environment; Tags: Earth, energy education, Energy4me, Environment; Comments: Comments Off

By Marva Morrow

The Earth gives us everything we need! Let’s celebrate our wonderful Earth on April 22!

1970 was the debut of devoting a day to teaching people about the importance of protecting the environment. Wisconsin Senator, Gaylord Nelson, announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment.”  

The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

Earth Day activities vary around the world—from college campus demonstrations to recycling drives to clean-up events—but all are dedicated to the same goals: a healthy environment, clean energy options and a greener future.

What are you doing to celebrate Earth Day? Please share your ideas with us at:

www.Facebook.com/Energy4me or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Energy4me

For ideas on how others are celebrating, check out the following websites:

http://funschool.kaboose.com/globe-rider/earth-day/

http://www.epa.gov/earthday/

Vampire Energy – Ah, Ah, Ah

Author: Heather Stanford; Published: Oct 26, 2011; Category: Energy, Energy Conservation, Energy Education, Environment; Tags: Education, Energy, Energy Conservation, Environment; Comments: Comments Off

Beware! Vampire energy could be lurking behind every corner in your house. You might ask yourself “What is vampire energy and how can I protect myself?”

Vampire energy is electrical power used by appliances and equipment while switched off or not performing their primary function, often waiting to be activated. This loss of energy is known as standby or vampire energy, it’s fairly small but increasing in households across the globe.

Modern appliances and electronic devices that have lights or digital displays receive signals continuously and act like vampires sucking energy even when they are turned off!

Listed are a few simple things you can do at home to cut down on vampire energy.

• unplug your appliances and portable chargers when not in use
• use a power strip for things like your computer, fax machine and printer and then turn the power strip off.
• Purchase appliances that use less energy, look for the Energy Star labels

Some of the biggest culprits that waste energy in our homes are the adapters that come with rechargeable or battery-powered devices such as cordless phones, cell phones, digital cameras, music players, and power tools. They can draw power when plugged in whether the device is fully charged or connected.

By doing these simple tasks at home, you can save energy, save money, and take a bite out of vampire energy!

Learn more ways to save energy!