Italian Classroom Materials Now Available!

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Sep 10, 2010; Category: Classroom materials, Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Energy, Energy Education, Science, SPE members, Uncategorized, Volunteering; Tags: Children, Classroom Instruction, Education, Energy, Energy4me, Lesson Plans, natural gas, oil, Petroleum, School, SPE, STEM, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Energy4me is excited to announce free downloadable Italian lesson plans and classroom activities on Energy4me.org!

Energy4me Kit materials and lesson plans that correspond with Energy4me’s “Oil and Natural Gas” book were translated into Italian for the “Energize Your Classroom Teacher Workshop” to be held during the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (ATCE) on 22 September 2010 in Florence, Italy. All materials are also now available for teachers to download directly from Energy4me.org! The workshop and Italian materials are free for teachers thanks to a generous sponsorship from ExxonMobil.

The kit downloads include fun classroom activities and hands-on experiments, ready-to-go classroom presentations, teaching aids, and speaker resources. Materials are tailored to age groups (primary, intermediate, and secondary students.)

The lesson plans address topics including the formation of natural gas and oil, finding and retrieving petroleum, products from petroleum, and oil and the environment. They are designed for teachers to use with students ages 10-18 in conjunction with the “Oil and Natural Gas” book. They were created using the 5E constructivist learning cycle, helping students build their own understanding from experiences and new ideas. The 5Es represent the five stages of a sequence for teaching and learning: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaboration and Evaluate.

Energy4me donates the “Oil and Natural Gas” book to teachers attending our teacher workshops around the globe. Books are also donated to the teacher when members of the Society of Petroleum Engineers give energy-related classroom presentations to students ages 5-18. Books can also be purchased and donated to teachers for wider distribution.

Energy4me’s educational materials are also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.

Building Blocks of an Engineering Career

Author: Guest Author; Published: Sep 2, 2010; Category: Classroom presentations, Education outreach, Engineering Careers, Math, Science; Tags: Careers, Children, Education, Engineering, Engineering Careers, Math, Parent, STEM, Student, Teacher, Volunteer; Comments: Be the first

Guest Author – Marva Morrow, Energy Education Consultant

What is your response when a child or student says “I like to build…” or “I want to build (blank) when I grow up?” Would your first reaction be to tell the child about engineering? The fact is, many people don’t connect engineering to these kinds of teachable moments. It’s a lost opportunity to introduce even small children to a rewarding career.

Here’s a way you can respond: Engineers are trail blazers! They do exciting things like design and create buildings, bridges, and low carbon cities. Engineers are people who solve problems and make things work.

There are over 200 types of engineering! This has lead to some confusion among students. Just like sports can be grouped into areas like football, baseball, soccer, tennis, golf, etc., the different types of engineering can be grouped into specializations: chemical, civil, electrical, engineering management, engineering sciences, geotechnical, mechanical, petroleum, and many others.

Engineers use innovation and creative ideas. Then they apply the principals of science and math to develop solutions to problems. Engineers make and maintain things with a practical purpose. Many engineers develop new products. During the process, they consider several factors. For example, in developing an industrial robot, engineers specify the functional requirements precisely; design and test the robot’s components; integrate the components to produce the final design; and evaluate the design’s overall effectiveness, cost, reliability, and safety. This process applies to the development of many different products, such as chemicals, computers, power plants, helicopters, and toys.

Become an engineer and love your work, live your life, be creative, work with great people, solve problems, design things that matter, never be bored, make a big salary, enjoy job flexibility, travel, make a difference and change the world!

Learn more about engineering careers!

Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf? Not these kids.

Author: Darci Ramirez; Published: Jun 15, 2010; Category: Classroom materials, Engineering Careers; Tags: Careers, Children, Education, Engineering, School, science, STEM, Technology; Comments: Comments Off

This week, the New York Times published an article about programs used introduce kindergarteners to engineering. Kids go through the A-B-C’s of the engineering process to structure a house for the Three Little Pigs that the big bad wolf just can’t blow down, amongst other activities.

The fact is, most kids don’t understand what engineers do. Not to mention engineering’s big bad image problem. We know the untrue stereotypes — sitting alone at at computer with wild hair, a pocket protector and thick glasses.

These kids are getting a taste of what engineering involves and how it can be a fun, rewarding career for all kinds of grown-ups. Solving problems. Creating. Working in teams. Referring to these types of class projects as “engineering” teaches kids that this is what engineering is all about.

Remember this: engineers change the world. They develop creative, practical solutions that make a difference in our everyday lives. Engineers work with other smart, inspiring people to invent, design and create things that matter. Together, we can huff and puff and blow those old stereotypes down.