Energy Literacy

1 | Education & Workforce Development eere.energy.gov

Energy Literacy

Presenter: Joshua Sneideman

Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow

US Department of Energy, EERE-EEWD

[email protected]

MOSS Imagines Tomorrow


Energy Literacy Initiative

Previous Literacy Work• Atmospheric Science Literacy Framework• Climate Literacy Framework• Earth Science Literacy Framework• Ocean Literacy Framework


The Energy Literacy Framework

Download http://www1.eere.energy.gov/education/energy_literacy.html


• A better understanding of energy can:

– Lead to more informed decision– Improve the security of the nation– Promote economic development– Lead to sustainable energy use– Reduce environmental risks and negative impacts– Help individual and organizations save money

Energy Literacy


Widely accepted set of Fundamental Energy Principles and Concepts

• Derived from the engagement of an expansive and broad assortment of stakeholders

• 250 different offices, organizations, and education partners

• Energy Literacy Wiki of 4,587 registered users and 177,222 page views

• Final Language drafting by Inter-Agency Education Working Group

• Accuracy review by Federal Agency content experts

• 13 USGCRP agencies approved document language (DOE, DOD, DOC, HHS, DOI, State, DOT, EPA NASA, NSF,USAID, DO Ag, Smithsonian Institute) WH-Office of Science and Technology Policy

Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education document.


7 | Energy Education and Workforce Development eere.energy.gov

Others Implementing Energy Literacy Principles

• Next Generation Science Standards K-12• National Energy Education Development Project• AP Energy Course (in discussion)• Discovery Education

Energy STEM Camp

• CLEAN Collection and Community• National Geographic Education

Connect! Transform the Future Documentary

• iBook on Renewable Energy by Ecodads

Search Databases of Lesson Planshttp://cleanet.org http://www.need.org https://www.facingthefuture.org http://energyliteracyprinciples.org/basic_search.aspx


Energy Literacy: 7 Essential Principles


World Wide Energy Consumption More than Double in Next 25 Years


Energy’s Elevated Role:

Energy is one of the NGSS seven crosscutting concepts that bridge disciplinary boundaries, uniting core ideas throughout the fields of science engineering. The purpose is to help students deepen their understanding of the disciplinary core ideas and develop a coherent and scientifically based view of the world. (NGSS, 2013, p79)


• The CCSS are designed to ensure real understanding. The materials are designed to go deeper into fewer topics, so kids master the material instead of memorizing. At the same time, the learning is more hands-on with a focus on what students will use in life.

• Shared responsibility for students’ literacy development is based on extensive research establishing the need for college and career ready students to be proficient in reading complex informational text independently in a variety of content areas.

• “Educators around the country are exploring innovative ways to teach the new

common-core literacy standards, and some are calling attention to an approach they say is working well: interdisciplinary thematic units” from Education Week Online- By Liana Heitin

CCS and NGSS: Call for Interdisciplinary Approach


Multidisciplinary Systems Based Approach




The Energy Literacy Scaffold

• The principles are meant to be broad categories representing big ideas.

• Each fundamental concept under the principles is intended to be unpacked and applied as appropriate for the learning audience and setting.

• The concepts are not intended to be addressed in isolation. A given lesson on energy will most often connect to many of the concepts.

The Energy Literacy Framework is not prescriptive, it is a scaffold.


Biology, English & History Unite


Math, History and English Working Together


Who reads their electric bill?

Quiz time:


Math, Government, and English


Systems Thinking


Social Justice



Over a billion people without access to electricity worldwide


Access to energy correlates to wealth

25 | Energy Education and Workforce Development eere.energy.gov25

• Carbon neutral;

• Diverse, homegrown supply options;

• Sustainable use of natural resources;

• Creates American jobs;

• Accessible, affordable and secure; and

• 20% more efficient by 2020.

• U.S. Produces 25% of the world’s

carbon emissions; • Dependent on foreign sources; subject to price

volatility; • Increasingly vulnerable energy delivery

systems; and • 2/3 of source energy is wasted.

TRANSFORMATION

Today’s U.S. Energy

System

Sustainable Energy

System

Global Energy Challenge

“The evidence is overwhelming, the science is clear, and the threat from climate change is real and urgent. This is my judgment and it is the almost universal judgment of the scientific community.” – Secretary Department of Energy, Ernest Moniz


American Energy Literacy

•3 of 4 Americans think they have “a lot” or “a fair amount” of knowledge about energy, but only about 1 in 10 passed a basic quiz on energy topics.

•More than 50% think that the U.S. generates its electricity from pollution free energy sources.

•90% of Americans think that schools should teach energy conservation.

•88% of Americans think that federal agencies should place more emphasis on educating adults to solve energy problems.

conducted by the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation in 2002, “Energy Literacy in America,” energy problems.


What and how we say it matters!

80% of girls are interested in a STEM career, but only 13% choose a STEM field as their career choice. “Girl Scouts Generation STEM: What Girls Say about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math” pg. 26; Girl Scouts Research Institute, 2012.

Hispanics, African Americans, and American Indians make up 24% of the overall American workforce, but they only account for 9% of the workforce in science and engineering. Right now, women and minorities make up 70 percent of college students, but only 45 percent of undergraduate STEM degree holders.

From One Educator to Another


ResourcesEnergy Literacy Principles

Search Databases of Lesson Planshttp://energyliteracyprinciples.org/basic_search.http://cleanet.org http://www.need.org


Curriculum Search Tool






www1.eere.energy.gov/education/


B.I.T.E.S. SCENARIOS





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ReadDownload energy literacy frameworkhttp://www1.eere.energy.gov/education/energy_literacy.html

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NEXT STEPS


The opinions and information presented here today are the opinions of Joshua M. Sneideman and do not necessarily represent the thoughts and opinions of the DOE or represent the Einstein Fellowship

Joshua M. Sneideman Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow

[email protected]

Download E.L.F. www.globalchange.gov/resources/educators

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Energy Literacy