The Center for Renewable Energy Education & Demonstration (CREED) program strives to help teachers strengthen their science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) curricula by integrating energy education into their lessons.
CREED hosted K-12 teachers from across Minnesota at the Laurentian Environmental Center (LEC), as well as touring energy efficiency and renewable energy sites. “The live-in situation at LEC enabled teachers to rub shoulders and share teaching ideas,” says Roger Aiken, former lead instructor for CREED. “And the site visits were the single most important aspect of our training according to the teachers. What they had learned in discussions and presentations finally made sense in the real world.”
With help from CERTs seed grants in three regions (Northwest, Southeast and West Central), CREED instructors graded the teachers progress for eventual graduate credits from Hamline University’s School of Education.
“We provide content to middle and high school teachers and they pass this on to their grade 6-12 students,” Aiken explains. “Students take this information home to their parents and other members of their communities. For example, one teacher initiated a project for his students to see how much energy their family could save. The kids took home kilowatt meters to record before and after changes their families made to their electrical appliances and lifestyles. The kids got into this in a big way to see if their families could achieve the greatest savings.”
Another teacher designed plans for her family’s new home by building a cutout model and then using it in her class to show energy savings available using smart, energy efficient designs.
Aiken mentioned diligent fund raising and listening to teachers’ feedback as advice he would give to similar programs. This attention to the teacher’s needs and ideas appeared to pay off. In a thank you letter to CERTs for helping fund the project, one teacher noted:
To have the opportunity to expand my knowledge on all aspects of the energy field is a great thing. I was able to take part in some great hands on activities and field trips. We learned about how energy affects each and every one of us in ways that we do not even realize. With this experience I am now much more equipped to pass the knowledge about the energy field on to the students in our community.
