About NEED
More than 30 years ago, The NEED Project began as a one-day
celebration of energy education when National Energy Education Day was
recognized by a Joint Congressional Resolution. In the same year, President
Jimmy Carter issued a Presidential Proclamation stressing the need for
comprehensive energy education in our schools, a reduction of our dependence of
fossil fuels, and increasing use of renewable energy technologies and energy
efficiency. Today, NEED’s work continues with the goal of reaching every
appropriate classroom in the United States.
NEED students and teachers understand energy. They are local experts and leaders in community discussions on energy use, energy efficiency, and new energy technologies. They reach out to their communities to actively teach about energy and energy decisions and they practice smart energy decision making with their own families and in their own homes. NEED’s reach, program, and portfolio are very different than they were in the early years, but they still focus on the important student leadership development that sets NEED apart from being just another curriculum organization. The balanced approach to a discussion of energy is fundamental to how NEED curriculum is written, delivered, and shared nationwide.
Growing from a one day celebration with a few NEED activities – like the ever-popular and newly-updated Energy Carnival NEED designs and delivers curriculum and support for virtually any classroom and at any grade level – from kindergarten to high school and beyond – from science and pre-engineering labs to language arts and afterschool clubs. Students use hands-on, inquiry based lessons to explore the physics and chemistry of energy. They engineer turbines and generators, testing their models for maximum electricity output. Students write and perform plays about energy in drama class, calculate payback periods of energy efficient appliances in math class, and discuss the history and human impact of energy use in social studies.
NEED students are working in career and technology classrooms learning how to design buildings to maximize energy efficiency. They are installing solar panels and monitoring wind turbine output. NEED students are the future of the energy workforce. Students interested in engineering, science, economics, environmental sciences, law, geology, and a host of other disciplines have a role in the energy industry. NEED students understand the possibilities of careers in the industry through classroom activities, discussions with energy professionals, and the Career Currents newsletter, designed to provide today’s students with inspiration and information about careers in the energy industry.
As NEED grows and reaches more teachers and students each year, the curriculum, teacher training, and student leadership development are always held to the core principle of a balanced approach to energy education. Educators know that attending NEED training and using NEED curriculum allows them to deliver a balanced approach to energy education in their classroom. Educators report that the curriculum is appropriate for individual grade levels and that the training provided allows them to return to their classrooms and use the materials immediately. It is an honor to know that 100% of teachers attending NEED workshops say they would recommend the workshop to their peers and that they will use the materials in their classrooms.
NEED sponsors and partners know that supporting NEED programming provides teachers with the best in energy education and teacher support. Whether teaching the very basics of energy – forms and sources – or providing secondary educators with modules on the Chemistry of Energy Efficiency and Carbon Capture and Storage, NEED is committed to giving teachers the best and most up-to-date information possible and the tools to share that information with their classrooms.
NEED’s classroom and training offerings are robust, allowing all educators to find what they need within the NEED curriculum. NEED focuses its efforts and resources on educating teachers, students, and the general public on the following core areas:
The Science of Energy
Students at all grade levels learn about the forms of energy— heat, light, motion, sound, nuclear energy, and electrical energy—with age-appropriate, hands-on explorations that emphasize the scientific process and experimental design. A newly revised EnergyWorks curriculum gives elementary classrooms additional activities to teach concepts of heat, light, sound, motion, growth, and technology.
Renewable and Nonrenwable Sources of Energy
The curriculum provides comprehensive, objective information and activities on the energy sources that fuel our country, including their economic and environmental impacts. Students explore the history of energy, energy in current events, and consider future energy development opportunities and challenges. They understand that certain energy sources may be better choices for specific energy needs, and they discuss and debate the energy sources we use today and will use in the future. NEED continually updates its curriculum with the most up-to-date information available. Launching in Fall 2011 are three levels of revised and expanded solar modules to join the already expanded Exploring Photovoltaics for secondary students. Teachers are also excited about the new Exploring Oil and Natural Gas that will launch at multiple grade levels and provide expanded and new lessons
Electricity
NEED students learn about the atom and the particles that make up the atom. They understand electricity as an energy carrier. They learn about electrons and how they move; they build batteries and electromagnets. They explore circuits and learn how electricity is generated and measured. They research fusion and fission, photovoltaics and superconductors, electricity regulation, and politics and policy.
Students consider cleaner-coal technologies, renewable electricity, and natural gas fired electricity generation. They research nuclear energy as a growing option for generating the nation’s electricity. In the coming school year, students have an opportunity to look beyond our current electric system and consider Smart Grid technology in a new curriculum piece.
Transportation
NEED’s transportation materials cover the transportation fuels and vehicles in use today and the fuels and vehicles of the future. Students learn about gasoline, diesel, hybrid electric vehicles, and plug-in hybrids. Students learn about hydrogen with the DOE-sponsored H2 Educate curriculum, expand their knowledge of petroleum and its uses, and consider the advantages and disadvantages of the fuels we use to transport people and products from place to place.
Efficiency and Conservation
Learning to use energy wisely is the capstone component of the NEED program. Students learn to read utility meters, use light meters, investigate phantom loads, evaluate information from EnergyGuide labels, and make the most use of the SmartMeter installed on their home. They learn about caulking, weather-stripping, and programmable thermostats. They monitor energy consumption and explore ways to reduce it—like using ENERGY STAR® products at home and at school. In a new curriculum module, students explore the Science of Energy Efficiency and how homes and buildings can be built with maximum energy efficiency in mind.
Coming in Fall 2011 is a Chemistry of Energy Efficiency module supported by Shell and the American Chemistry Council to provide educators with a new module to teach as part of the International Year of Chemistry. Reducing energy consumption goes beyond the school building with the Saving Energy at Home and School program, providing classroom lessons and take home efficiency measures that connect what students are learning to their energy use at home. Families report saving energy and money working with NEED materials at home.
Synthesis of Energy Information
NEED’s curriculum incorporates activities to help synthesize energy information and create valuable connections between science and social science and the application of knowledge to decision making. Students undertake problem based learning activities and explore possible opportunities and challenges for many energy decisions.
Evaluation
Evaluation is a high priority for all of NEED’s programming areas. Teachers and students participate in pre and post knowledge assessments during training workshops and in the classroom. Launched in 2010, the online Pre/Post Energy Poll provides educators with a tool to assess student knowledge of energy, and NEED uses the data to determine areas of needed improvement in the curriculum and training. Teachers complete evaluations at local energy workshops and at all training events. Longitudinal evaluations are completed three months and one year after a teacher is introduced to NEED, and continue after that to determine the maximum impact and efficiency of NEED programming.
NEED’s Teacher Advisory Board of outstanding educators and subject matter experts review NEED materials for scientific accuracy, comprehensiveness, objectivity, educational soundness, and effectiveness. NEED participants — students, educators, sponsors, and partners — evaluate materials and training programs, as well as new activities. Using evaluation tools included with every unit, teachers evaluate individual activities and the entire NEED program. NEED believes in producing the highest quality curriculum and training possible. With annual updates as a core principle of NEED’s work, teacher feedback is immediately reviewed and alterations and course corrections are made if needed each year. How NEED delivers curriculum changes too. The 2010
2011 evaluation shows that access to online curriculum is important, but that teachers still find hard copies best for their use. Teachers use Facebook and Twitter and YouTube at times in the classroom, but continue to rely on email, mail, and word of mouth to learn about new opportunities.
Recognition
NEED encourages and rewards student leadership and innovation by sponsoring a Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement. Schools participating in NEED’s programs are invited to submit portfolios of their energy activities. Exceptional teachers and students are recognized for their efforts at the state and national level and are invited to attend NEED’s National Recognition Ceremonies held each June in Washington, DC. At the conference, students work with their peers to explore new energy activities while NEED teachers have the opportunity to network and re-energize for the coming school year.
Professional Development
Teachers continue to report that they do not receive adequate energy instruction in their college and university courses, yet state and national standards have significant sections devoted to the science of energy and to the energy resources used to provide electricity, transportation, and products. Working with education and energy advisors, NEED designs and delivers professional development opportunities for teachers that not only educate, but also energize and remind teachers of the fun that is possible in the classroom.
Whether attending a one-day workshop or the five-day National Energy Conference for Educators, teachers interact and share ideas with their peers. Speakers from local and national energy organizations share information about careers in the energy industry and the exciting energy technologies in development today. In addition, as school districts continue to seek ways to reduce budgets, many turn to energy conservation as a way to reduce overall costs. NEED hosts High Performance Schools Conferences and Energy Management for Schools Conferences for school district facilities personnel.
As consumers and community members, educators are a vital link in the process needed to make energy a priority at home, in the classroom, and in daily conversation. NEED believes in treating educators as the professionals they are, and in making their time with NEED instructors valuable, entertaining, and educational. Teachers often evaluate NEED training as “the best professional development I’ve ever attended.”
Network Resources
To serve teachers and students of all learning styles and using all forms of communication, NEED hosts a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/NEEDProject), a Twitter account (@NEED_Project), and has images of its activities on SmugMug. In Fall 2011, the library of NEED graphics launches as a teacher tool alongside the NEED Bibliography, State Standards Alignments, and the NEED Question Bank for assessment.
NEED stays connected to its network via its popular newsletters—Energy Exchange and Career Currents—and a variety of resources and opportunities available on NEED’s website, www.NEED.org, in addition to many outreach events each year. Energy Exchange provides teachers, students, and sponsors with information and activities about energy and exciting new technologies and discoveries. Career Currents exposes students to the diversity of energy careers. With over 34,000 readers, both newsletters are distributed throughout the school year, and all archived issues are available on www.NEED.org.
The most important network resources are NEED’s people – workshop facilitators, the staff, and classroom teachers and students who share the curriculum and training with peers and the public each year.
NEED Annual Reports
