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Title: EYE: A Middle School STEM Unit on Energy Flow
This middle school STEM unit called Energy in Your Environment (EYE) was co-created by middle school science teachers, architectural studies, and science education faculty with the goal of improving students’ energy literacy and energy conservation knowledge. The unit fosters place-based education by using the school building to enhance systems thinking about energy consumption and flow between the building and surrounding environment. Within the unit, students explore the role of electrical, thermal, and light energy in their school building and consider how building features (such as windows, lighting, and insulation) impact energy flow and conservation. Students use their energy systems knowledge to design and build a desk-top one-room energy efficient building using simple materials to explain how and why their design impacts energy flow. Five teachers implemented the unit with over 200 students. The growth from pre- to post-measurements was statistically significant for students energy flow knowledge and tracing the path of energy (F(1, 209) = 3118.3, p = 0.001). In our presentation, we will provide an overview of the unit, our student learning data, and result summary.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
2009127
NSF-PAR ID:
10525051
Author(s) / Creator(s):
;
Publisher / Repository:
Missouri Association for Rural Educators (MARE)
Date Published:
Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
energy flow place-based
Format(s):
Medium: X
Institution:
Missouri Association of Rural Educators (MARE)
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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