EES 491: Educational Outreach in Sustainability and EnergyKatie Kehoegreen

Institute for Sustainable Energy InternEastern Connecticut State University

Abstract I am an intern in the Educational Outreach sector of the Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE). I am completing my internship for the Fall 2010 semester. I am working under Laurel Kohl, who is the Energy Technical Specialist for Education & Training, at ISE and my faculty advisor is Dr. Fred Loxsom. I am also working with Laura Worthington, who is the Energy Technical Specialist for Education & Training at ISE. My internship objectives are to 1. Demonstrate knowledge of sustainability concepts; 2. Demonstrate knowledge of basic energy use and sources 3. Design and adapt lessons to effectively teach sustainability and energy use for elementary and middle school students; 4. Teach elementary and middle school groups key concepts of sustainability and energy use 5. Evaluate effectiveness of lessons taught. I complete all my work on my own time, and meet about once a week with Laurel Kohl and Laura Worthington to explain what I have accomplished, express problems I was having, and to receive feedback. As an elementary education major with a sustainable energy studies minor this internship has provided me with wonderful opportunities to broaden my knowledge of lesson plans and curriculum standards., given me opportunities to work hands on with in the classroom and with students and opportunities in pre-professional training.

ACE Action Team/Keep Connecticut

Cool Contest

At Windham Middle School, I work with 5th-8th graders during the after school program every Tuesday. These students are part of an ACE Action Team which is participating in the Keep Connecticut Cool Contest. The students are leading the school to become more sustainable through encouraging fellow peers, faculty and community to be more sustainable and energy aware. The students have selected multiple smaller goals and one larger goal which they are working towards. They are beginning with their smaller goals which include, recycling awareness in their school, replacing Styrofoam trays in the cafeteria , going to the nearby elementary school to talking about sustainability, making morning announcements to raise sustainability awareness, and conserving water by encouraging peers to respect water in bathrooms and from water fountains. The bigger long-term project is acquiring solar panels for the school. This includes getting in touch with administration, researching options, and fundraising. The students are also sponsoring ACE to come and give a free school wide presentation.

Ecological Footprint Unit PlanI adjusted a preexisting ISE Ecological Footprint Lesson Plan aimed at grades 6-12 into a Unit Plan for 5th grade. The goal was to create a lesson that could be presented to a 5th grade classroom and could be used to by other teachers in Connecticut. The unit plan incorporates four lesson plans in it. I met with Laurel kohl and Laura Worthington in the creation of the unit plan, presenting them with rough drafts of the unit plan. They then gave advice and directions. I would adjust accordingly then we would meet again until a final product free of errors and confusing language that was clearly formatted and easy to follow was created. On Monday October 18, 2010, along with Laura Worthington, I assisted in presenting the lesson plan one to three fifth grade science classes.

Institute for Sustainable Energy

Windham Middle School

Meeting with Laurel Kohland Laura Worthington

Connecticut Science Teachers Association Education Conference

On Saturday October 30,2010, I attended the CSTA Education Conference at Hamden Middle School. At the conference, I assisted Laurel Kohl out at the interactive table during breakfast and at the ISE/Keep Connecticut Cool table in the exhibit hall. I attended three sessions, one about the ACE action Team and Keep Connecticut Cool, one by Jeff Winokur about integrating Literacy into the classroom, and one by Dr.Ralph Yulo about seeds. I also attended the keynote speaker who was Jeff Winokur.

Future Scenario Forms & RHAM Middle School

The Future Scenario Forms were an activity I had originally created for the Ecological Footprint Unit Plan. They evolved into a separate activity which has students predict ecological footprints in the future. On December 10, 2010, I am going with Laurel and Laura to RHAM Middle School to implement the activity with groups of 8th graders.

Layered Curriculum Lesson Plan & Research Paper

Laurel Kohl, asked me create a lesson plan which used the layered curriculum style created by Kathie Nunley. We decided the lesson plan would be about climate change and satisfy Connecticut Science Standards 9.8 and 9.9. As I am developing this lesson plan I have researched material such as articles, games, experiments, videos, projects and other assorted tasks, to be used in the three layers. Layer C, the first layer creates the foundation of knowledge for the students. Layer B incorporates the material they have learned with new material with a factor of fun. Layer A applies what the students have learned to an analytical question.

Dr. Loxsom asked me to complete a research paper as part of my internship. The topic for my research paper is layered Curriculum and climate change and outlines the process of creating a lesson plan which encompasses both.

For Further InformationInstitute for Sustainable Energy Website: www.sustainenergy.org

Keep Connecticut Cool\ Contest: www.keepconnecticutcool.org

Alliance for Climate Education: http://www.acespace.org/

Internship Blog: http://kehoegreenkatie.spaces.live.com/