Putting a Spark in Learning:Energy and the Power Grid in a STEM Classroom

Nick WilseyL&N STEM Academy, Knoxville

MAKE IT PROBLEM-BASEDGive teams of students a hypothetical scenario:

Tennessee has set two goals: Reduce the “environmental impact” of its electricity generation, and meet the demand of 20,000 plug-in electric vehicles by 2024.

Teams write a proposal to recommend a portfolio of solutions, which may include building new power plants, taking existing ones offline, installing storage or meters, adopting energy efficiency or conservation policies, etc.

MAKE IT COMPETITIVEThese national competitions can motivate students to explore energy and the power grid.

MAKE IT HANDS-ON, VISUALHave students analyze and build circuits in computer simulations. Circuits actually make sense when students can visualize the current flowing. Try the applets at falstad.com/circuit or phet.colorado.edu

MAKE ITCOMMON CORE

MAKE IT A GAME

Here’s a research/writing prompt: The narrator of the Modern Marvels “Renewable Energy” episode says that “with current technology, solar photovoltaic panels covering 10% of Nevada could provide all the electricity used by the United States.” If sunshine is free, abundant, and non-polluting, why don’t we see more solar panels around? After researching informational texts on solar power, write a report in which you explain the challenges of developing solar power on a large scale. Support your discussion with evidence from your research.

Not “STEMmy” enough? Have students design and conduct an experiment to test the effect of clouds, angle, altitude of sun, colored filters, or a layer of dust on the power output of a solar cell. Or, have the students mathematically verify the “10% of Nevada” claim… this is a great task that hits several Algebra 1 standards.

Ask students, What do you think is the greatest engineering achievement of the 20th century? Here’s a hint: It’s everywhere around you, it’s highly visible, but you probably don’t even notice it … the electric power grid!

To give students a better awareness of the grid and how it works, have them do a scavenger hunt for parts of the grid around their neighborhood or on the ride home. Give them photos of what to look for.

How can high school teachers effectively engage students in learning about energy and the power grid?

Students will ask, should we decommission four units of the Kingston coal plant? How will we make up the lost power?

Should we offer incentives for rooftop solar? How much will it cost, and how will it affect the grid’s reliability?

Have students build this AM radio from aluminum foil, wire, card-board tubes, a diode, and a piezoelectric earphone. The project demon-strates several essential principles of electronics.

Scan this QR code to watch a video on how to build the

“crystal radio” shown above.

Hey, I found one of those

trashcan- looking things!

Scan the QR code below

for the full scavenger

hunt lesson.

Students could design an app that controls a “smart” home.

For both of these competitions, students could identify an environmental issue in their community (related to energy) and develop a solution.

Students can imagine how the power grid will evolve over the next 20 years.

Acknowledgements:This work was supported primarily by the Engineering Research Center Program of the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy under NSF Award Number

EEC-1041877 and the CURENT Industry Partnership Program.