Energy in Our Lives Carousel
Energy is everywhere in our lives.Copyright https://pixabay.com/photos/wind-power-generator-wind-energy-336580/
Students discover that they already know a lot about energy through their own life experiences. As active consumers of various forms of energy, they are aware of energy purchases for electricity, home heating/cooling and transportation. Through the pedagogical technique of a "carousel," all students become involved in brainstorming and contributing ideas. The goal is to introduce students to key terms and issues associated with energy, as a prerequisite for the rest of the unit.
Engineers play a critical role in harnessing energy resources for human use. They are among the professionals who enable our world-wide transportation, communication, safe shelter, etc. These beneficial technological advances consume a lot of energy. But, developed countries, like the US, that have benefitted from engineered technologies now demand a more sustainable consumption of energy. As the national and global populations increase, this becomes more and more important in order to reduce energy use and human impacts on the Earth's systems. So today's engineers are creating solutions by designing tools and devices to be more energy efficient and developing new ways to harness renewable energy resources so that our impacts can be minimized.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Describe how and why energy is important in their own lives.
- Understand the importance of the brainstorming process.