Energy
Everything that happens in this world requires energy, so this topic is more than relevant to be taught in the classroom. Energy is never destroyed but is transferred, we are constantly taking part in this energy cycle too through the heat our body makes, the CO2 we produce, the food we consume and many other things. I found this video that I think we be useful in a classroom as is simplifies what energy is:
As an energy source, we are dependant upon fossil fuels, this use of fossil fuels is damaging to our environment and these resources will not last forever. This topic is well discussed and debated due to the damage is causes, however to transition into renewable energy that doesn’t harm our environment will take time and these methods also need to be developed . In Scotland, our government set a target of being 100% reliable upon renewable energy for electricity by 2020 and 50% reliable of all energy by 2030 (Scottish Government, 2018). This is encouraging to see that our country is taking action to become more environmentally responsible and I think that the changes we have made should be globally recognised and used. I think that focusing in on our own country would be an important thing to do in a classroom for this topic as it provides relevance and a realisation that this effects us and our communities. This video highlights some reasons on why Scotland is leading in the UK for renewable energy use:
To delve deeper into the benefits and drawbacks of alternative energy, with focus of wind power, we prepared for and carried out a debate as a large group. We got into small groups to research both for and against arguments concerning wind power and then joined with another group to share the points we made and note main ones. We then had two groups to begin the debate, the ‘For’ arguments were said and then as a group we had to quickly decide on a relevant ‘against’ argument using the research we had collected. This task developed communication and collaborative skills through working in groups and sharing our information with each other. I believe this would be a meaningful task to carry out in a similar way in a class room, as well as the pupils gaining knowledge and understanding of the topic they could develop as a person by gaining confidence and working within a group.
As an educator, a crucial aspect that we should engage in to ensure we are doing our job to the best standard is reflection. The theorist, Donald A Schön provides an interesting insight to ways in which we should reflect, these being reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. Reflecting-in-action focuses on considering a current situation and acting immediately, we can do this though analysing and using prior experiences to impact a situation. Secondly, the concept of reflection-on-action, this is reflection after a situation, we can reconsider the situation and realise what could have been done differently to better the outcome incase this situation occurs again. (Schön, n.d)
Another theorist who provides another outlook on reflection is Stephen Brookfield. He categorises four ‘critical lenses’ for deepening our reflection, these being; self, imagined pupils, peers and colleagues and then policy and theory. This way of reflection provides the means to consider how things are affect and are affected by each of the lenses (Brookfield, 2006). Throughout my series of blogs for this module, I have focussed on using this theory for reflecting, I have considered all four of the lenses when reflecting and have found this an effective way to do so.
References
- Scottish Government, 2018. Renewable energy. [Online] Available: https://www2.gov.scot/renewableenergy [Accessed 15 November 2019].
- Schön, D. (n.d.). The reflective practitioner. arena.
- Brookfield, S. (2006). Becoming a critically reflective teacher. 2nd ed. san francisco: Jossey-bass.
