Energy

When teaching energy, it is important we have a clear understanding ourselves of the topic to then teach this confidently. To be able to deliver this lesson: we have to accommodate all learners and remain sensitive. Some children will not react well to this subject as it is potentially affecting their futures. However, we need to make all aware of the damage we have caused that could be prevented in other situations.

Personally, I wasn’t aware of how often we utilise energy- it surrounds us yet we can’t always see it- majority of us would struggle to function without it. It is essentially the ability to do work! (US Energy Information Administration) To begin this topic, Andrew asked us to consider how we used energy this morning. This morning alone I used energy whilst: sitting with the car ignition on to heat the car up, having a shower with hot water, leaving switches on etc. It is vital for us as teachers to raise awareness to children of the underlying issues such as the rapid decrease of non-renewable energy for instance: fossil fuels that will inevitably run out. Despite numerous reports of how quickly we are burning through our natural resources, many are still in denial that climate change is occurring. It took over 200 years to develop fossil fuels-yet- man is using natural resources 1.7 times faster than the Eco-system can regenerate them which has caused mass destruction to our planet.  (Dalton, 2018)) Below are some pictures for anyone who is in disbelief about climate change:

 

 

 

cliffs eroded by rising sea levels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have already started eating away at our future supply of natural resources which places us in a worse situation. In order to save what is remaining of our planet we all need to adapt our habits quickly to a cleaner, renewable society to help produce the energy we need and then conserve it- emphasise the importance of this as practitioners to children. Encourage children to use alternative renewable energy such as wind, heat, solar, water and plants.

This topic has to be taught in schools so children are not oblivious to real life scenarios. However- on a more positive note- we live in a country which is in one of the best states when it comes to climate change. The aim for our country is to use 100% renewable energy by 2020. (Hirsh, 2019) There is next to no countries in the same situation which is astounding for Scotland. Our pupils will be pleased to hear that Scotland is on the correct path to creating a sustainable future for our next generation (which I am technically included in.) I will definitely be heavily involved within this area in school and hope to make a difference to our future learners and encourage them to make more environmentally friendly choices!

I engaged well with Louises’ workshop today: we had a debate on-

” Are wind turbines a viable alternative to fossil fuels ?”

Debating interlinks to political literacy and is a skill a child will utilise throughout their life. In the classroom, debate as a pedagogy can be very creative and effective – as you can potentially use it for any topic- as long as it is not too controversial. We could also incorporate role play when completing this task in the classroom as they usually engage well with this. During Andrews science workshop, we completed a selection of tasks linked to a range of energy sources. When taking part in science experiments in the classroom- health and safety is always key! we need to stress this as teachers to our class. Children are often inquisitive and want to try new things that they are not familiar with. This would be a perfect opportunity to organise someone from a company to come out and have a chat with the class about the dangers of electricity such as someone from the local council or Scottish power. I enjoyed participating in all tasks. However, I would probably do the marble activity when teaching this topic as it allows children to use their collaborative skills to make this activity work through the help of peers. It would help to process the ability of powered energy through a running tap as they are able to watch this happen for themselves. Children love interacting with this type of experiment as the results often fascinate them!

To conclude, I must say that I was a lot more familiar with concepts of ‘energy’ than I was aware. Majority of the topics we have studied while on this module all interlink such as climate change, disasters and todays topic of energy. Therefore, i already had a bit of previous knowledge on issues raised such as the excessive amount of fossil fuels being used by man that is destroying our planet and the various types of energy. UWS students have many graduate attributes- I noticed two in particular i used frequently over the last few weeks- influential and driven. I was driven to learn new things to be able to provide the best quality education for my students and to influence them to make more conscious decisions about what is beneficial for our planet- after all there only is one!

 

 

 

 

References:

Dalton. J, (2018) Humans have used a years’ worth of Earth’s resources in just seven months [online] available: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/earth-overshoot-day-natural-resources-humans-planet-nature-damage-global-footprint-a8460756.html

Hirsh. S, (2019) Scotlands new target: 100% renewable electricity in 2020 [online] available: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/07/scotland-wind-energy-new-record-putting-country-on-track-for-100-renewable-electricity-in-2020

US energy information administration. (2019) What is energy?  [online] available: https://www.eia.gov/