Energy is one of the things we use (and take for granted) every single day, but we never take a second thought on where it comes from or how it actually works. For the last two weeks of the sustainable development module I, through the lecture and workshops, was able to broaden my knowledge on energy and what it actually is. It is defined by the U.S. EIA (2019) as the ability to do work. Although I did National 5 physics in school for a year and learned about energy it really wasn’t my strong point and I didn’t think at the time it would’ve been useful for my future career – I was very wrong. Due to this, I don’t have a vast amount of information on this subject, but I found these inputs informative but also very enjoyable as I was able to discover and discuss new facts I would never have known before. Although I never found energy as a strong point I was surprised by the amount of my peers which I sat with and how much knowledge they had on the subject – some of them were interested in how renewable energy helps climate change while others had solar panels on their homes.
Only 20 years ago, the world relied massively on fossil fuels in order to power our countries, cities and towns but since scientists have discovered renewable sources and figured out how to utilise it, in the UK it now accounts for 20 percent of our total energy generated. (Biedron, 2019). We rely on fossil fuels for a lot of our daily tasks. For example, the petrol and diesel which runs our cars, coal or oil to generate electricity and natural gas for cooking and heating our homes. But thanks to these renewable sources we now have alternatives which are better for our planet and are ultimately one of the only ways we can help to fight against climate change – electric cars which reduces the use of petrol and diesel, wind power and solar power to generate electricity and biodegradable and food waste being burnt and turned into heat energy. If scientists never implemented the usage of renewable energy in 50 years we would have run out of oil and in 54 years we would have run out of gas (Business Standard, 2015). This portrays that we, as a planet, mainly within the past 2 centuries have used up almost all of the fossil fuel the earth has. This is why it was crucial for scientists to come up with new ways for energy which also didn’t damage the earth as much as fossil fuels have done.
One of the workshops I found extremely interesting and useful was Louise’s debate in week 1 of the topic. We discussed as a section alternative energy sources and what our opinions on them were. It sparked a heated debate between myself and my peers as we spoke about one main renewable energy type, wind turbines, and if we believed them to be a viable alternative to fossil fuels. It was interesting to hear many different perspectives in the idea of renewable energy and I wasn’t surprised at the amount of people who are for it and agree it is a much better solution. This workshop allowed me to build many skills needed for primary teaching including skills like debating, inquiring and incisiveness. In teaching you must be incisive as when in a classroom if a child asks you a question you must give a clear answer using any knowledge in that area you have. As a student teacher, I must also look at the GTCS Standards for Registration (2006) and a standard which relates to this debate topic is communicate the purpose of the learning and give explanations at the appropriate level(s) for all learners;
- stimulate learner participation in debate and decision-making about issues which are open-ended, complex, controversial or emotional;
- demonstrate effective questioning strategies;
This lesson, but also the whole module, has had many different ways of linking to other curriculum areas; science and art are just a few. For example, when in Andrews workshop about energy we created cars out of different materials to demonstrate how physics work and how our cars produce energy in order to move. This is an ideal lesson to do with children at the upper end of a primary school, it’s fun, interactive but also portrays clearly about the use of energy and physics. An example of a Curriculum for Excellence(n.d.) Experiences and Outcome which relates to this topic is: Through exploring properties and sources of materials, I can choose appropriate materials to solve practical challenges. SCN 1-15a
Now I have completed not only the topic of energy, but I have also finished the whole sustainable development module I can fully reflect on the benefits it has had on me. When this module began, I was sceptical about how much I would enjoy it as it has been something, I have never bothered with but when thinking back I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I am now much more knowledgeable on the subject and have broadened and built many skills i.e. my critical thinking has improved greatly and so has my confidence. I now am excited to be able to use all the theory and also lessons I learned from this module within a classroom.
Biedron, T. (24 April 2019) Renewable Energy in the United Kingdom[Blog, Online] Available:https://www.greenmatch.co.uk/blog/2018/03/renewable-energy-in-the-united-kingdom[Accessed: 18 November 2019]
Curriculum for Excellence. (n.d.) [Online] Available: https://education.gov.scot/Documents/All-experiencesoutcomes18.pdf[Accessed: 19 November 2019]
GTCS Professional Standards. (2006) Standard for Initial Teacher Education [Online] Available: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/the-standard-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf[Accessed: 19 November 2019]
U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2019) What is energy?[Online] Available: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/what-is-energy/[Accessed: 18 November 2019.]
