UPEx’98

1. UPEx’98 SolarQuest™ Learn and Serve America with Renewable Energy

2. EcoSage™ Corporation • Mission To introduce America's youth to project-based, experiential education as a tool for ... • Life-long learning • Problem solving • Community service

3. UPEx'98 • Presentation Outline • Part 1: National Science Standards • Part 2: Introduction to SolarQuest™ • Part 3: SolarQuest™ Virtual Schoolhouse

4. Part 1: • National Science Standards • An Overview National Academy Press: 1.800.624.6242 www.nas.edu FOR MORE INFO...

5. National Science Standards • Developed by the Science Education Community • Adopted in 1995 by the U.S. Department of Education • Represents the Science Education Community’s vision for educational reform

6. National Science Standards ... • Define a scientifically literate individual and a scientifically functional society • Create a framework to judge whether particular actions serve the vision of a scientifically literate society • Offer a vision of excellence and equity for all Americans to preserve democratic values in a technological society

7. Standards Design Process An iterative process to yield broad consensus about the elements of science education for all students -- children and adults -- to achieve science excellence

8. Standards Organization Six key areas outlining broad principles of a science systems framework: • Science Teaching Standards • Professional Development Standards • Assessment Standards • Science Content Standards • Science Education Program Standards • Science Education System Standards

9. Science Teaching Standards Inquiry-based Science Programs • Guidance and facilitation of student learning • Authentic assessment of teaching & learning • Appropriate learning environments • Communities of science learners • Plan & develop science school programs

10. Professional Development Professional knowledge and skills among teachers • Learning science content through inquiry • Integrating knowledge about science with knowledge about learning • Developing the ability for lifelong learning • Assuring coherence and integration of professional development programs

11. Assessment Standards Criteria to judge quality of assessment practices • Assessment of opportunities to learn science • Match technical quality of data collected with consequences of actions taken • Fairness of assessment practices • Soundness of inferences made from assessments about student achievement and opportunities to learn.

12. Science Content Standards • Unifying concepts and processes • Science as inquiry • Physical science • Earth and space science • Science and technology • Science in personal and social perspectives • History of nature and science.

13. Science Education Standards • Consistent with other subject standards, especially math • Appropriate, interesting, relevant to students • Organized around inquiry • Appropriate and sufficient resources for all students • Equitable opportunities for all students to learn the standards • Develop communities that encourage, support, and sustain teachers

14. Science Education Standards • Congruent with teaching, professional development, assessment, content, standards • Coordination within and across agencies, institutions, organizations • Continuity over time • Resources to support policies • Possible unanticipated effects of policies • Responsibility of individuals to achieve the new vision of science education

15. Standards Alignment Science content standards and benchmarks relevant to renewable energy resource education American Association for the Advancement of Science Benchmarks for Science Literacy www.aaas.org FOR MORE INFO...

16. The Nature Of Technology • “What alternative ways are there to achieve the same ends, and how do the alternatives compare to the plan being put forward? • “Who benefits and who suffers? • “What are the financial and social costs, do they change over time, and who bears them? … “In deciding on proposals to introduce new technologies or to curtail existing ones, some key questions arise concerning alternatives, risks, costs, and benefits: AAAS

17. The Nature Of Technology ….. • “What are the risks associated with using (or not using) the new technology, how serious are they, and who is in jeopardy? • “What human, material, and energy resources will be needed to build, install, operate, maintain, and replace the new technology, and where will they come from? • “How will the new technology and its waste products be disposed of and at what costs?” AAAS

18. Energy Transformations • “Most of what goes on in the universe---from exploding stars and biological growth to the operation of machines and the motion of people---involves some form of energy being transformed into another. Energy in the form of heat is almost always one of the products of an energy transformation.” AAAS

19. Energy Sources and Use • “Industrialization brings an increased demand for and use of energy. Such usage contributes to the high standard of living in the industrially developing nations but also leads to more rapid depletion of the earth's energy resources and to environmental risks associated with the use of fossil and nuclear fuels.” AAAS

20. Flow of Matter and Energy • “At times, environmental conditions are such that plants and marine organisms grow faster than decomposers can recycle them back to the environment. Layers of energy-rich organic material have been gradually turned into great coal beds and oil pools by the pressure of the overlying earth. By burning these fossil fuels, people are passing most of the stored energy back into the environment as heat and releasing large amounts of carbon dioxide.” AAAS

21. Hands-On Projects • Project-based Inquiry emphasizes that learning science is something that students do, not something that is done to them. • "Hands-on" activities, while essential, are not enough. Students must have "minds-on" experiences as well.

22. What is a Curriculum? • Standards should not be seen as requiring a specific curriculum. A curriculum is the way specific content is organized and presented in the classroom. • The content embodied in National Science Standards can be organized and presented with many different emphases and perspectives in many different curricula.

23. Beyond School Walls • The school science program must extend beyond the walls of the school community to include the resources of the community.

24. Part 2: • What is SolarQuest™ ?

25. SolarQuest™ is… • A standards aligned, inquiry-based teaching and learning model • Using the methodology of a "Quest" (a journey) • Taking teachers and students beyond the physical constraints of the classroom ... • Into the community to seek knowledge and experience through service.

26. SolarQuest™ is… • A model to give students essential knowledge and experience through community service ... • To be engaged in the design of their own educational process • To self-generate a transformational experience • Creating an awareness of the effect of our individual and collective actions on the world.

27. SolarQuest™ is… • An extended community of learners linked through the World Wide Web, utilizing the concept of a LearningCircle. • Students, teachers, school administrators, parents, and mentors from universities, NGO’s, industry and government • LearningCircles transcend the barriers of the classroom through technology innovation to build lasting relationships and serve education.

28. SolarQuest™ … • Provides in-service training and on-line professional development for teachers for Standards of Learning and Assessment Resources (SOLAR) in arts and sciences. • Provides a model of teaching science and math through "hands-on" and "minds-on" technology applications.

29. SolarQuest™ … Provides a platform for students to publish a permanent portfolio of their work and contribute to collaborative science research projects, such as government and university environmental research on global climate change.

30. SolarQuest™ … Recognizes and rewards students for academic excellence and community service • Annual awards program, college scholarships, summer internships • Adventure-based learning opportunities with the SolarQuest I-NetNews Team ... • Covering such events an the annual NESEA Tour de Sol and the UBEx '98 Conference

31. SolarQuest™ is… • A learning model that encourages collaboration and cooperation… • Motivates students to learn through inquiry-based, experiential education.

32. SolarQuest™ is… A participatory educational methodology • Involving students in their local communities ... • And in their extended learning community (LearningCircle™) through the World Wide Web.

33. SolarQuest™ … • Prepares students to be effective leaders in their community • To better understand their role in society through collaborative problem solving with industry, government, and higher education.

34. SolarQuest™ … • Empowers scientifically literate students to participate in a democratic society facing the constraints and uncertainty of its energy future.

35. How? • Professional development services for teachers • Supporting standards-aligned teaching and learning in the classroom and in the community • Proprietary distance learning technology • Strategic alliances with education and industry to leverage educational resources to improve science learning.

36. How? • Collaborating with government, industry, and utilities to bring solar energy education to the nation's schools. • A Million Solar Roofs National Partnership to support educational programs and PV installations in 5,000 schools throughout the U.S.

37. Part 3: • The SolarQuest™ Virtual Schoolhouse • Web Site Demonstration by Ron Swenson

38. SolarQuest™ ‘99 • Virginia: • Virginia Alliance for Solar Electricity (VASE) • Rhode Island • Project SunRIse (SolarWorks/RI Collaborative) • California • SolarQuest Pledge Community • Nevada • SunRise: Mobile Education Station

39. SolarQuest™ • EcoSage Corporation • Allan E. Baer (aeb@solarquest.com) • Chelsea, Vermont • 802.685.9967 • Ronald B. Swenson (rbs@solarquest.com) • Santa Cruz, CA • 831.425.8523 • www.solarquest.com