Teaching materials
Teaching materials
Apprenticeships in the energy sector (career guidance)
The following teaching unit describes one way of integrating career-orientation measures into lessons. As part of an eight-hour unit, the pupils first work in small groups to independently find out about various training occupations in the energy sector. They then create their own presentations, which can be presented at a public presentation day, for example. Pupils are provided with a wide range of information materials to help them prepare their presentations: These include text materials and the CD Rom "Dual training in the field of renewable energies" from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) as well as internet links to support further independent research. If there is the possibility of co-operation with companies or a university, the pupils can also interview apprentices in the relevant academic appointments. The last two hours of the teaching unit are used for a "trial run" of the presentations created. This provides the opportunity for feedback from classmates, teachers and, if applicable, co-operation partners.
The following materials contain an overview of the course of the teaching unit as well as an overview of the training occupations and forms of presentation. The second part presents examples of the information materials for the "chemical laboratory technician" group and the results of the group work. The materials for the other training occupations in the teaching unit and the corresponding student results can be requested from the second author(kerstin.haucke@uol.de).
Further information on the teaching materials:
Haucke, K.; Parchmann, I. (2011): Energie im Kontext - Eine Grundlage zur Vernetzung von Schule, Gesellschaft und Berufsorientierung. In: Naturwissenschaften im Unterricht Chemie, 22, No. 121, p. 16 - 21.
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Apprenticeships in the energy sector - example chemical laboratory technician.pdf
Building a sailing car (science and physics lessons)
This material was created as part of the collaboration between the didactics of science and physics. It is a small extract from the reader Renewable energies in the transition from primary school to lower secondary level, which will be published in October 2011.
This document contains teacher's notes and learning materials for teaching the topic "Building a sailing car" in primary school.
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Academic appointment poster from the Aulis booklet Wind Energy (Vocational and Business Education)
In this pdf file you will find the career posters (in colour) from the volume"Windenergie: Fachspezifische und fächerübergreifende Materialien" published by Aulis-Verlag (Heusinger v. Waldegge & Peters, 2012).
2nd generation bioenergy sources - biogas 1 (chemistry, biology)
Summary:
The experiment described below demonstrates the anaerobic degradation of plant biomass to biogas. Using an appropriate substrate, this produces a second-generation biofuel. Building on various previously published proposals for biogas production, the following proposal uses equipment that is part of a normally equipped chemical collection. The resulting gas can then be analysed by gas chromatography to determine its composition (see teaching material Biogas II).
Further information on the teaching materials:
Jaeckel, M. S.; Parchmann, I. (2010): Second-generation bioenergy sources - school experiments and conceptual embedding using the example of biogas and hydrothermal carbonisation. In: CHEMKON, 17, No. 3, pp. 117 - 123.
2nd generation bioenergy sources - Biogas 2 (Chemistry & Biology)
Summary:
The experiment described below shows one way of analysing a self-generated biogas by gas chromatography (see Biogas I teaching material) using the Kappenberg gas chromatograph. The experimental set-up described in the teaching material Biogas I allows gas to be extracted without opening the reaction mixture, making this variant particularly suitable for continuous analysis of the gas. However, it must be taken into account that some of the carbon dioxide produced dissolves in the water of the pneumatic tank.
Further information on the teaching materials:
Jaeckel, M. S.; Parchmann, I. (2010): Second-generation bioenergy sources - school experiments and conceptual embedding using the example of biogas and hydrothermal carbonisation. In: CHEMKON, 17, No. 3, pp. 117 - 123.
Humans as energy converters (physics)
A number of energy conversion processes take place in and around the human body: When we exert ourselves physically, digest food or simply sit and radiate heat, processes always take place that we can describe using the concept of energy and the conversion between forms of energy. Together with teachers, we have developed a station course with five stations. At each station, pupils can carry out experiments that each represent a transformation process in the human body. The station trail is suitable for pupils in grades 7 to 10.
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The journey to the planet Magneton (Physics)
Magnetic and electrical energy are two forms of energy that are indispensable in technology. The aim of this teaching material is to provide access to these two forms of energy in year 5/6. Two learning tasks structured as stories introduce the topics of permanent magnetism (Journey to the planet Magneton) and electric circuits (A really scary story).
These learning tasks are supplemented by a unit on electric motors, which encourages students to dismantle and build their own electric motors (Year 9), and an introduction to lens optics, which is embedded in a court case (Inspector Schneider's detectives and the barn fire).
The target group is primarily secondary school pupils, but also grammar school pupils.
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Energy (saving) diary (subject lessons)
Children are repeatedly encouraged to save energy in their everyday lives. However, in order to comply with this request, it is essential that they realise what they need a lot of energy for in their everyday lives. Using the energy (saving) diary, children can consciously record and critically scrutinise their own energy use in order to develop energy-saving alternatives.
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Energy consumption of PC components (Computing Science)
Factual analysis:
When selecting PC components, the focus is not only on performance but also on energy consumption. This must also increasingly be taken into account when preparing offers in the commercial IT sector. This requires knowledge from learning field 4 of the IT academic appointments.
Brief lesson description:
The students are given the task of preparing quotations for various PC systems. The customer emphasises energy consumption. Important knowledge must be acquired or researched.
Legal information on the use of the materials:
The teaching materials on this page by Marc Lorenscheit, Markus Horstmann and Stefan Moll are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany Licence.
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Renewable energies in primary schools. Energy (saving) - Solar energy
The practical book "Erneuerbare Energien in der Grundschule. Energie(sparen) - Sonnenenergie" offers 123 pages of numerous copy templates for direct use in schools. A clearly structured index card system with symbols makes it easy to keep track of the individual materials and modules. In addition to the practical materials for pupils, the book offers detailed and comprehensible factual information for teachers. All experiments are carried out using everyday materials so that they can be incorporated directly into everyday school life. All of the materials have been tried and tested by primary school teachers and are therefore suitable for practical use.
The first volume in the "Renewable energies in primary schools" series deals with a general understanding of energy and the use of solar energy.
The materials can be purchased from bookshops or directly from Schneider-Verlag.
Kaiser, A., Lüschen, I. & Reimer, M. (2010). Renewable energies in primary school. Energy (saving) - solar energy. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider.
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Kaiser, A., Lüschen, I. & Reimer, M. (2011). Renewable energies in primary school. Volume 2: Wind, water and bioenergy. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider.
Renewable energies in primary school. Volume 2: Wind, water and bioenergy
The practical book "Erneuerbare Energien in der Grundschule. Volume 2. Wind, water and bioenergy " offers 104 pages of numerous copy templates for direct use in schools. A clearly organised index card system with symbols makes it easy to keep track of the individual materials and modules. In addition to the practical materials for pupils, the book provides detailed and comprehensible factual information for teachers. All experiments are carried out using everyday materials so that they can be incorporated directly into everyday school life. All materials have been tried and tested by teachers at primary schools and are therefore suitable for practical use.
The first volume in the "Renewable energies in primary schools" series deals with the topics of wind energy, water energy and bioenergy.
The materials can be purchased in bookshops or directly from Schneider-Verlag.
Kaiser, A., Lüschen, I. & Reimer, M. (2011). Renewable energies in primary school. Volume 2: Wind, water and bioenergy. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider.
Experiments on the topics of energy and climate change (natural sciences)
Collection of experiments for science lessons on the topics of energy and climate change
by Kerstin Heusinger von Waldegge, Corinna Hößle & Theresa Höhn
The web portal provides teachers with energy experiments that can be organised in the form of station-based learning in lessons across all types of school at lower secondary level. The experiments include various stations on "wind energy", kinetic energy, electrical energy, "hydropower", climate change and carbon dioxide. Teachers are given various suggestions by means of elaborated experiments to ask pupils specific "energy questions" about everyday life, nature and technology. The organisation of the experiments in a learning station allows each pupil to experiment and learn at their own pace. Pupils can carry out the experiments mainly according to instructions, describe observations and results and enter these in pre-structured experiment logs. Each pupil can file the log sheets in a research folder, which in turn serves as the basis for the teacher's assessment and evaluation of this learning situation. An additional "free space" station creates space in the classroom for pupils whose experimentation skills are already so well developed that no experimentation instructions are required. At this station, pupils can pursue research questions of their own choosing. In line with the principle of open, research-based experimentation, pupils are given the opportunity to work independently in class to gain knowledge - from posing a question to forming a hypothesis and analysing an experiment. The selection of the individual stations depends on the learning level of the students and the time frame of the lesson. It is possible, for example, to offer the experiments at the first, third and fifth stations in science lessons (see pdf Possible links) or to make a larger selection of experiments available to the pupils as part of a project lesson.
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Station 2. electrical energy.pdf
Possible links between the energy and climate change experiments.pdf
Counter-speech against advertising (subject lessons)
We encounter advertising every day and in many different areas of life. As a rule, negative aspects of a product, such as high energy consumption or the use of environmentally harmful energy, are ignored in advertising.
By drafting a "counter speech", pupils learn to critically scrutinise advertising and the advertised products, point out negative aspects of a product and at the same time explore positive alternatives to the advertised product.
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Curriculum analysis of energy in economics lessons (economics)
The curriculum analysis shows where energy-related topics can be found in the individual Lower Saxony curricula or framework requirements for lower secondary level. Energy is not only the main topic, but can also be part of other topics (e.g. causes of climate change). It can also serve as an example for dealing with subject-specific content (e.g. price formation, tasks of the state). The analysis focuses on the location of the topic in the requirements for economics lessons or related subjects.
Tracked solar systems (Computing Science)
Context:
In order to increase the efficiency of photovoltaic systems, they can be tracked. The rotatably mounted modules are then aligned so that the angle of incidence of the sun's rays is as close as possible to 90° to the module surface. Compared to non-rotating modules, it is assumed that the yield is approx. 30 % higher.
Brief lesson description:
The pupils are given a model of a rotatable photovoltaic system made from Lego or Lego Mindstorms. (The model can also be created using the instructions, a Lego Mindstorms NXT Education Set 9797 is sufficient). The pupils should then realise such a control system themselves, e.g. by adding sensors or a timer, and reflect on the technical alternatives.
Legal information on the use of the materials:
The teaching materials on this page by Stefan Moll are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany licence.
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Description of the teaching unit.pdf
Supplementary instructions for adding light sensors (optional)
Qualitative comparison of offers with special consideration of sustainability aspects (Vocational and Business Education)
This learning task can be used in the procurement-related learning fields of commercial vocational training.
It establishes a link between the topic of "comparing offers" and sustainability and energy aspects.
Smart metering and data protection (Computing Science)
Factual analysis:
Smart metering involves the use of so-called intelligent meters for electricity or gas consumption, which replace or supplement the old meters at the end customer's premises. These meters make it possible to call up current consumption values, for example to visualise them on a display in the building. At fixed intervals (e.g. 15 minutes), the consumption data from this time period is also transmitted to a central recording centre (of the supplier). From there, the consumer can also view this data or subject it to further analyses and overviews. The aim is to make it easier for the consumer to be energy and cost-conscious. The supplier can use appropriate tariff incentives to encourage customers to manage their consumption so that, for example, peak loads in the electricity grid can be mitigated by reducing consumption.
By transmitting and storing the consumer's consumption data, analyses can be used to draw conclusions about consumer behaviour (e.g. daily rhythm). In principle, it is also possible to draw conclusions about the operation of special appliances by continuously recording data.
Brief lesson description:
The introduction is based on an advertising video for smart meters. Pupils can initially express themselves freely. (In connection with a previous sequence on data protection, data protection aspects are also discussed by the pupils).
Using various materials, the topic of smart metering and data protection in this context is developed and recorded in group work.
The pupils compare their considerations with a recommendation from the federal and state data protection officers.
Legal information on the use of the materials:
The teaching materials on this page by Stefan Moll are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany licence.
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Teaching material with general information and materials.pdf
Solar data in XML format (Computing Science)
Factual analysis:
Photovoltaic systems or the inverters belonging to them have a communication interface via which yield data and other data from the runtime can be read out at fixed intervals (e.g. every 15 minutes) for maintenance or archiving purposes. This data is transferred to an ftp server in an XML format, for example, for further access. A solar database has been set up at the University of Oldenburg to analyse these XML files. The XML files are available for manual analysis for two selected days.
Brief lesson description:
The students receive the XML files from two days and are asked to open up the structure of the files and describe them in a familiar form. They should also extract the performance data of the solar system from the files, transfer them to a spreadsheet and display them graphically. Reflections on the different yields and the overall performance of the system as well as the CO2 savings round off the unit.
Legal information on the use of the materials:
The teaching materials on this page by Stefan Moll are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany licence.
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Solar database (Computing Science)
Factual analysis:
Photovoltaic systems or the inverters belonging to them have a communication interface via which yield data and other data from the runtime can be read out at fixed intervals (e.g. every 15 minutes) for maintenance or archiving purposes. This data can be stored in a database for the purpose of analyses. The system operators or external parties can then be given access to this data via such a database. Such a database is available at the University of Oldenburg.
Brief lesson description:
Students can work on a database with real data from solar systems (photovoltaic systems) via a MySQL interface and query or analyse it. The group-by clause and aggregate functions are used. Basic knowledge from the factual context (solar power generation) and a possible CO2 saving are also developed or used.
Legal information on the use of the materials:
The teaching materials on this page by Stefan Moll are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Germany licence.
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Teaching description and materials for the solar database.pdf
Consumption and the environment (economics lessons)
The material is designed for the ninth year at secondary schools. As an example, it can be assigned to the subject "Economics" in Lower Saxony according to the core curriculum on the topic of consumption and the environment in the subject area "Consumers and workers in the economy" (see Lower Saxony core curriculum for the subject of economics 2009, page 17).
The topic is highly relevant for pupils as current and future consumers. Using the example of personal CO₂ emissions, the teaching unit aims to encourage them to take a critical look at their consumption habits. It is also important to uncover the "hidden" CO₂ emissions in the form of public consumption, which result solely from our modern lifestyle. Comparing the per capita CO₂ emissions of different countries gives an impression of how our own consumption should be categorised. At the same time, the special responsibility of modern industrialised countries in the fight against climate change becomes clear.