The Energieparcours-Nordwest involves the development and provision of educationally designed excursions for school classes to regional energy sites.

These include companies and other institutions that convert or make specific use of energy.

The Energieparcours-Nordwest was recognised by the German National Commission for UNESCO as a project of the UN Decade of ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ 2011/2012.

Flyers and information on the current sites (27 May 2011)

The programme for schools
The ‘Energieparcours-Nordwest’ offers a wide range of complementary activities on the future-oriented topic of ‘energy’ from various perspectives.
The excursions offered as part of the ‘Energieparcours-Nordwest’

• are based on the curriculum for a specific school subject and year group,
• are currently aimed at the school subjects of General Studies, biology, physics, chemistry, Computing Science and mathematics,
• are action-oriented and practical,
• offer interdisciplinary perspectives on the topic of energy within the regional energy sector
• contribute to career guidance through contact with businesses,
• have been tested in terms of subject-specific teaching methods,
• foster pupils’ creative and design skills
• are supplemented by materials for preparation and follow-up work at school
• cover the topics of climate change, sustainability and future energy supply
• and have been developed as part of the University of Oldenburg’s ‘Education for Sustainable Energy Supply and Use’ project.

The benefits for energy sites

Participating energy hubs have the opportunity, through the ‘Energieparcours-Nordwest’, to open their doors to schools, actively participate in sustainable educational processes and, through their engagement in collaboration with the University of Oldenburg’s subject-specific didactics experts, help shape the future of society in a responsible manner.

Energy excursions give children and young people an insight into the world of work and careers, spark an interest in technology and can thus help to counteract the shortage of skilled workers.
Students and staff from the subject-specific teaching departments at the University work in close co-operation with companies to develop a pedagogically structured and company-specific concept for school class visits. This includes exhibits, educational trails, experiments, posters or presentations.
The concept developed results in a script which is made available to the company so that it can organise the school visit independently.
The energy sites determine the duration of the programme and the frequency of visits. The companies’ excursion programmes are advertised via a web portal.

Is your company interested in offering excursions for schools?

The Energieparcours-Nordwest as a regional initiative to promote education for sustainable development

The aim of the Energieparcours-Nordwest is to enable pupils to gain in-depth insights into the energy sector. At the energy sites, they can explore issues relating to energy supply and use in a vivid and authentic context.

After visiting several of these energy sites, pupils can compare different ways of using energy and identify and evaluate for themselves the advantages and disadvantages of these for sustainable development processes. The aim is to develop the pupils’ ‘energy literacy’, which encompasses not only technical expertise but also the ability to assess energy supply.

All field trip programmes are designed to facilitate discussion of the issues of CO₂ emissions and renewable energy. The associated dilemmas are also addressed (e.g. the use of biogas plants with maize monocultures versus biodiversity, or the use of wind energy in relation to ecological aspects such as bird migration).

In addition to the scientific and technical approach, topics relating to economics (energy as a commodity) and social aspects (access to renewable energy) are also covered during the field trips.

Various subject-specific teaching methods from the University of Oldenburg are used to develop specific programmes in close collaboration with the energy centre.

These programmes can range from company study visits and expert talks to panel discussions and topic-specific experimental activities. For example, Year 7 pupils learn at a geothermal energy company how the seemingly cold earth can heat a house.

contact:

Project Coordination:
Dr Verena Niesel
Centre for Teaching and Learning (DIZ) at the University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstr. 114–118, 26129 Oldenburg
Tel: 0441 / 798 4080, Fax: 0441 / 798 4900
Email:

Project leader:

Prof. Dr Michael Komorek
Physics Education
University of Oldenburg

Cooperation partners:

Regional Education Network, Climate & Energy, City of Oldenburg
Christel Sahr
Email:

Partner:

OLEC Oldenburg Energy Cluster e.V.

We’re taking part: