Design and Use of an “Energy 101” Model Curriculum to Teach General Education Undergraduates About Energy Sustainability Through an Engineering Design Lens

• In Event: Innovations in Science Education

Abstract

This research project describes the development of a design-based curriculum to teach undergraduates of varying disciplines about energy sustainability, in response to the recent release of the Energy Literacy Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. Thus a curriculum that included energy literacy, science, and engineering process skills was custom-created using design-based pedagogical theories and taught in a General Education course to assess the effectiveness of teaching and learning about energy sustainability across undergraduate disciplines. The paper describes the steps incurred to develop the curricular framework, the overall student and instructor experience from the first run of the course, and reflections from this experience.

Authors

• Idalis Villanueva, Utah State University

• Leigh Abts, University of Maryland - College Park

• James Turner, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities

• Ellen Vaughn

• Rosemary A. Reshetar, The College Board