An Interesting Approach to the Issue of Energy Conservation - Assignment Example

Lesson Plan-Energy Conservation Environment conservation has become a main in the past two decades. It is argued that major catastrophes of the recent past have been due to weather extremities that can be directly attributed to continued exhaustion of the environment which is subsequently upsetting nature’s balance (Patrick et al 1993). Given this reality, it has become increasingly important to focus on studies that provide requisite information on how the environment can be conserved. It is clear that there are a myriad of ways in which the environment can be conserved, however, this lesson only dwells on one, energy conservation. Energy conservation represents a number of ways through which energy consumption can be reduced. Following recent literature it is important to note that energy conservation and energy efficiency refer to two different approaches that seek to achieve the same goal, reduce energy use (Patrick et al 1993). Referring to energy conservation, the basic idea is to use less energy to achieve a specific task. Energy conservation as a means of safeguarding the environment helps minimize consumption and thus reduce the pace of environment exhaustion. This lesson plan seeks to construct an interesting approach to the issue with the basic idea being to deliver the subject’s material in a concise and precise manner which passes the requisite knowledge to the students (Saginor, 2008). At the end of it, the students are expected to have improved their knowledge on variant environment issues and be thorough in their understanding of energy conservation and the role of it in environment conservation. Different materials and approaches will be utilized to make sure that the course is interesting a factor that will help improve the student’s receptiveness and assumedly retention. Audience As noted in the introductory section the audience will be a group of students who have limited knowledge on environmental issues. These are aged 10-12 years, this shows they are to join High School soon and are expected to be proactively involved in environment conservation. Even though a couple may have a general idea on the challenges facing our environment they have minimal information on how this can be helped. Additionally, these students have not previously taken up courses that dwell on or whose content touches on the environment. This means that besides introducing our prime topic there will also be need to dwell on the existing challenges and issues facing our environment and how these can be addressed. However, the sole purpose of the lesson is to deliver an in-depth lesson on energy conservation as a means of safeguarding our environment. Rationale While choosing the rationale adopted in this plan a thorough review of the existing challenges to the environment was considered. It was important to pick out an issue that the student’s would relate to and implement. The assessment, which basically test the student’s reception of the ideas communicated, were chosen based on their ability to ensure thoroughness and at the same time caption the main ideas communicated in the plan (Booth, 2011). This was the same with the choice of the assignments. This was designed to capture different aspects of the study and at the same time test the student’s reception of the main ideas and especially the practical bit. In overall, the assignments and the entire assessment procedure is hoped to ensure total reception of the different means that energy conservation can contribute to environment conservation. Context In total, the energy conservation lesson is expected to take about twelve hours which translates to around twelve lessons. As the lesson comes with a lot of practical and carry home assignments it will be taught thrice a week which means it will take about four weeks to sum it up. Basically, as the unit has an introductory section it is expected that it will be taken up by anyone with the basic understanding of the environment. The way the unit is modeled allows for further and more interesting topics to be added on as students grasp the lesson at hand (Saginor, 2008). Materials The most basic material are class presentation equipment mainly a projector and a computer. For practical lessons, the students maybe expected to come with charts and tables depicting/representing different phenomenon as required in class or as necessitated by the unit requirements. Reasons for effectiveness and interest It is expected that the unit will be an interesting one for students and the instructor as well. The interest and efficacy of the unit emanates from the fact that it will make use of exciting and creative materials that capture the student’s interest (Dean, 2007). Incorporation of films, documentaries and a requirement for active participation in the unit will add an exciting aspect that will draw the student’s interest. These aspects are also expected to guarantee effectiveness. The Units Activities Engaging activity Here the students will be required to form groups of three and discuss the existing methods of energy conservation. This is expected to help the students understand the unit’s foundation and help them focus on the issue at hand, albeit with greater understanding of the issue. The teacher’s role will be to evaluate the student’s presentations. Exploration activity Under exploration the students will be required to explore on new ideas that can help ensure energy conservation. In this case, they will be expected to go beyond day to day research and look beyond existing literature to come up with the correct information (Dean, 2007). Exploring requires creativity and ingenuity to ensure that the ideas brought forth are capable of solving the issue at hand, energy conservation. They are also expected to build a link between energy conservation and environmental conservation which is the greater goal of the unit. Here, the teacher is expected to evaluate the student’s suggestion for applicability and thence determine their grasp of the issues. Investigative Under investigative activity, the students will be expected to have understood what energy conservation is and how it is currently ensured and how this can be improved to widen the scope. With this understanding/knowledge, the students will be expected to investigate present activity by different entities and present how these are either conserving or failing to conserve energy. Again, the teacher’s role will be to determine the student’s understanding and evaluate the quality and depth of the student’s investigations. Share activity Lastly, the different groups will be expected to present in front of the entire class their findings under each of the preceding activities. It is expected that sharing and the challenge of presentation will enable focus and concentration a factor which will boost receptiveness of the variant lessons. Here the teacher will determine the clarity and validity of the information provided to ensure proper dissemination of knowledge. Media Artifact There are two technology based aids that will be incorporated for this unit. The first is a projector and the other is a computer specifically one with Microsoft’s PowerPoint creator and presenter. The projector will be used to broadcast films and documentaries that will seek to demonstrate the state of the environment in the past, present and the likely situation of the future given continuous disregard of conservation efforts. The projector will also be used to illuminate slides that sum up basic information of the subject matter. The adoption of these technology devices seeks to capture attention and maintain focus as they are more interesting as opposed to the traditional use of printed (hard copy) notes (Booth, 2011). Additionally, the reception levels are also expected to improve as the mind is greatly receptive to graphics and visuals as opposed to oral presentations. In essence, these applications also allow the teacher to be more expressive as he/she is not confined to specific means of delivering lessons to students (Booth, 2011). In overall, they allow interactions and basic communication at a higher level which is crucial for the proper facilitation of the unit. References Booth, C. (2011). Reflective teaching, effective learning: Instructional literacy for library educators. Chicago: American Library Association. Dean, S. P. (2007). Lesson plan book for the diverse classroom: Planning for accessibility through universal design for learning (UDL). Port Chester, N.Y: Dude Publishing. Patrick, S. R., Patrick, D. R., & Fardo, S. W. (1993). Energy conservation guidebook. Lilburn, GA: Fairmont Press. Saginor, N. (2008). Diagnostic classroom observation: Moving beyond best practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Read More