2007-2008 Annual Report


About NEED - History, Goals, and Activities

In 1980, the NEED Project began as a one-day celebration of energy education. A Joint Congressional Resolution established National Energy Education Day. A Presidential Proclamation from President Jimmy Carter proclaimed the need for comprehensive energy education in our nation’s schools, a reduction of our dependence on fossil fuels, and increasing use of renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency. Today, twenty-eight years later, the same message holds true.  

NEED and the teachers, students, partners, and sponsors who make up our network, strive to make energy education a priority in the nation’s schools. In some classrooms, that means teaching energy in art and drama, having students perform plays about coal mining and wind generated electricity. In others, it means learning more about the science of thermal and radiant energy.  For some classrooms, it means learning about careers in energy today and tomorrow and emphasizing the skills today’s students will need to enter the energy workforce. NEED materials make a strong impact at all grade levels, K through 12.  Many community colleges find value in NEED’s comprehensive materials as they add coursework dealing with today’s energy issues. 

Energy is a topic that continues to grow in importance as the global population faces energy challenges and opportunities.  Today’s students must learn to apply energy technologies to use energy more efficiently, to lessen or eliminate environmental impacts of energy use, and to find new ways to use our energy sources more wisely and more economically. 

The energy industry continues to change as the demands of our nation and our planet change.  It is a dynamic industry, one that welcomes tomorrow’s construction foremen, architects, scientists, engineers, divers, ship builders, public policy experts, analysts, economists, financiers, welders, nuclear physicists, truck drivers, environmental scientists, seismic experts, farmers, geologists, electricians, chemists, and others.  It is often said that if you are in business in the United States, you are in the energy business. 

Today, the NEED program includes engaging curriculum materials, exciting professional development, turnkey assessment and evaluation tools, and high quality teacher support.  NEED’s long-term partnership with the U.S. Energy Information Administration provides the data and energy analysis used to update NEED curriculum materials on an annual basis.  In addition, the partnership provides educational content for classroom curriculum materials and is the foundation for the EIA Kid’s Page and the popular Energy Ant.  NEED believes in recognizing and rewarding excellence, and the Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement showcases the work of teachers and students dedicated to teaching and learning about energy in all its aspects. 

NEED teaches the science of energy and provides objective information about conventional and emerging energy sources—their use and impact on the environment, economy, and society. NEED educates teachers, students, families, and the general public about energy consumption, efficiency and conservation and provides tools to help educators, energy managers, and consumers use energy wisely. 

NEED understands the needs of the classroom teacher. Materials meet, align, and exceed the National Science Education Content Standards and state standards. Educators who use NEED materials report that their students score better on end-of-grade testing, are more actively engaged in learning, and develop leadership skills as members of the community.

NEED believes in the power of a Kids Teaching Kids approach to an expanded knowledge of energy.  Students learn about energy by teaching their peers and their parents. They learn by doing. Students build circuits and batteries, they construct geologic models and they drill for oil and natural gas.  Students audit school buildings and make recommendations for energy improvements. They design photovoltaic installations for their schools.  NEED students do. They learn and they apply their knowledge. 

NEED partners with organizations and companies that believe in the value of energy education and smart energy decision-making.  From major multi-national energy companies to local wind and solar installers, our partners and sponsors are dedicated to the preparation of tomorrow’s workforce using comprehensive, science-based energy information and curriculum. Every partnership considers an energy literate public the pathway to overcoming the energy challenges of the future.

THE STEPS
The NEED curriculum is divided into eight steps; each builds on the others to form a comprehensive energy unit that encourages even the youngest students to understand how energy is involved in everything that happens in the world.

THE SCIENCE OF ENERGY
The curriculum begins with science and incorporates science into all of its materials. Students at all grade levels learn about the science of energy—heat, light, motion, sound, nuclear energy, and electricity—with age-appropriate, hands-on explorations that emphasize the scientific process and experimental design.

SOURCES OF ENERGY
The NEED curriculum provides comprehensive, objective information and activities on the energy sources that power our country, including their economic and environmental impacts. They explore the history of energy, energy in current events, and consider future energy opportunities and challenges.

ELECTRICITY
NEED students learn about atoms and the particles that make up atoms. They learn about electrons and how they move; they build batteries and electromagnets. They explore circuits and learn how electricity is generated and measured. They delve into fusion and fission, photovoltaics and superconductors, deregulation, green pricing, and politics.

Students consider clean-coal technologies, renewables, and natural gas cogeneration. They research nuclear energy as an option for generating the nation’s electricity. They learn how hydrogen may someday impact distributed generation and how fuel cells can provide uninterrupted power to buildings. They use the new Hydropower Curriculum sponsored by the Hydropower Research Foundation to learn about harnessing the energy of moving water in rivers and in the ocean. 

TRANSPORTATION
NEED’s transportation materials cover the transportation fuels and vehicles in use today and the fuels and vehicles of the future. Students learn about popular fuels such as gasoline, diesel, ethanol, and biodiesel. Students learn about hydrogen with the DOE-sponsored H2 Educate curriculum and expand their knowledge of petroleum and its uses with the Fossil Fuels to Products curriculum, sponsored by the Center for the Advancement of Process Technology. 

EFFICIENCY & CONSERVATION
Learning to use energy wisely is an important component of the NEED program.  Students learn to read utility meters, use light meters, investigate phantom loads, and evaluate information from EnergyGuide labels. They learn about caulking, weather-stripping, and programmable thermostats. They monitor energy consumption and explore ways to reduce it—like using ENERGY STAR® products at home and at school. Students and their families participate in the Change a Light, Change the World campaign.

Teachers asked for a module on climate change and NEED will release an expanded Climate Change Curriculum this fall. It includes work from the Carbon Mitigation Institute at Princeton University and was supported by a grant from the Dominion Foundation. 

SYNTHESIS
NEED’s curriculum includes many activities to help synthesize energy information and create valuable connections between science, students’ daily lives, and the entire world.

EVALUATION
NEED has a Teacher Advisory Board of outstanding educators and an advisory board of energy experts to review NEED materials for scientific accuracy, comprehensiveness, objectivity, educational soundness and effectiveness. NEED participants—students, educators, sponsors, and partners—evaluate materials and training programs, as well as new activities. Using evaluation tools included with every unit, teachers evaluate individual activities and the entire NEED program. In addition, NEED provides a variety of assessment instruments and tools for measuring student knowledge and performance.

RECOGNITION
NEED encourages and rewards student leadership and innovation by sponsoring a Youth Awards Program for Energy Achievement. Many schools participating in NEED’s programs submit reports on their energy activities. Outstanding teachers and student leaders are recognized for their efforts at the state level and are invited to attend NEED’s National Recognition Ceremonies held each June in Washington, DC.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
NEED trains teachers. Teachers continue to report that they do not receive adequate energy instruction in their college and university courses, yet state and national standards have significant sections devoted to the science of energy and to the energy resources used to provide electricity, transportation, and products. Working with education and energy advisors, NEED assembles professional development opportunities for teachers that not only educate, but also energize and excite. Teachers report leaving the workshops and conferences ‘ready to take on the world’ and ‘teach science and energy in a more exciting way’.

NEED removes the fear of teaching energy and takes extra care to provide primary and elementary level teachers with age appropriate materials for use in the classroom without diluting the content delivered in one-day or five-day conferences. 

As consumers and community members, teachers are a vital link in the process needed to make energy a priority at home, in the classroom, and in daily conversation. NEED believes in treating teachers as the professionals they are, and in making their time with NEED instructors valuable, entertaining and educational. 

From one-day workshops to the five-day National Energy Conferences for Educators, NEED training provides teachers with many the opportunities to learn about energy—using NEED kits and materials to learn about the science of energy, sources of energy, electricity, transportation, and efficiency. Teachers interact and share ideas with their peers from their local communities and around the country. Speakers from local and national energy organizations share information about careers in the energy industry and the exciting energy technologies and concepts on the horizon. 

NEED is proud to have teachers in the NEED network who have taught the curriculum and provided training for their peers for over 28 years. NEED is a community of educational professionals dedicated to teaching energy and improving the quality of energy education nationwide. 

The educators, students, board members, state coordinators, sponsors, and community partners who support the program say that working with NEED is one of the most rewarding things about their jobs. The NEED network provides the energy necessary for growth, expansion, and the delivery of high quality curriculum and training.  The members of the network are the reason for and the result of NEED’s success.

NETWORK RESOURCES
Energy Exchange, Career Currents and www.need.org
NEED stays connected to its network via its newsletters—Energy Exchange and Career Currents—and a variety of resources and opportunities available on NEED’s website, www.need.org, in addition to many outreach events each year. Energy Exchange provides teachers, students, and sponsors with information and activities about energy and exciting new technologies and discoveries. Career Currents exposes students to the diversity of energy careers. With over 23,000 readers, both newsletters are distributed bimonthly, and all issues are available on www.need.org. The NEED website houses a variety of teaching and learning tools for teachers and students—from online bibliographies to science experiments and the valuable Energy Infobooks. Our website helps bring the NEED community together.