This article was contributed by Vernon Kimball, retired Colorado educator of 34 years, and NEED facilitator extraordinaire. Vernon has been working with NEED curriculum in and out of the classroom for many years. Vernon has a passion for teaching and loves working with teachers across the globe to champion energy education.
If you are an educator, I am sure you’ve seen a figure like this. Often called a “learning pyramid”, it is frequently attributed to the National Training Laboratory or to educator Edgar Dale. You won’t be surprised to learn that there are different versions out there with different percentages, and some variations in the ordering and labeling of activities.
The question for educators is often how to best reach their students in a way that students will remember the concepts being studied. Creative teachers adapt their teaching styles to maximize retention of important concepts. NEED curriculum materials can be utilized to address many different learning styles and with a focus on hands-on learning, it is easy to reach higher levels of retention.
NEED’s motto of “Kids Teaching Kids” is more than just a catch-phrase. Many NEED curriculum pieces are designed to enable students to actively teach energy concepts to their peers, leading to the highest levels of retention. Whether you have your students teach their peers with Science of Energy, with Energy Expo, or with any other NEED curriculum, you will find it easy to implement teaching strategies that lead to the highest levels of retention and learning for your students.
