EET Workshops Implementation
Use this template to share the results of how you have incorporated the techniques of an EET chapter into your teaching. Let us know how you used the EET in the classroom by describing the projects and activities that you carried out with your students. In addition to this template, post a PowerPoint presentation or a text file with screen shots to document your results.
Name: Stephen Hall
Position and school: Science Teacher, Hamady Middle/High School
Title of the EET Chapter on which you based your Project or Activity: Investigating Renewable Energy Data from Photovoltaic Solar Panels
Dataset Used: Soltrex.com, solarschoolhouse.org, and heliotronics.com solar panel databases
Tool Used: Excel
Project/Activity Question(s):
· How efficient are solar panels?
· What happens to solar power on cloudy days?
· What happens to solar panels on stormy days?
· How prone are solar panels to breakage?
· Can solar panels power a house or school?
Project/Activity Goal(s):
· Students will look at data from databases of photovoltaic renewable energy, discuss the results, and discuss implications (such as practicality and reliability).
Brief Description of the Project/Activity (What did students do?): I completed the chapter and made a PowerPoint of my results. I showed the PowerPoint to my students and we had a discussion on the use of solar panels for homes and schools. One class wanted to work through the data themselves, which they will be doing next Monday.
Number of Students (With how many students did you carry out the project/activity?): 65
Time Spent on the Project/Activity (How many hours or class periods did the project/activity take?): 1
Your Reflections on the Project/Activity:
· How do you feel the project/activity went with students?
· What sorts of questions did student ask? What insights did they have? How proficient are students in using the dataset and/or tool of the EET chapter?
· How will you carry out this project/activity differently in the future?
In addition to this template, please post a PowerPoint presentation or a text document with screen shots to document your results. Include examples of representative student work (without names) and any handouts or introductory materials you may have provided to accompany the project/activity.
If the materials you used come from other sources and are copy written, please cite where they come from. If you developed the materials you used, then please cite them with Your Name, Copyright Year. For example, Susan Smith, Copyright 2006.
I think the project went very well and smoothly with students. Students at all high school grade levels seemed to understand the chapter very easily. Many students were surprised at the low efficiencies of solar panels. I looked up costs of solar panels and gave an estimate to my students of how much it would cost to power a home entirely with solar panels. I also used numbers from my electric bill to do some calculations. In one class, I told them it would take 10-20 years to break even using solar panels, not including the cost of any repairs during that time. Students commented that it would not be worth it to buy solar panels. Several students showed a lot of interest in solar energy – many had the impression that solar energy was the future of America and could fill most of the country’s energy needs. We discussed big problems such as when clouds come in, there is little or no electricity. We also discussed snowstorms blocking the solar panels, and breakage of the components. Students asked me to do several math calculations, such as how much it would cost to buy solar panels to power the school. I estimated. Students asked how the electrical energy was stored. I explained that extra electricity can be sent to the grid or stored in batteries. Students asked me if I would buy solar panels for my home – I answered no due to the cost and the time it takes to break even. Students asked how most of the electricity in the United States is generated. I answered that most of it comes from burning coal.
Students were proficient and understood the material very well. Most students seemed a bit disillusioned with the idea of solar power. I think many did not realize that solar panels don’t work well when it’s cloudy.
In the future, I would try to have a worksheet ready in advance for students to do. My 4th hour class wanted to start using the data that very day. I told them I wasn’t prepared, but I would make up a quality worksheet for them to follow with directions by Monday.