Teaching Sustainable Energy in Primary Schools

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Description

This Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) resource will help you bring the topic of sustainable energy into the classroom in the context of the Primary School Science Curriculum and the Green-Schools programme. It will help children learn about energy in a real world way, exploring how and why as a society we need to develop new ways to meet our energy needs. This resource makes teaching energy engaging as children see it as relevant to their own lives and future well-being. As children learn about sustainability, they will develop behaviours that benefit them and wider society. Overall, the resource will help children gain an understanding of our current energy challenges and potential future solutions.

The wider SEAI Teaching Sustainable Energy resources represent a whole-school for primary schools at all class levels. These resources were researched and developed by the School of STEM Education, Innovation and Global Studies and the Centre for the Advancement for STEM Teaching and Learning (CASTeL) at Dublin City University (DCU) Institute of Education with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.

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How to use this resource

The SEAI Teaching Sustainable Energy resources invite students and their teachers to look at how they use energy in their schools and private lives to identify taken-for-granted energy use habits. This builds the capacity to challenge lifestyle choices and habits to become more conscious Sustainability Citizens.

The resources provide lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, linked videos, data and other supports to help teachers adopt a whole-school approach through active pedagogy and placed-based learning. 

While linked to the Irish primary school curriculum and promoting a whole-school interdisciplinary approach, this set of resources will serve as a stimulus and example for teacher from other countries to map and find ways to integrate lessons or activities into their own national curricula and context.

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The resources

5th_and_6th_Class_Teacher_Book PDF:

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Learning Outcomes (Teachers)

• Elicit prior knowledge and further develop knowledge and comprehension of key Sustainability Citizenship key concepts, challenging established worldviews and values.
• Apply a range of suitable tools and frameworks to promote student Sustainability Citizenship
• Reflect on practice and examine national curricula to identify opportunities to promote Sustainability Citizenship in interdisciplinary ways and engage with external stakeholders.
• Collaboratively synthesise the knowledge, tools and frameworks to create educational materials and lessons plans adapted to their own local context

Learning Outcomes (Leadership)

• Apply a range of suitable tools and frameworks to promote Sustainability Citizenship within their schools and communities.
• Examine their own national/regional curricula, educational policies, programmes and external stakeholders to identify opportunities to promote Sustainability Citizenship in their schools and communities.
• Collaboratively synthesise knowledge, tools and frameworks to create a vision for delivering a school environment that supports the development of Sustainability Citizenship in their community.

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Green Competencies

• Embodying Sustainable Values: Valuing Sustainability; Promoting Nature
• Embracing Complexity in Sustainability: Systems Thinking; Critical Thinking; Problem Framing
• Envisioning Sustainable Futures: Futures Literacy; Adaptability; Exploratory Thinking
• Acting for Sustainability: Collective Action; Individual Initiative

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Creative Commons

The Teaching Sustainable Energy in Primary Schools series of resources were created by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and Dublin City University’s (DCU) CASTel Research Centre. It is shared here by kind permission of SEAI.

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SDGs