In this preview of the second chapter from Climate Smart & Energy Wise, Teaching (and Learning) About Climate Challenges and Energy Solutions, we begin with the story of Nobel Prize winner in physics Dr. Carl Wieman, now at Stanford and chair of the Board on Science Education at the National Academy of Sciences.
After winning the Nobel prize Wieman became keenly interested in science education while at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Immersing himself in the challenges of effective science education, Wieman soon realized that science education and related research is challenging--and not very well funded. Eventually he led the development of a collection of online interactive tools for teaching physics and chemistry available through the Phet website, and encouraging the use of clicker technology in science classrooms.
In 2010, he became the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy Associate Director of Science. There he became a driving force behind the Energy Literacy document led by the Department of Energy, which identifies the essential principles and fundamental concepts of energy.
Matthew Inman, an Einstein Fellow working for the Department of Energy and charged with leading the development of the Energy Literacy framework, worked closely with Dr. Wieman. He recommended adding a "Guiding Principles for Teaching and Learning" page to the document, which drew from six guiding principles laid out in the National Research Council’s document “A Framework for K-12 Science Education.”
The guiding principles in sum: