SUMMARY

Intended use of this document as a guide includes, but is not limited to, formal and informal energy education, standards development, curriculum design, assessment development, and educator trainings.
 

ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION AND TEACHING MATERIALS

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TEACHING NOTES / CONTEXT FOR USE

Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education presents energy concepts that, if understood and applied, will help individuals and communities make informed energy decisions. Energy is an inherently interdisciplinary topic. Concepts fundamental to understanding energy arise in nearly all, if not all, academic disciplines.
This guide is intended to be used across disciplines. Both an integrated and systems-based approach to understanding energy are strongly encouraged.

Energy Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Energy Education identifies seven Essential Principles and a set of Fundamental Concepts to support each principle. This guide does not seek to identify all areas of energy understanding, but rather to focus on those that are essential for all citizens. The Fundamental Concepts have been drawn, in part, from existing education standards and benchmarks.

The intended audience for this document is anyone involved in energy education. Used in formal educational environments, this guide provides direction without adding new concepts to the educator’s curriculum. This guide is not a curriculum. The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts offer a framework upon which curricula can be based without prescribing when, where, or how content is to be delivered.

REFERENCES AND RESOURCES

To download this guide and related documents:
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20585
202-586-5000
http://www.globalchange.gov

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Development of this guide began at a workshop sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in the fall of 2010. Multiple federal agencies, non-governmental organizations,
and numerous individuals contributed to the development through an extensive review and comment process. Discussion and information gathered at AAAS, WestEd, and DOE-sponsored Energy Literacy workshops in the spring of 2011 contributed substantially to the refinement of the guide.