The Energy from Ocean Currents: The New Renewable is an exciting new curriculum for high school students focusing on ocean energy technology. The curriculum was created in partnership with FAU’s Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center (SNMREC) and the Center for Environmental Studies (CES).
There are 6 detailed lessons in the curriculum. These are:
The beginning of each lesson has the vocabulary for that lesson as well as a teacher background so that the teacher can confidently teach the lesson. After the background sections, we’ve used a variation of the 5 E’s model for the curriculum’s teacher sequence. These sections are:
A glossary in the back of the manual has a list of the definitions given within each lesson.
The purpose of this lesson is to review the science and consequences of global climate change
and to introduce students to the importance of increasing our options for renewable energy
sources.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Total Estimated Time for this lesson: 4 – 5 class sessions
The purpose of this lesson is to explain how electricity is generated. The students will learn
about energy, conservation of energy, and the basics of electricity. This lesson will also
describe electromagnetism, power, and their applications.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Total Estimated Time for this lesson: ~5 class sessions
Students will learn about the surface currents and how to identify the best locations for utilizing the currents for energy production
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Total Estimated Time for this lesson: ~6 class sessions
The purpose of this lesson is to explain how we can use the Ocean’s currents to generate power. The students will learn about the different types of power plants and turbines. This lesson will also describe Bernoulli’s principle and how it relates to wind and water turbines.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Total Estimated Time for this lesson: 3-4 class sessions
Students will learn about the issues that could possibly have environmental impacts and what is being done to determine the risks to the environment.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Total Estimated Time for this lesson: 3-4 class sessions
The purpose of this lesson is to connect what the science students have learned about in previous lessons to the research conducted at Florida Atlantic University’s Sea Tech campus and to introduce students to a potential future source of ocean energy – Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion.
Learning Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
Total Estimated Time for this lesson: 3-4 class sessions