National Energy Education Development Project
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Started in 1980, the United States National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education association dedicated to promoting a realistic understanding of the scientific, economic, and environmental impacts of energy so that students and teachers can make educated decisions.
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[edit] The NEED mission
The mission of the NEED Project is to promote an energy conscious and educated society by creating effective networks of students, educators, business, government and community leaders to design and deliver objective, multi-sided energy education programs.
The NEED program includes innovative curriculum materials, professional development, evaluation tools, and recognition. NEED teaches the scientific concepts of energy and provides objective information about conventional and emerging energy sources— their use and impact on the environment, economy, and society. The program also educates students about energy efficiency and conservation while providing tools to help educators, energy managers, and consumers use energy wisely.
[edit] The importance of education
Energy is the vital link between everything that happens in this world, but there is no single or simple world vision. Energy choices and challenges will become increasingly complicated as the nation and the world balance the expanding need for energy supply with the importance of increasing energy efficiency and conservation. The world energy market grows daily with new stakeholders, new limitations, new resources, and new challenges. The energy world is ever-expanding, and NEED's goal is to prepare future leaders to make those difficult decisions, train educators to teach energy with a balanced perspective, and reach parents and community decision makers through energy outreach and education programs.
[edit] NEED’s curriculum
Experts agree students learn best by doing. NEED materials are inquiry based and incorporate the “Kids Teaching Kids” philosophy. NEED makes teaching and learning about energy exciting while developing students’ leadership and critical thinking skills.
NEED materials are available for all grade levels from kindergarten through high school. With NEED's extensive curriculum, educators can design classroom programs that spark the interest of their students and meet course objectives. NEED materials are designed to meet and correlate to the National Science Education Content Standards, as well as many state standards. Educators who use NEED materials report that their students score better on end-of-grade testing, are more actively engaged in learning, and develop leadership skills as members of the community.
To ensure that teachers and students are working with accurate information, NEED materials are updated on a regular basis, using the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as well as from a wide range of energy industry partners. NEED works with educators and students to improve existing materials and develop new ones to meet national and state curriculum requirements. In a special partnership with the Energy Information Administration, NEED helps make energy information and data available to students via the EIA Kid's Page website. In 2006, the Kid’s Page was one of the most popular EIA products—averaging over 350,000 user sessions per month. NEED welcomes partners who vitalize the NEED network with new curriculum materials and new schools. This year, a new partnership with Pacific Gas and Electric Company expanded the PG&E Solar Schools program to over 600 teachers in the PG&E service area. Schools receive NEED Solar Kits, Science of Energy Kits, teacher training and the opportunity to apply for photovoltaic (solar) installations and classroom grants.
Teachers in Texas, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Connecticut and Louisiana benefited from an expansion of NEED’s partnership with Dominion—providing teacher training, classroom curriculum, and hands-on kits to educators in Dominion communities. NEED continues to work with BP on its A+ for Energy programs in California and Texas, providing classroom materials and teacher training as well as BP’s grants for teachers.
In Indiana, teachers received training and classroom curriculum kits and class-sets of home energy conservation kits for their students in a new partnership with Citizens Gas, Vectren, Indianapolis Power and Light, and Duke Energy Indiana. NEED partnerships are growing each day, and every new partnership allows more teachers and students to benefit from NEED’s comprehensive energy education curriculum, training, and student leadership programs. In a new partnership with the College of the Mainland, Center for Process Technology, new materials and training resources will soon be released highlighting the basics of oil and natural gas exploration, production and refining. These materials explore petroleum and natural gas and the products made from them through a consumer’s eyes and with activities that explore careers in the industry.
NEED continues to grow at the national and the local level thanks to the support of committed sponsors and partners. Companies and organizations of all types and sizes work with NEED to invest in the future of energy and energy education. NEED sponsors and partners recognize the value of educating tomorrow’s workforce for careers in energy. Each partnership is unique. Each partnership considers an energy literate public a pathway to overcoming the energy challenges of the future.
The NEED curriculum is divided into eight steps; each builds on the others to form a comprehensive energy unit that encourages even the youngest students to understand how energy is involved in everything that happens in the world.
[edit] Training and professional development
Teachers are the key to the success of the NEED program. NEED teachers in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories reach more than four million students each year in their local schools, and many more through outreach programs. Providing teachers with innovative training programs and opportunities to increase their own energy knowledge is a major objective of the NEED program.
Training is offered at local, state, regional and national levels. During the school year, NEED coordinators, lead teachers, and student leaders facilitate workshops for teachers, students, parents, and community members that may range from a few hours to several days. At these workshops, attendees receive an introduction to the NEED curriculum. Additional training for special topics like solar, hydrogen, wind, energy on public lands, or energy management is available in many areas of the NEED network. NEED specializes in creating a first-class training experience, which is consistently scored by participants as one of the best professional development experiences available.
In the summer, the National Energy Conferences for Educators give teachers and energy professionals the opportunity to meet other educators from across the country, design and develop NEED units for their classrooms, increase their energy knowledge, and earn graduate credit. They participate in NEED activities and field trips to energy sites such as nuclear power plants, coalmines, offshore oil production facilities, solar energy facilities, hydroelectric dams, and energy efficiency projects.
In the summer of 2006, approximately 600 educators from across the country attended National Energy Conferences in Colorado, Massachusetts, Washington, New York, Texas, and California. NEED sponsors and partners provide sponsorships for teachers, and they participate as speakers and field trip guides. Some NEED states also sponsor summer energy camps for kids, spring break day camps, and overnight energy weekends. Many NEED schools work with scout troops and community youth groups to help them gain energy-related merit badges and community service hours.
[edit] The NEED network
The long-term success of NEED depends on the support of its network. The educators, students, directors, coordinators, sponsors, and community partners who support the program say that working with NEED is one of the most rewarding things about their jobs. The board of Directors facilitates the implementation of NEED's strategic plan for expansion and helps support NEED's goal of providing an energy education program to every interested school in America. Board members volunteer their time and talents to make sure that NEED has a strong foundation and that the programs and materials reach the greatest number of people each year. Each member of the Board provides funding for the development of NEED programs.
State programs are a vital component of NEED's mission. State coordinators and NEED lead teachers, partners, and sponsors provide day-to-day guidance to local programs, conduct regional and local training programs, design and distribute materials, support teachers, and help develop new NEED programs and activities. These state programs make NEED work at the local level—helping connect the state education standards to NEED programs and materials. NEED stays connected to its network via its newsletters— Energy Exchange and Career Currents—and a variety of resources and opportunities available on NEED's website, www.need.org, and many outreach events each year. Energy Exchange provides teachers, students, and sponsors with information and activities about energy and exciting new technologies and discoveries. NEED’s new newsletter, Career Currents, exposes students to the diversity of energy careers. Both newsletters are distributed bimonthly, and all issues are available on www.need.org.
With a new look this year, www.need.org gives teachers a resource for curriculum publications and activity guides, a place to discuss their NEED programs, and links to a variety of supplemental resources. The website also provides students with methods for choosing science fair experiments, fact sheets for research projects, activities to reinforce knowledge, and resources on the nation's leading energy sources, electricity, and conservation. NEED also partners with the Energy Information Administration on their EIA Kid’s Page, the premier site for kids to find reliable, up-to-date energy information and loads of fun energy activities.
Since its inception in 1980, NEED has grown from a one-day celebration of energy awareness to a national organization dedicated o introducing energy into the curriculum at every grade level. This growth would be impossible without the continued support of NEED's sponsors and partners at the national, state, and local level ho provide funding, time, energy, and technical assistance. NEED sponsors and partners believe in the importance of a comprehensive energy education program that helps teachers and students understand energy and its impacts on their world.
