A Heuristic Approach to Learning and Teaching of STEAM Subjects Behind Sustainability

Overview

In face of climate change, carbon neutrality is a key benchmark for us to strive for sustainable development. The application of solar energy flourishes in the hope of reducing carbon emissions from the consumption of fossil fuels. The Solar Harvest Support Scheme of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD) supported 500 local schools and welfare NGOs to install solar energy generation systems. The detailed energy generation data are recorded by the Real-time Monitoring System (RTMS).
The Solar Harvest educational kits are developed to heuristically deliver STEAM-related knowledge at secondary levels, and support the educational uses of solar energy facilities installed in schools under the Solar Harvest Support Scheme. The topics cover solar water heating, solar lighting, photovoltaic solar panels, and more. Experiments are designed to verify physical laws that are within regular curriculum while essential for harnessing solar energy efficiently in real-world conditions. The educational videos, which present the experiments and data, are produced in an interactive manner to raise students’ interest. Students can follow the videos to analyses the experimental data and RTMS data in the worksheets. This trains up students’ capability to scientifically justify the observations and optimise for the use of solar energy under different conditions.

The educational kits comprise 32 sets of learning and teaching materials related to solar energy at junior and senior secondary levels. Each kit contains short educational videos, teaching slides and student worksheets in English and Chinese. In the videos, professional host introduces the science principles, performs experiments, and analyses the results. The real data obtained from the experiments and the RTMS are also presented to students for data analysis and discussions in the worksheets. Suggested solutions to worksheets and teaching slides are available for teachers’ direct use or modifications. Some experiments built with low-cost and easily accessible materials set exemplars for schoolteachers and laboratory technicians to replicate or modify in school settings. Students can gain more extensive exposure to practical skills in STEAM subjects, and a comprehensive understanding of the working principles behind the efficient use of solar energy. The resources are open to public online for free.　

Participants of this seminar will understand:
1. the opportunity to use the educational kits as an enrichment in class;
2. the methodologies to inquiry-based science learning and teaching at ease; and
3. the extension of conventional science education to real-world applications