opportunities for teachers

Check this page periodically for new updates! 

Solar 4R Schools and our partner organizations provide lots of great opportunities for teachers interested in renewable energy.

 

 


Curriculum development opportunity for teachers 

Renewable Energy Educator Lab

The Solar 4R Schools Renewable Energy Educator Lab is a year-long opportunity designed to create engaging and relevant renewable energy lessons accessible to teachers in the Pacific Northwest and nationwide. Participating teachers will be part of a small group of educators that collaborate throughout the year to design, test and implement exciting new units of lessons into their classrooms while diving deeper into the science of renewable energy. These “units” are typically multi-day or multi-week investigations of renewable energy concepts that are broken apart into separate lesson plans. One of the intentions of the Educator Lab is for teachers to develop lessons that are heavily anchored in engineering design principles, or supplement existing engineering and inquiry projects in their classroom. By the end of the program year, participating teachers will have strengthened their understanding of renewable energy and created exploratory, classroom-tested lessons that will become part of the Solar 4R Schools online Educator Library. The Solar 4R Schools Educator Library is accessible online to any teacher at no charge, allowing lesson plans developed in the Renewable Energy Educator Lab to reach students across the nation and even worldwide. This program is open to teachers at every competency level of renewable energy and electricity concepts. For examples of existing teacher-generated lessons, review our online educator libraryParticipants in the Educator Lab may also be invited to present their developed lesson plans at teacher professional development conferences as opportunities arise.

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To support this development work, participating teachers will receive:

  • Access to renewable energy content specialists
  • Supportive peer review and feedback of developing lessons
  • $5,000 stipend to develop and test lessons
  • Up to $500 in materials for summer testing phase
  • Up to $1,000 in materials for implementing their lesson in the classroom
  • Up to $2,000 in materials for testing and implementing up to two additional lessons

DOWNLOAD THE 2016-2017 RENEWABLE ENERGY EDUCATOR LAB RFP >>

OUR CURRENT APPLICATION CYCLE DEADLINE IS:  OPEN!

Proposals are due by 11:59pm Wednesday, May 25, 2016.

Summer 2016 Opportunity for Puget Sound Area Teachers: Renewable Educator Leadership Institute

STILL ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

Puget Sound Renewable Educator Leadership Institute

The Renewable Educator Leadership Institute is an innovative teacher professional development opportunity for Pierce, Snohomish, and King County K-12 educators who seek to meaningfully engage students in preparation for STEM careers. The weeklong summer institute leverages two major change elements of our society – the emergence of the new energy economy and the changing power grid – as demonstrations of real-world systems that can facilitate impactful, interactive learning experiences for students. The Leadership Institute is provided by BEF Solar 4R Schools, and is sponsored by Boeing Foundation, with additional support from M.J.Murdock Charitable Trust and the Bonneville Power Administration. 

Location and Date

July 18 – 22, 2016

University of Washington - Bothell

~ 8:30 am – 3:30 pm Daily

Eligibility and Qualifications

This opportunity is open to applicants who meet the following criteria:

  • Formal K-12 educator working in a school district in either Pierce, Snohomish or King Counties in Washington
  • Prepared and available to participate in the 5-day Institute in its entirety
  • Demonstrated (or strong desire to become) leaders within their communities
  • Prepared and able to train up to 20 teachers within their respective districts on STEM renewable energy topics and activities
  • Able to manage or facilitate a district-level renewable energy science kit (or kits)
  • Ready with an idea to develop into an NGSS-aligned task or project related to renewable energy

Learn more >> 

Download the Application Guide >>>