(153e) Teaching Energy and Sustainability Using Only Active Learning Pedagogies

Knowledge of Energy and Sustainability are important for undergraduates to learn about before moving into the work force. The challenge with such fields is the information is too vast and intricate to be justifiably conveyed in a university course through standard lectures. Interaction and engagement with the information that yields the highest level of understanding is critical. In this talk, I discuss my course offering entitled “Materials for Energy and Sustainability”, in which students engage with the course content using only active learning pedagogies. The learning activities include: Student-led discussion, small group problem-solving, peer-judged debates, peer-to-peer lightning talks, as well as competitive games. I will draw from the outcomes of these learning activities to show how students gain excellent understanding of the critical aspects of Energy and Sustainability, and how not only more knowledge can be acquired as compared to lectures alone, but also better mastery of that knowledge, in a high-energy and engaging learning environment. These activities and their positive outcomes generalize to other upper year elective courses that aim to introduce students to broad technical fields.