Teaching Plans

Type of Philosophy:  Social Reconstructionism

• Social reconstructionism places emphasis on social problems, and making a change.
• Teachers and students work to think critically about issues that concern their world, which can include environmental, social and global issues.
• The curriculum posed to students of social reconstructionist classrooms stimulates divergent thinking and group discussion and investigation.

How We Intend to Teach:

                We intend to inform our audience on the subject of wind energy and wind turbines. Our presentation will involve facts about wind turbines, definitions, pictures, and discussion questions. Our audience will be active and engaged in our discussion by physically moving throughout the room. The concept of kinesthetic learning will be utilized in order to establish a deeper understanding of the concept. We will attempt to engage all types of learners with visual aids, kinesthetic activities, and basic verbal instruction.

            














From our presentation, we expect students to gain the following:

1. Define wind energy
2. Form a stance on wind energy or develop an existing one
3. Recall at least one fact from the presentation
4. Be able to support/defend their position based on facts presented

Sarah's Take Action and Concept Map

 

 Since Wind energy has been facing opposition in my own area, I decided to interview people back home to see how they felt about the wind mills. Below are some photos of how the viewpoint of wind energy can change.
Here is a link to a pretty interesting article about the reactions to building wind farms in other areas:
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/partner-news/the-new-look-of-nimby-ism
And another article about a group of Canadians who were VERY strongly opposed:
https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/10/20/anti-wind-turbine-activists-block-southwestern-ontario-highway/

 

Kathryn Take's Action!!

I have always had a strong interest in the idea of Wind Turbines. When I saw that we had to take action for our subject of the blog I immediately got very excited. In my opinion I love the idea of having Wind Turbines and being able to have the use of clean energy. I took action be signing a online petition that will be sent to Congress to inform them that having Wind Energy is the next step for a better future. A better future is Wind Energy!

Here is the link to the website:

http://onemillioncalls.org/

Rachel Takes Action Towards Wind Turbines

I believe that wind turbines will be an incredible benefactor for our society to move forward. The use of Wind Turbines will hopefully lessen up the exceeded use on oil from the Earth. For our society to move towards wind energy and water energy is necessary. Wind is a factor in our dynamic Earth that will always be here, unlike the oil we use. There is only so much oil we can get from the Earth. Below is a petition I have found and signed for wind improvement in Canada. Though this is not an american based petition, I think it helps better the earth by spreading the move towards wind power throughout the world.

http://www.naturecanada.ca/advocate/wind.html

Vicky's Reflection on Taking Action:

I decided to petition against the use of wind turbines. They have been linked to causing health issues, such as insomnia, dizziness, and in some cases even problems with the heart.  Wind turbines have also had problems with breaking and causing a lot of damage. The petition I signed is pushing for smaller wind turbines, which would reduce the risk of harm to the residents and the neighboring wildlife in the area.http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/wind-watch.html I am rather excited that I know that I could have a part in making a difference on an issue that I am concerned with, especially when it is so closely connected to home. I am given the chance to express my voice, my opinions, and my views, something that not many other people in other countries may have the chance to do. I am glad that being an American citizen, I have the right to raise my voice and raise opposition!
Teaching social justice issues in classrooms is something that I would incorporate into my teachings. I never learned about many issues in our society. I really wish my teachers would have taken time to relate current problems to ways that we could help better our world. As teachers, it is our job to educate our students to become well rounded, worldly citizens. If we are not to reach these very ideas, then how will our new society members be prepared to tackle the growing concerns of  everyday life?

Wind Energy: Close to Home and Around the World

 

                   Wind energy close to home, specifically on the Cape, is on a tight time schedule. Due to time restrictions, the  multi-turbine offshore wind energy project must be completed by the end of this year in order to receive a federal tax credit of $200 million. The wind farm lies in danger of losing its funding, and stands facing an uncertain future.  These turbines have the potential to produce more than half of the electricity for the Cape and its surrounding islands. The project has faced much opposition, with members of various groups and even individual families strongly opposing and fighting the $2.6 billion project. More information on this topic, the original article can be found here.

Still interested? Look here:

Nebraska Lawmakers Look at Wind Energy

Law Will Let Public Voice Opinion

 

 

Rachel's Interview

Hi! I interviewed a girl from my dorm hall named Sarah.


1. Do you know what a wind turbine is?
Yes, a giant thing that goes *moved her hands in a circle*

2. Does your town have wind turbines?
Nope

3. Do you like the idea of wind turbines? 
Yeah, they're pretty

4. Do you think they're helpful or hurtful?
Helpful

5. Do you think that wind turbines will lower energy costs?
Yeah

6. Do you think they cause problems in a neighborhood? 
No

7. Did you ever learn about wind turbines in school?
No

8. Do you think wind turbines cause hazardous conditions?
No

9. Do you think they will help approve the environment as a whole?
Yes

10. How can children be taught about wind energy?
I don't know, give them a fan.

Reflection:

This interview really made me very curious about how many other people are clueless about wind turbines. I thought that everyone knew about wind turbines.