Class Discussion
In Lesson 7, you will use appropriate video, multimedia presentation, or print technology to create action plans that would reduce the amount of energy—and, by extension, greenhouse gas emissions—per person that is used for transportation in their community. Moreover, after you have finished creating your action plans and completed your presentations, you will be given time to present these plans to the class.
The following Web sites will provide useful data for you to use when developing you action plans:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ – from the Department of Energy
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/ – Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center
http://cta.ornl.gov/data/Index.shtml – Transportation Energy Data Book from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (In particular, you should use Chapter 2 – “Energy”, and Chapter 11 – “Greenhouse Gases,” although the Data Book has many datasets that could be useful in creating an action plan.)
Presentations using multimedia (Powerpoint) will need to be displayed and presented by your teams to the whole class. You will have approximately 20 minutes to present your action plan. You may wish to develop visual presentations with audio voiceover. In this way, the presentations are preserved to be reviewed by me and others at a different time.
Review your Engineering Notebooks to help you identify other possible sources of information. Also, If you are going to create a video with voiceover, be familiar with the camera or camcorder, media presentation and video editing software programs.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
By the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
Create a plan to reduce per‐person fuel usage and greenhouse gas emissions in your community.
Create media presentations to communicate your plans to others.
Present your plans to the class and give each other constructive feedback.
Lesson Essential Questions:
1. What kind of changes can individuals make in their driving habits to use less energy?
2. What measures would convince community members to use less energy‐intensive modes of transportation? Page 2
Materials needed from other Web sites:
http:/www.fueleconomy.gov/ – from the Department of Energy
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/afdc/ – Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center
http://cta.ornl.gov/data/Index.shtml – Transportation Energy Data Book from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Student Worksheets / Rubrics Required:
Media Presentation Checklist (one copy per team)
Presentation Rubric
Student Activity
Review your Engineering Notebooks to review the information and designs you developed in the previous six lessons.
Get into your teams. Review each criterion on the Media Presentation Checklist. If you have any questions or need clarification, please ask me.
Please be aware that the team’s final project will be assessed according to how well it satisfies each of criterion on the checklist and of the presentation rubric. Also, remember that each team member must be involved in the presentation in some way.
What is an action plan? It should list actions that would lead to a desired outcome. The plan should also include the cost of the plan, reasons why this plan is better than other potential plans, and a timeline of events that would be needed to enact the plan.
For example, what actions could lead to reduced production of greenhouse gases in your community? More mass transit, incentives to buy more fuel‐efficient vehicles, changes in motor vehicle laws to discourage wasteful driver behaviors, or simply a plan to encourage people to inflate their tires? You can from these ideas or create your own ideas.
Let's get to work on your projects. When your are finished, you should practice delivering your presentations. You should use your Engineering Notebooks for drafts or storyboards of your presentations.
Since each presentation will conclude with a feedback session, let's spend a few minutes discussing the differences between acceptable and unacceptable feedback. For example, I don't want you to say, “I like your plan” or “Good job.” Instead, comments should be supported by details such as “I like that your plan does not require new train tracks be built,” or “I agree that a tax incentive for farmers to buy more efficient trucks would work best in this area.” Also, you should make only constructive comments. You may ask questions about points that confused you or may make suggestions for improvement, but you should not comment on things you disliked.
After each presentation, I will give everyone on the other teams a chance to offer constructive feedback or to ask questions.
I will assess students by completing the Media Presentation Checklist and Presentation Rubric.