Instructor Stories and Adaptations

These resources describe how the module was adapted for use in different settings. We hope these stories inspire your own use of the module and give you insight into how to adapt the materials for your classroom.

Benjamin Cuker: Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability at Hampton University.
The course was taught in the fall of 2014. We met each week for a 3-hour block in a large room that facilitated both discussion and hands-on learning. Much of the work was conducted outdoors, as students did laboratory/field projects that used solar energy and wind for several of the modules. The students included majors in marine and environmental science, architecture, and biological sciences. The order of module presentation varied to correspond to weather conditions. Those activities not requiring good weather were reserved for cloudy days.

Maurice Crawford: Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability at University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
The course was taught in Spring 2015 and 2016 as a two-hour laboratory course that met once a week. During each lab meeting we covered one course module. The course was opened to all students including non-science majors and served as an elective for either environmental science or biology majors. However, most of the students that enrolled in the course were upperclassmen majoring in biology. The course generally followed the curriculum developed, but the order of the modules varied depending upon weather.

Randolph Chambers: Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability at College of William and Mary.

The course was delivered twice during the Fall 2014 and Fall 2015 semesters, with 15 students in an environmental field laboratory each semester. Most of the students enrolled in the course as a 1-credit elective in their environmental policy major or minor. The course met once weekly for 80 minutes, and we covered an entire module each week. The modules with outdoor exercises were delivered to exploit existing weather conditions; as a result, the sequence of the modules was different from the sequence presented in the course description. The short amount of in-class time each week forced the class to focus on hands-on exercises and student presentations, with less time spent on reading reviews and quiz questions. The class also focused on how each alternate energy strategy might be applied on our college campus, and we completed calculations to compare energy costs and energy yields, relative to the current use of fossil fuels.

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