Phillips 66 and the National Energy Education Development Project (NEED) hosted an energy education workshop on Thursday, Sept. 24, for dozens of teachers from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
At the workshop, a NEED energy education trainer, explained how to use experiments and research and analysis activities to make learning about the science of energy fun and relevant for K-12 students. The curriculum the teachers received emphasizes all sources of energy and explains the importance of using energy wisely. The teachers all received a NEED-developed, state-correlated curriculum that expands and increases students’ energy knowledge. Participants also received a Science of Energy kit with hands-on experiments that enable students to explore the forms of energy and energy transformations.
“Phillips 66’s significant investment in energy education addresses the need for high quality energy curriculum and training for today’s teachers and students,” said Mary Spruill, executive director of the NEED Project in a press release. “Supporting NEED’s STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and workforce development programming engages students and teachers in a deeper understanding of energy.”
Since 2008, Phillips 66’s sponsorship of the NEED Project has helped educate almost 5,000 teachers. This year, Phillips 66 will host 21 workshops for more than 800 teachers in 12 states.
This article appears in Oct 1-8, 2015.