Adam:
Refreshing! Great program!
Benjamin Rouben, FCNS
Manager, Reactor Core Physics, AECL SP
Tel: 905-823-9060 x 4550; Fax: 905-822-0567
e-mail: roubenb@aecl.ca
Cell: 416-526-2752
-----Original Message-----
From: Adam McLean [mailto:adam.mclean@utoronto.ca]
Sent: 2003/mm/08 7:01 PM
To: Canadian Nuclear Discussion List
Subject: [cdn-nucl-l] Teacher develops nuclear education course
Posted in The Sanford Herald (North Carolina) on August 6, 2003 and at:
http://www.sanfordherald.com/articles/2003/08/06/news/news02.txt
Some great ideas for educators everywhere...
Adam
-----------------
Edwards teacher develops nuclear education course
By KATHERINE MCDONALD
SANFORD - Nuclear power is an important source of energy, according to
Patricia Logan, a J. Glenn Edwards Elementary School fifth-grade teacher.
It is also part of the North Carolina fifth-grade curriculum on energy
sources. Yet, there are few classroom resources available for teaching about
it, she said.
Logan, working with staff at Progress Energy's Harris plant at New Hill
wants to remedy that.
She spent the summer as a teacher-in-residence there, working with Pamela
Oakley-Lisk, Harris education program coordinator, in developing and
collecting resources for teaching about nuclear energy in the classroom.
"Nuclear energy provides 20 percent of the electrical energy in the United
States and it does so without polluting the environment," Logan said.
Progress Energy has a Visitors' Center where the public, especially classes
of school children, learn about nuclear energy.
The company decided it wanted to do more to see that school teachers had
classroom materials about nuclear power. They hired Logan as a consultant to
gather and develop materials and create a user-friendly energy resources kit
for classroom teachers.
The kits also will contain teaching materials on other energy sources, such
as fossil fuels and hydropower, but the bulk of it will be on nuclear
energy.
It will have information sheets on energy sources and demonstration
materials, such as a circuit board to show students how to create and
connect circuits.
Lesson plans include Internet scavenger hunts for information on electricity
and nuclear energy, a puzzle on the parts of a nuclear power plant,
biographical research projects on people involved in the fields of
electricity and nuclear power, and other activities.
"It is very important that students are provided with real-world, hands-on
learning opportunities," Logan said of the kit. "Learning should be fun, and
even entertaining."
Logan said that she got involved with the teacher-in-residence program to
become a better teacher. She sees the Harris plant as a "wonderful resource"
for teachers and was delighted to work with it in bringing better nuclear
energy education to the classroom.
"I thought creating the resource kit would help me in my classroom and,
hopefully, help other teachers," she said.
The Harris plant Visitors' Center and Logan are planning to hold a teachers'
workshop in October to introduce the materials. The teachers also will get a
tour of the plant.
"What we're trying to get across is that nuclear power is the most
economical and environmental friendly way to produce electrical energy,"
Oakley-Lisk said.
Logan applied for the consultant position as an individual, not as part of
the Lee County School System. Still, Jeff Cox, Lee Schools assistant
superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said that there will probably
be a number of local teachers at the workshop.
"We'll be interested in seeing what she's developed," he said. After all,
"she is one of our own."
Logan is the plant's first teacher-in-residence. Harris administrators plan
to continue the program annually. In coming years, it will focus on the
development of teaching materials for middle and high school courses.
The Harris plant, opened in 1987, produces about 900 megawatts per hour,
about 12 percent of Progress Energy's electrical production in North and
South Carolina, Oakley-Lisk said.
The Visitors' Center is open by appointment only. Appointments can be made
by calling (919) 362-3261.
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