SEA Hosts Second Annual Teacher Advisory Council Summer Institute

Switch Energy Alliance hosted the second annual Teacher Advisory Council (TAC) Summer Institute from June 28th to 30th. Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) teachers from across the country met over Zoom to create an exciting new curriculum and discuss energy education in the world today.

The teachers first participated in a Switch On post-screening Question & Answer session with Harry Lynch and Dr. Scott Tinker. SEA team members and teachers then split into four breakout groups to work on curriculum development projects, including activities about solar energy, home energy efficiency, fossil fuel extraction, and Switch On K-12 viewing questions.

In addition, the Summer Institute had two special guest speakers: Dr. Amod Pokhrel, featured in Switch On, discussed his research on the health benefits of clean cooking in Nepal. Emily Hawbaker, Curriculum Director for The National Energy Education Development (NEED) Project, highlighted exciting new material for APES teachers.

Ruthann McComb, an APES teacher from North Carolina who helped develop Switch On viewing questions, believes the film will be a valuable addition to her curriculum. “This is an eye-opening film showing how communities bring clean energy into their lives for the first time,” Ruthann said. “Switch On is a perfect fit for my Environmental Science classroom. It checks all the boxes!”

All of the developed curriculum from the Summer Institute will be available with the release of Switch Classroom this Fall. You can pre-register for Switch Classroom here.