Renewable energy in Finland

How to teach it in comprehensive school science?

Eila Jeronen Juha JeronenUniversity of Oulu University of Oulu

University of Jyväskylä

Contents

• Introduction• Subject content knowledge

– Electricity production and consumption– Renewable energy policy

• Pedagogical knowledge– Science curriculum– Teaching methods and approaches– Materials

• Conclusion• References

Introduction• Due to climate change, renewable energy sources are becoming

increasingly important• Thus, it has been seen important to include climate change and renewable

energy sources into curriculum for comprehensive school(Comprehensive school in Finland: primary and lower secondary levels)

• Problem:How to integrate scientific and educational subject content knowledge in comprehensive school science?

• Background–Effects of climate change research on renewable energy policy–Climate change as part of curriculum for comprehensive school science(Comprehensive school science in Finland: biology, geography, physics and chemistry)

• Aims of this presentation–To introduce usage of renewable energy sources in Finland–To present some possibilities for teaching climate change in comprehensive school science

Subject content knowledge 1/6

• “A European energy policy must pursue the objective of a sustainable, competitive and secure supply of energy.”

(European Commission 2007)• Target

– 260 PJ increase in use of renewable energy by 2025

– 31.5% of gross electricity consumption in 2010

• Progress– 24.7% of gross electricity consumption in 1997

– 28.16% in 2004

• Supporting policies– Tax subsidies: no end user tax for renewable energy

– Discretionary investment subsidies: 30% of new investment costs

Renewable energy policy in Finland

(European Commission 2007)

• Electricity production makes up 30% of total energy production.(SusNordic 2007)

• In 2004, a total of 81,600 GWh of electricity was produced in Finland.(Index Mundi 2007)

• Of this total, 25,535 GWh (31%) was produced from renewable energy sources. (European Commission 2007)

Subject content knowledge 2/6Electricity production 1/2

• Total energy production of Finland by source (SusNordic 2007):(1 PJ = 1 petajoule = 1015 joules)

Subject content knowledge 3/6

Electricity production using renewable energy sources in Finland consists almost entirely of solid biomass and large-scale hydro power.

(European Commission 2007)

Electricity production 2/2

Subject content knowledge 4/6

Final energy consumption by end-use sector in 1999.

(Grandell, L. 2000)

Electricity consumption in Finland

Subject content knowledge 5/6

• Hydro energy provided about 10-20% of the energy supply of Finland in 2001.

(Clausen et al. 2004)

• Hydro energy is supported by renewable energy policies as one of the methods for producing renewable energy.

(European Commission 2007)

Hydro energy

Subject content knowledge 6/6

• The use of biomass in Finland has steadily increased over the past 25 years, up to approximately 20% of the energy supply in 2001. Most of the biomass originates from forests.

• The general energy policy has supported biomass for energy over the entire period, although specific policies have changed with time. (Ericsson, Huttunen, Lars, Nilsson and Svenningsson 2004)

Biomass

• Objectives: the students will learn– future-oriented thinking– building of the future upon ecologically, economically,

socially, and culturally sustainable promises.

• Core contents– environmental values– sustainable way of life– eco-efficiency– consumer behaviour

Cross-curricular theme “Responsibility for the environment, well-being, and a sustainable future”

Pedagogical knowledge 1/5

(National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2004, 36-41.)

Pedagogical knowledge 2/5

• Objectives: Students– learn to represent information about the environment– learn to use scientific concepts for describing and explaining environmental

phenomena– understand the dependence of human activity on the possibilities that the

environment offers– learn to recognize environmental changes in the pupil’s home region, to consider

the reasons for them, and to present possible solutions to problems– learn to work and investigate environmental phenomena together with others – come to understand the main objectives of environmental protection and the

principles of sustainable consumption of natural resources• Core content

– interaction of nature and human activity– environmental changes engendered by humans– investigating the status of, and changes in, one’s living environment– the human being as a consumer of natural resources– weighing one’s environmental behaviour

Science curriculum

(National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2004, 170-194.)

• For example, the following teaching methods can be applied to the topics covered:– Problem-based learning

“Problem-based Learning in Biology: with 20 Case Examples”

http://www.saltspring.com/capewest/pbl.htm

– Concept mappinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Concept_map&oldid=141888482

Huitt, W. (2004): Values education http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/col/cogsys/bloom.html

Teaching methodsPedagogical knowledge 3/5

Approach  Purpose  Methods

Inculcation  To instill or internalize certain values in students; 

To change the values of students so they more nearly reflect certain desired values 

Modeling; 

Positive and negative reinforcement; 

Manipulating alternatives; 

Games and simulations; 

Role playing

Values Clarification To help students become aware of and identify their own values and those of others; 

To help students communicate openly and honestly with others about their values; 

To help students use both rational thinking and emotional awareness to examine their personal feelings, values, and behavior patterns 

Role-playing games; 

Simulations; 

Contrived or real value-laden situations; 

In-depth self-analysis exercises; 

Sensitivity activities; 

Out-of-class activities; 

Small group discussions 

Moral Development To help students develop more complex moral reasoning patterns based on a higher set of values; 

To urge students to discuss the reasons for their value choices and positions, not merely to share with others, but to foster change in the stages of reasoning of students 

Moral dilemma episodes with small-group discussion; 

Relatively structured and argumentative discussion without necessarily coming to a "right" answer

Pedagogical knowledge 4/5 Overview of Typology of Values Education Approaches (cf. Huitt, 2004)

1/2

Approach  Purpose  Methods

Action Learning  Those purposes listed for analysis and values clarification; 

To provide students with opportunities for personal and social action based on their values; 

To encourage students to view themselves as personal-social interactive beings, not fully autonomous, but members of a community or social system 

Methods listed for analysis and values clarification; 

Projects within school and community practice; 

Skill practice in group organizing and interpersonal relations

Analysis  To help students use logical thinking and scientific investigation to decide value issues and questions 

To help students use rational, analytical processes in interrelating and conceptualizing their values

Structured rational discussion that demands application of reasons as well as evidence; 

Testing principles; 

Analyzing analogous cases; 

Research and debate

Pedagogical knowledge 5/5 Overview of Typology of Values Education Approaches (cf. Huitt, 2004) 2/2

Example of analysis activity• Environmental Content:

Effects of climate change on energy and electricity production and consumption.

• Students’ tasks:– Students interpret data, make inferences from trends or patterns in data,

make temporal comparisons.– Students carry out a small investigation of their own electricity

consumption.• Assessable outcomes:

– Interpretation of data– Analyzing trends and patterns in temporal data– Constructing explanations about the links between energy and electricity

production and consumption.• For sources of material, see slides above and next slide

Pedagogical knowledge Material 1/2

• Teachers' Guide to High Quality Educational Materials on Climate Change and Global Warming

http://hdgc.epp.cmu.edu/teachersguide/teachersguide.htm• Teaching Climate Change: Lessons from the Past

http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/climatechange/index.html• Climate Change Teaching and Learning Resources

http://free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=155&res_feature_request=1• Educational Links - Teacher Sites

http://www.climate.org/topics/links/educational/teachers-links.shtml

Pedagogical knowledge Material 2/2

• Ilmasto jäähylle! -oppimateriaalihttp://www.motiva.fi/fi/yjay/koulutjapaivakodit/perusopetus7-10lk/ilmastojaahylle/

• Ilmari - ilmastotietoa kouluillehttp://www.ilmasto.org

• Myllärin tuulivoimaa - Tuulivoimatietoutta yläasteillehttp://www.windpower.org/fi/kids/index.htm

• Esimerkkejä oikeasta elämästä energiaopetuksen avuksihttp://www.motiva.fi/fi/yjay/koulutjapaivakodit/kaytannonopetusesimerkkeja/

• Materiaaleja energiaopetukseenhttp://www.motiva.fi/fi/yjay/koulutjapaivakodit/energiaopetusmateriaalit/http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_info/cons_diary0607/teacherskit_fin.pdf

Conclusion 1/2• Education and citizenship are closely

linked (European Commission 1998)– Education provides a foundation for

informed participation and integration

• Thus, teaching is not only about feeding the pupils with scientific knowledge, but also about educating them into responsible citizenship

• Work remains to be done in educating for active citizenship in Finland

The Active Citizenship Composite Indicator.(European Commission 2006)

Conclusion 2/2• In practice this means that integration of scientific content knowledge and

educational knowledge is importantCf. Luukkainen (2005, 54): Factors in professionalism of a teacher (translated by E. Jeronen)

Thank you for your attention!

References• Clausen, N-E., Barthelmie, R., Batchvarova, E., Gryning, S-E., Pryor, S., Tarp-Johansen, N.J., Holttinen, H.,

Ólafsson, H., Lundsager, P., Tammelin, B. and Bergström, H. (2004). Impact from climate change on the wind energy potential in the Nordic region. European Wind Energy Conference & Exhibition 2004. Poster presentation. http://www.os.is/cefiles/wind/EWEC_london_2004_paper_final.pdf

• Ericsson, K., Huttunen, S.. Nilsson, L.J. and Svenningsson, P. (2004). Bioenergy policy and market development in Finland and Sweden. Energy Policy Volume 32, Issue 15, 1707-1721. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03014215

• European Commission. (1998). Education and active citizenship in the European Union (DG XXII). http://ec.europa.eu/education/archive/citizen/citiz_en.html

• European Commission. (2006). Measuring active citizenship in Europe. http://crell.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ActiveCitizenship/AC-Final%20Report-December%202006/measuring%20AC.pdf

• European Commission. (2007). FINLAND – Renewable Energy Fact Sheet. http://ec.europa.eu/energy/energy_policy/doc/factsheets/renewables/renewables_fi_en.pdf

• Grandell, L. (2000). Finland Renewable Energy Policy 2000. http://www.agores.org/Publications/EnR/FinlandREPolicy2000.pdf

• Index Mundi. (2007). http://www.indexmundi.com/finland/electricity_production.html• Luukkainen, O. (2005). Opettajan matkakirja tulevaan. Opetus 2000. Juva: WS Bookwell.• National Core Curriculum for Basic Education 2004. National core curriculum for basic education intended for

pupils in compulsory education. Finnish National Board of Education. Vammala: Vammalan Kirjapaino.• SusNordic. (2007). Climate and energy policies.

http://www.sum.uio.no/susnordic/finland/national_authorities/climate_energy.htm