National Science Standards

Science as Inquiry: Content Standard A:
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop:

Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry
- Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models. This aspect of the standard emphasizes the critical abilities of analyzing an argument by reviewing current scientific understanding, weighing the evidence, and examining the logic so as to decide which explanations and models are best. In other words, although there may be several plausible explanations, they do not all have equal weight. Students should be able to use scientific criteria to find the preferred explanations.
Understandings about scientific inquiry
- Scientists conduct investigations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, they may wish to discover new aspects of the natural world, explain recently observed phenomena, or test the conclusions of prior investigations or the predictions of current theories.
- Mathematics is essential in scientific inquiry. Mathematical tools and models guide and improve the posing of questions, gathering data, constructing explanations and communicating results.
- Scientific explanations must adhere to criteria such as: a proposed explanation must be logically consistent; it must abide by the rules of evidence; it must be open to questions and possible modification; and it must be based on historical and current scientific knowledge.
- Results of scientific inquiry--new knowledge and methods--emerge from different types of investigations and public communication among scientists. In communicating and defending the results of scientific inquiry, arguments must be logical and demonstrate connections between natural phenomena, investigations, and the historical body of scientific knowledge. In addition, the methods and procedures that scientists used to obtain evidence must be clearly reported to enhance opportunities for further investigation.

Science and Technology: Content Standard E:
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop:

Understanding about Science and Technology
- Technological knowledge is often not made public because of patents and the financial potential of the idea or invention. Scientific knowledge is made public through presentations at professional meetings and publications in scientific journals.

Science in Personal and Social Perspectives: Content Standard F:
As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop understanding of:

Environmental quality
- Many factors influence environmental quality. Factors that students might investigate include population growth, resource use, population distribution, overconsumption, the capacity of technology to solve problems, poverty, the role of economic, political, and religious views, and different ways humans view the earth.

History and Nature of Science: Content Standard G:
As a result of activities in understanding of grades 9-12, all students should develop:

Science as a human endeavor
- Scientists are influenced by societal, cultural, and personal beliefs and ways of viewing the world. Science is not separate from society but rather science is a part of society.

Learning Objectives

Each student will:

Write a school lighting audit action plan that includes recommendations derived from the analysis of data.
Develop the presentation materials (e.g. PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and other visual media) that show the data analysis results and recommendations using graphs, tables, etc.
Present the action plan to classmates and/or administrators.

Background Information, Vocabulary and Materials

Background Information

Material learned from Lessons 6-8.

Vocabulary

Terms from Lesson 6.

Materials

Completed Lighting in the Library’s "Student Worksheets" pages 1-9.

Lesson Procedures

Presenting the Information

Instruct students to design an action plan with their team (or as a class) based on analysis of data from the school energy audit and calculations. Have students take two or more days to:

Select appropriate audience
Select appropriate vehicle to deliver information (PowerPoint presentation, video, etc.)
Design a presentation that includes the appropriate information from the lighting audit as well as background knowledge from Building Performance Matters. Give the School Lighting Action Plan Checklist to each team. This checklist provides the components that should be included in their presentations.

Present Action Plan to class as practice for presentation to selected audience (or actually to selected audience if possible).

Student Practice / Activity

Students design an action plan with their team (or as a class) as described above.
Present Action Plan to class as practice or to selected audience.

Feedback

Review action plans with students, providing feedback for improvements.

Handouts and Worksheets

School Lighting Audit Action Plan checklist

Critierion-Referenced Test

This material part of final test. See Testing Blueprint in Teacher's Guide for details.

Unit Summary

Use the Advance Organizer, slides 1-6, as a summary of the complete unit. As each slide is shown, ask students what they have learned about this aspect of building performance and clarify any misconceptions. This will help prepare the students for the unit test.

Individual pages from this web site may be printed and duplicated for
student classroom use provided that proper credit is given to
the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC).