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KEEP Professional Development

Energy Education Professional Development Options​

​Professional development through KEEP helps educators in all grade levels and subject areas integrate energy concepts into the curriculum using various teaching strategies and assessment techniques. Prepare your students to be innovative leaders while they gain 21st-century skills to solve energy issues.

KEEP offers several trainings that fulfill the Environmental Education Stipulations.

What We Offer

KEEP offers multiple educator professional development workshops around the state and throughout the year. Any of our workshops can also be requested for customized on-site in-service or staff professional development. Contact KEEP for more information and to schedule a 2- to 7-hour workshop or in-service for your staff. Substitute reimbursements up to $150/teacher may be available.

Request a Customized Service Contact KEEP to Schedule a Workshop View Upcoming PD Opportunities
Discovering Energy in Nature

You’ve likely heard that bringing your classroom outdoors can be an effective way to teach. According to the Children and Nature Network, there are numerous reasons for taking students outside: Nature enhances academic achievement, improves student behavior, motivates the students to learn, promotes communication, improves cooperation, helps students focus, and of course, makes them healthier and happier! Join the Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) to discover energy lessons that can effectively be taught outside. Take temperatures to investigate how shading, coloring, and other factors affect temperature; survey different environments to determine how sunlight, soil moisture, temperature, and wind affect living elements in an ecosystem; and spend time in a beautiful setting while making curriculum connections. Recommended for educators of grades K-6, adaptable for 7-12. Explore resources and activities for this workshop. (Meets EE Stipulation)​​

Energy Concepts for the Elementary Classroom

Refresh your knowledge of basic energy concepts and build confidence and excitement to teach about energy to elementary students! In this workshop educators will review the basics of electricity, energy transfer, energy in motion, and how we use energy in our world. Using NGSS–aligned lessons and hands-on resources in the KEEP Energy Concepts Kit, teachers will leave ready to teach energy in their K-4 classroom.

On-Demand Online Course
Energy Education: Concepts and Practices
Participants will gain fundamental knowledge of energy while participating in this self-paced online module which addresses energy concepts relating to energy definitions, natural laws of energy, energy flows in living and non-living systems, and their relationships to understanding and evaluating environmental issues. Module activities include the exploration of energy readings and pertinent websites, home activities such as reading utility bills, home energy audits, and calculating the wattages of various home appliances.
Complete the Module Online (No Certificate) Learn More or Register
Scheduled By Request
Energy Education for Pre-Service Educators

Energy Education for Pre-Service Teachers introduces students to creative ways to bring energy education into their future classrooms. With activities that can be adapted to many grade levels and subject areas, participants receive hands-on experience with concepts that bring an awareness of energy in our daily lives, the worldwide resources needed to fuel our energy usage, and an introduction to future energy issues across the globe. Discussion surrounding common at-home practices, combined with the connection between our energy consumption and global energy issues, make this training an invaluable experience for our future educators.​

Energy Efficiency Education: Your School Building as a Teaching Tool

Empower students and staff to be part of the energy solution through relevant experimentation using cutting-edge technology. This workshop utilizes the school building as a teaching tool to explore energy efficiency concepts and evaluate energy use through hands-on discovery and advice from energy professionals. Participants develop energy-saving action plans that meet the demand for project- and STEM-based learning and link to future career options. The workshop will include time for collaboration and lesson planning, and a variety of ready-to-use KEEP lessons and activities so teachers can integrate relevant lessons right away. Recommended for teachers of grades 5-12 and schools undergoing energy management services. (Meets EE Stipulation)

Renewable Energy Education: KidWind Educator Workshop

Learn how to explore the power of wind with your students! In this workshop you will review energy and electricity basics, design and test blades in a wind tunnel, explore related KEEP energy education resources, and preview ready-to-use renewable energy curriculum. Participants also learn about the Wisconsin KidWind Challenge that takes place in spring each year and gain tips for coaching student teams through the process of designing and constructing small-scale turbines. Educators will leave with the resources and confidence to use renewable energy as a lens into hands-on science, technology, and engineering exploration in the classroom (and you’ll get some free gear, too)! Recommended for teachers of grades 4-12. (Meets EE stipulation)

Renewable Energy Education: Solar Energy Lessons

Solar PV applications are seen everywhere from road signs to enormous arrays for generating utility-scale electricity! Get your students excited about solar energy and the implications it has for our environment and economy while exploring potential careers in the energy industry. This workshop provides hands-on activities that utilize the KEEP Solar Tilt Kit and standards-aligned companion lessons.  You will learn how solar panels work, use professional tools for siting solar PV installations, and use the Solar Tilt Kit to discover how the angle of the sun impacts the electricity generated by a solar panel. This workshop is ideal for Science and Social Studies teachers. Recommended for teachers of grades 4-12.

Renewable Energy Education: Using School Solar Dashboards

Use your school’s solar resource to engage students and drive teaching and learning with relevant experiences. Your solar electric system can be used in math, science, and social studies lessons to analyze data and explore how the utilization of renewable energy impacts our community.

On-Demand Online Course
Solar Energy Potential: Dashboard Technology as a Teaching Tool for Inquiry
These solar dashboard-based inquiry activities are designed for the exploration of geographical and seasonal differences in solar panel production. Whether or not your school has a solar array, solar PV generation dashboards are a powerful way to bring the topic of renewable energy to life in the classroom. Discover the benefits of using solar dashboards, electricity generation data, and pre-made online maps to connect concepts of spatial thinking, scientific inquiry, and data literacy. Recommended for 5th-12th grade educators.
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