Energy Island as a context for science education
Willem van Son, M.Sc.
Willem Sonneveld, M.Sc.
Science Education and Communication, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands
Abstract
Physics teaching can be made more relevant to 15-18 year-old students by positioning the
physics content in a real-life context that pupils can relate to and understand. The module
Energy Island is based on a context-concept approach. This paper described the content and
evaluated use of the module. Students with sufficient physics knowledge appeared to be
successful in applying existing knowledge to a complex realistic new context.
Introduction
In The Netherlands, secondary education students can opt for a course called NLT (Natuur,
Leven en Technologie or Nature, Life and Technology). In English it is sometimes named
ASMaT (Advanced Science, Mathematics and Technology). Since 2007, this new
interdisciplinary subject is offered to science stream pupils in upper secondary education (age
15-18) in addition to regular subjects such as physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. It
offers the students the opportunity to widen and deepen their knowledge of science and shows
students the relevance of interdisciplinarity. It completes the natural sciences, and is meant as
a good preparation for a study in higher education in the field of science and technology (a
steppingstone towards science and technology). Currently about 40% of the Dutch schools are
offering NLT. One of the aims of the NLT-committee is: “Through the context students are
faced with new concepts as well as with applications of familiar concepts in new contexts. In
this way the subject can also contribute to a sustained anchoring of disciplinary concepts.”
(NLT, 2008). In Table 1, the domains for examination in the NLT programme are presented.
Table 1 Domains examination programme of NLT in the pre-university stream (2008)
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
pre-university education
Skills
The foundations of science and technology
Earth and climate
Stellar information and processes
Biophysics, biochemistry and bioinformatics
Biomedical technology and biotechnology
(Sustainable) use of raw materials, energy and space
Materials, process- and production technology
Tools, vehicles and products
The programme – based on a context-concept approach – currently consists of a set of over 70
modules that have been developed as teaching material for national use. Some examples of
titles are: “Technical design in biomedical technology” and “Driving under influence”. The
modules are about the integration of concepts in contexts: both the application of disciplinary
concepts and the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. The modules contain a knowledge
component and a skill component, integrated as much as possible. The concept-context
approach is the most recent development in context-based science education in The
Netherlands. Each of the 70 modules for NLT is assigned to one or more of the eight domains
of the programme and is developed – most of the time - by a team in which teachers of
secondary schools work together with one or more experts on the subject. Most modules are
interdisciplinary and deal with topics profoundly. Both now and in the future there is a need
for more modules. The modules should fit into one or more of the domains of the NLTexamination programme (see Table 1). The module Energy Island, about which this paper
reports, fits especially in domain G ‘(Sustainable) use of raw materials, energy and space’.
The module Energy Island
At Delft University of Technology, the Science Education & Communication division, a
group of student-teacher developed a new module called ‘Energy Island’. The development
was supported by the Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management. The module is mainly
assigned to domain G. The context is an idea for a subsurface-lake power station in the North
Sea powered by windmills with zero CO2 emission. The lake is created by building a dike in
the sea (see also Fig 1.). In case of a surplus of electricity and/or wind, water is going to be
pumped out of the lake into the surrounding sea. A shortage causes seawater to flow back,
while driving generators (KEMA & Lievense, 2007).
Figure 1. An artist’s impression and a scale model made by students of an energy island in
the North Sea
The module consists of a textbook, a teacher’s manual and a web based management game.
Students become more aware of the decreasing fuel stocks and increasing environmental
pollution, forcing science to develop methods of energy supply which are more sustainable,
efficient and clean. Students deal with electricity supply, storage and transport, windmills and
energy, the subsurface-lake concept and the process of making decisions at an administrative
level. The module concludes with specific assignments such as designing a battery, building a
hydroelectric power unit and an investigation of reducing the electricity consumption at home.
In 2010, this new module has been tested and evaluated in a class of 22 secondary school
students (group A). This group consists of 16 students with physics as a subject (subgroup
A1) and 6 students without physics (subgroup A2). After finishing their special assignments,
the students have done a 100-minute test in order to measure the achieved level of knowledge
and understanding.
After limited rewriting the module has been tested again in February/March 2011 in a class
of 30 secondary school students from another school (group B). They filled in a pre-test and a
post-test and a questionnaire in order to research their knowledge at several items.
Scientific background
The NLT programme is based on a context-concept approach. The interpretation of this
notion is not the same in all subject areas. Sometimes contexts are considered as means,
sometimes as ends. In context-based education, different sorts of situations, applications and
contexts play an important role in the realization of meaningful learning. In addition, it
emphasizes concepts and the interaction between concepts and contexts, building a coherent
conceptual framework and improving (strengthening) the transfer of knowledge and skills.
(Whitelegg & Parry, 1999; Goedhart, Kaper, & Joling, 2001; Pilot & Bulte, 2006).
In her outline-document, the NLT-committee wrote about the relation between concepts and
contexts: “The modules are based on the relation between concept and context. Concepts play
an important role, because they offer a framework for the acquisition of knowledge. The
establishment of logical connections between concepts will lead to a conceptual network in
the pupils’ minds. A student must learn how to extract the underlying concepts from the
different contexts and how to use them. A context is taken as a meaningful situation or
definition of a problem for the student. One may think of a situation or problem from the real
world: the living environment, a profession or science. Contexts can be starting points for the
development of concepts.
The basic idea is that the use of contexts facilitates the acquisition of new knowledge and
improves its anchoring in memory. Contexts give a good picture of the role the natural
sciences and technology play in society. The use of contexts can easily elicit amazement, and
thus make the subject matter more exciting and challenging.” (NLT, 2008)
We would like to know if there is a good transfer of the physics concepts into a difficult
context as an energy island. Recent research has led to the insight that it is not easy to learn
the concepts at a general, abstract level first and then applying them to different contexts
(Westra et al., 2007). Also an approach in which concepts are first learned in a specific
context and then transferred to a different context appears to be problematic (Pilot and Bulte,
2006). Recent research indicated that concepts should be learned in a variety of contexts so
that generic insights can grow gradually (Westra et al., 2007).
For us, ‘transfer’ means to apply a skill or a concept in a new context, with a different
format at a different time. In the concept-context approach even the term ‘transfer’ is used
with some hesitation. It appears problematic teaching a concept in one context and then
transferring that concept to another context.
Research methodology
Two main issues will be subject to research. The first question is to what extent the module
Energy Island has caused more awareness of the importance of sustainable energy (supply).
The second question focuses on knowledge. To what extent was it possible for pupils to apply
their existing knowledge in a new context? Did the module contribute to the gathering of new
knowledge about sustainable energy? In summary, is this module Energy Island useful to:
 become (more) aware of sustainable energy(supply),
 apply existing knowledge concepts in a new context,
 gain new knowledge?
In particular we will look at the suitability of the energy island as a possible context for
teaching and learning about energy concepts. Current literature suggests that contexts should
enable making already learnt knowledge more versatile and also obtaining new knowledge in
a meaningful and transferable way. These claims will be tested in our research study.
We will answer these questions based on the data we have gathered from:
1. interviews with the students, observations and a questionnaire in both groups,
2. the results of the special assignments,
3. the results of the tests.
Ad 1 In the period the module was tested, a researcher of the Master Science Education and
Communication has investigated in group A the practical feasibility for the teacher and the
feasibility for the pupils in terms of level and time. Part of the qualitative research was a
survey wherein the researcher has interviewed a representative delegation consisting of two
students with physics as a subject and two students without physics. Furthermore the
researcher has written down extensive observations during all lessons. Finally the course has
been completed with a questionnaire filled in by the pupils.
For the purpose of this paper we will use the interviews, the observations and the results of
the questionnaire enabling us to find answers to the mentioned questions. In the next section,
we will also make use of the special assignments that have been performed at the end of the
course.
The interviews were held nearly every week and were applicable to the subsequent chapters
of the module. They contained both open ended questions such as: “How interesting was the
chapter?” and closed questions for example: “Was the explanation of the law of Betz clear?”
It’s obvious that the students also brought in comments from themselves.
The observations consist of written reports of what the researcher – being among the
students – saw and heard of them. As a result in the observation report the researcher has
written down recommendations for improvement parts of the module.
Both groups responded to a list of statements in a questionnaire by scoring those on a 1 – 5
scale (1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree) and they were asked to make comments on
the statements. Beside the statements there were also a few open questions such as: “Which
parts of the module did you like best?” and “Which parts of the module did you learn the most
from?”
The list of statements is from the NLT-committee and all schools that test a module use the
same form. We have chosen only eight relevant statements. For example the statement “It was
clear to me how I would be assessed”, is not relevant for our research. (By the way the
average score for this item was 4,15.)
Ad 2 In order to create a good image to the reader of this paper table 2 shows the different
special assignments for the final part of the module.
The purpose of the special assignments is twofold. On the one hand the students practice
several skills such as doing research, technical design, writing a report, etc. On the other hand
the special assignments stimulate the students to deepen the new knowledge gained from the
module and to incorporate the concepts into a practical activity. Most of assignments are
related to sustainable energy.
Table 2 Overview of the special assignments
Subject
Description
Remarks
A
The earth‘s energy
management.
An essay about energy from a
holistic point of view.
For the pupils who like to
think about issues, the
philosophers.
B
Reducing and
levelling the
consumption of
electricity.
To what extend can the
consumption of electricity in
a household be reduced and
levelled?
For the pupils who wish to
use energy with more
awareness.
C
Electro chemical cells. Design and build your own
battery.
For those pupils who enjoy
using their hands.
D
Integrated circuit for
windmills.
Design an automated system
for an energy island.
A challenge for analytical
pupils.
E
Hydro power plant.
Design and build your own
Hydro power plant.
For the potential civil
engineering student.
F
Cars driving on
electrical power.
Desk Study how to promote
the use of electrical cars in
order to create a future
breakthrough.
For the potential project
manager.
G
Model of an energy
island.
Building a scale model.
For the creative artists.
H
Windmill.
Building a wind turbine
including whips.
For the designer.
Ad 3 In order to measure the achieved level of knowledge and understanding in group A we
summarize the results of the assessment. We distinguish two subgroups: subgroup A1 consists
of 16 students with and subgroup A2 consists of 6 students without physics as a subject. The
test contains 17 items, in which are 7 assessments items for recall of knowledge (reproduction
items) and 10 items to assess application skills and higher order thinking (production items).
An example of a reproduction item is: “Name two advantages of decentralized electricity
generation”.
An example to assess the ability to use learned material in a new situation is an item about a
wind farm in the North Sea is: “The energy yield per year is estimated 1,1 PJ. An average
household in The Netherlands uses 3,5.103 kWh per year. Calculate how many households
could be connected to this wind farm.”
In group B the series of lessons starts and concludes only with a test. In these pre- and posttest there were 4 items about existing knowledge and 4 about new knowledge. Some items
were multiple-choice questions and some are as ‘mention as much as possible’ items, e.g.
“Mention as much as possible different ways to store electric energy”.
An example of a multiple choice question about existing knowledge is: “At first an amount
of air has a wind speed of 15 km/ h and shortly thereafter 30 km/ h. The kinetic energy is A
twice; B four times; C eight times; D sixteen times as large”.
An example of a multiple choice question about new knowledge is: “The power P of a
windmill is proportional to the wind speed: A v; B v1½; C v2; D v3 ”.
Results
Ad 1 In the observation reports it is stated that the pupils were enthusiastic about creating a
poster with different kinds of storage of energy. They compared pump accumulation systems,
compressed air energy storage, flywheels, batteries, uninterruptable power supply and
superconducting magnetic energy storage and investigated the advantages and disadvantages.
The researcher has written down two interesting quotes in the report: “The pupils were
absolutely enthusiastic.” and “The pupils consider Energy Island and sustainable energy as an
interesting subject of the current timeframe.”
Both the observation and the interview reports provide only little information about to what
extend new knowledge was gained and old knowledge was used in a new context. That is to
say, it has not explicitly been asked and subsequently answered. In the interview report it is
stated that the students of subgroup A1 consider the physics of the fourth chapter – energy
island itself – very well feasible, because it contains familiar physics about energy applied in
a new context. The observation report mentions some matters about new knowledge such as
electromagnetism. It seems clear that the students experience difficulties with understanding
such new knowledge. This holds in particular for the students (from subgroup A2) without
physics as a subject.
The outcomes of the questionnaire are listed in Table 3.
Table 3 A part of the list of statements and the mean of both groups
Statements
Mean
A
Mean
B
Mean
A+B
N = 22
N = 30
N = 52
The module was about subjects that I like and/or are important to me
3,09
3,23
3,17
The module was a challenge to me
3,37
3,20
3,27
The module was about a topical issue
3,94
4,17
4,07
There was enough variety in the module
2,69
3,10
2,92
I often have been active during this module
3,09
3,43
3,29
My existing knowledge was sufficient
3,09
3,47
3,31
During the module I have learned many new things
3,60
3,17
3,35
The module was too easy
1,83
2,10
1,99
Both groups are not large and the number of items is small, so we can only observe some
trends from the scores. The questionnaire tells us – as shown in Table 3 – that the majority of
the pupils in both groups acknowledge the topicality and the interesting nature of the module.
 It is noteworthy that group B has a higher score at the statement ‘My existing
knowledge was sufficient’ and just a lower score at the statement ’During the module I
have learned many new things’. This may be explained by all the students in group B
have physics as a subject.
 It is remarkable that some students say literally in there comments to the questionnaire
that they have used existing knowledge into a new context.
 Also some students write that they already were aware of sustainable energy but this
module is very new with lots of practical ideas.
Ad 2 With respect to the special assignments a variety of data is available:
 In the questionnaire: the question “which parts of the module did you like most?” 36
of 52 pupils mentioned the special assignments in the first place. And often the
remark: “I have learned the most of the special assignment.”
 Some quotes from the observation reports: “The pupils get started very well with the
special assignments.” and “The special assignments apparently have a stimulating
influence on the pupils.”
 From the interview report: “The special assignments are mostly much more difficult
than the exercises and are a real challenge.” and “Everyone is willing to deepen
because everyone does what he likes.”
Figure 1 and figure 2 show some results of the pupils’ work.
Lemon battery
Hydro power plant
Figure 2. Some results of the special assignments
Windmill
It is worth mentioning two remarkable results of the special assignments, because it
emphasizes once again the increased awareness of sustainable energy and its consumption:
 Three couples of pupils have chosen for ‘reduction and levelling the consumption of
electricity’ focussed on households. Their reports included a written advice addressed
to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
 Three couples have chosen for the special assignment ‘promoting the use of electric
cars’. They all designed a video clip based on the ‘better place’ initiative in Israel and
composed a publicity campaign.
Ad 3 The results of the assessments in group A are listed in Table 4. In group B there was no
assessment, but only the pre- and post-tests. The results of these tests are listed in Table 5.
Table 4 Results of assessment with a 100-minute test in group A
Items
group A1
(N = 16)
group A2
(N = 6)
group A
(N = 22)
% score
% score
% score
all 17
78
53
71
7 about reproduction
87
84
86
10 about production
72
35
62
5 application
85
45
74
5 analysis
57
24
48
It is clear that both subgroups have the same average score on the reproduction items. Also it
is remarkable that there is a big gap between both subgroups on the production items.
Table 5 Results of multiple-choice items in the pre- and post-test in group B
Items about
pre
post
% score
% score
existing knowledge
86
87
new knowledge
8
43
Existing knowledge remains, as expected, at the same level and new knowledge is clearly
increased.
For example in the pre-test did the students know an average of 2,2 different ways to store
electric energy and in the post-test an average of 3,9. From detailed analysis of the answers
shows that the additional examples all come from the module. The knowledge about this item
is clearly increased.
Conclusions
The pupils’ perception of the module is that Energy Island and sustainable energy are truly
considered to be both interesting and an important topic of our time.
Most of the special assignments refer to sustainable energy. The pupils worked very hard to
complete these assignments and the products they have delivered have a high standard of
quality. The assignments were experienced as the most pleasant and meaningful part of the
module.
Based on the mentioned questionnaire, interviews, observations and products it is justified to
conclude that pupils awareness of sustainable energy is increased.
In short, the conclusions about knowledge are:
 the context of energy island is suitable for both teachers and students;
 students with sufficient physics knowledge are successful in applying existing
knowledge to a complex realistic new context;
 through this module the students successfully gain new scientific knowledge about
energy;
 the module has also contributed to a sustained anchoring of disciplinary concepts.
Whereas Goedhart et al (2001) warn that realistic situations in science are often too complex,
we found:
 students with physics as a subject are more successful at applying existing knowledge
in the new context and they are able to transfer their knowledge into a new context;
 for students without physics as a subject it is hard to learn the concepts of energy in
the real-life scenario of an energy island, they need much support/coaching.
An implication could be to support the students without physics as a subject by an
introduction to the basic concepts of energy before starting the module
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