Welcome to Energy Dialogues!
What are Energy Dialogues?
Energy Dialogues is a video series that addresses current energy questions. Each video provides background science on an energy issue and showcases students exploring the question from multiple perspectives.
Why an educational resource focusing on energy issues?
As an energy-producing province, Alberta is faced with complex decisions on the best way to develop our extensive natural resources. Energy Dialogues will help you bring these topics and multiple perspectives into your classroom. This resource will engage students – as future decision-makers – to join these important conversations with a more well-rounded understanding and with more confidence.
What is included in this resource?
Energy Dialogues Video Clips
Each video is approximately 12 minutes in length, and evaluates an energy issue relevant to Alberta. The resource provides science background on the topic being explored, then highlights students’ research as they investigate the question from various viewpoints.
Student Questions
After watching videos from the Energy Dialogues series, students can further their learning by responding to the guiding questions. They can be completed by students independently or can be used to stimulate class discussion.
Extension Activities
The activities below challenge students to delve further into the science and stakeholder viewpoints. In this way, students are encouraged to start developing their own unique opinion while considering the multiple perspectives. Each issues-based activity can accompany any of the videos in the series.
Summarizing the Science
After watching the video and discovering the science behind the energy question, have students summarize their learning. Encourage them to use their creativity to communicate concepts through a presentation, comic strip, dramatization, animation, photo album, etc.
- While watching the video, have each student record a statement they feel is important when addressing the initial question. (They may wish to write down a few ideas during their viewing, then choose the strongest one)
- After watching the video, place signs representing each of the perspectives (for example: Environment, Farming, Government, Industry -OR- Opportunities & Challenges) in the corners of the classroom.
- Have students move to the corner (perspective) that is supported by their statement. Encourage them to compare their ideas within their groups. How many of the statements are the same? Are any of them unique?
- As a class, make observations based on the disbursement of students around the room. Which perspectives seem the strongest? Weakest? Why?
- Ask individual students to share their statement and support their choice.
- Make a list of statements from the video that students could agree or disagree with (or have students do this as they are viewing the video).
- Create a continuum along the classroom with one end representing strongly agree and the other representing strongly disagree.
- Read out a statement and ask students to place themselves along the continuum. If appropriate, discuss why they chose that location.
- This activity could also be done by assigning each student a stakeholder perspective (i.e., landowner or industry representative). Have students think about how that stakeholder might respond to the statement and align themselves on the continuum.
- Brainstorm a list of issues that are related to the topic being discussed.
- Write five or more issues on separate pieces of flip chart paper.
- Distribute 10 stickers to each student (ideal if stickers are identical to ensure anonymity). Ask students to consider how important each issue is to them. (for example: if they were managing the resource which issues/topics would they make a priority).
- Have them assign their stickers to the issues based on which topics matter the most to them. They do not have to distribute stickers equally.
- After all students have placed their stickers, discuss the distribution. Are there some topics that the class feels very strongly about? Why?