In order to develop the PEN curricula, we need people to teach the lessons and provide feedback - which will be used to improve the lessons as they move toward their final form.
You don't have to already be a teacher in order to teach a PEN lesson!
PEN lessons that are ready to be taught are listed here , and are in stage 2 or later. (There are also a few lessons at the bottom of the page that can be taught but pre-date our stages structure) Most of these lessons currently are part of the Solar Photovoltaic Curriculum, but we hope to be expanding soon. If there's something you'd particularly like to see a lesson about, make a note of it on the seeds brainstorming page .
Before teaching, you might also want to look at relevant background units , especially if you are unsure of exactly what kind of preparation your students have. The background units provide brief descriptions of scientific and engineering principles and skills that may come up in a variety of the lessons, often including useful analogies or ways to explain these topics. These explanations can be included in a lesson if the lesson depends on a skill or principle that the students do not already have a firm grasp on.
If you've not taught a PEN lesson before, you should look at our teaching tips and lesson philosophy . These provide insight into how PEN lessons should be taught, and strategies for hands-on teaching and encouraging students to discover and design on their own rather than rely on the teacher to provide the answer.
When you teach a lesson, we like to hear how it goes so we can keep improving it. Before you teach a lesson, check what stage it's at, and what kind of feedback we'd like at that stage. As you prepare, during, and after the lesson, make notes as to things that are both particularly good and things that need to be improved. Focus on the area of feedback appropriate to the lesson's stage, but feel free to tell us anything else as well. Once you've done this, post the notes on the discussion are of the lesson you taught. (This is going to change soon to keep things more organized.)
We will also soon have up pages listing teaching opportunities (and suggestions of how to make your own opportunities) and advice about finding materials for these lessons. In the meantime, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment below