Sustainability in BioEnergy Academy for Teachers (BEAT): Changing Perspectives and Practices Toward “Greening” the Curricula

Abstract

A holistic approach of sustainability grounded in environmental concerns, also incorporates the dimensions of culture, economy, and social justice. It can be an added attraction bringing together various disciplines to explore pathways through which sustainability can be addressed in a practical manner. A one-week summer institute on Bioenergy and Bioproducts for educators from middle and high schools, and university faculty across STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics) disciplines was hosted by the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). This program is geared towards helping reform educational infrastructure by promoting multidisciplinary activities and content in the areas of sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts. The objectives of the Bioenergy Academy are: 1) to provide a systems-perspective in sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts education to STEAM educators and researchers; and 2) to develop and provide curricular materials and a set of teaching tools to educators for enhancing instruction in the areas of sustainable bioenergy and bioproducts. The Academy focuses on lessons and activities pertaining to sustainability, systems thinking, renewable energy with particular emphasis on bioenergy, bioproducts, and environment and policies related to energy issues. The participants got the opportunity to acquire concrete experiences involving teamwork, time management, and project execution skills; reflected on their learning experiences through presentations at the end of the institute; developed concepts related to organic chemistry, physics, engineering design, instrumentation, mathematics, biological, and environmental sciences; and actively experimented with feedstocks to generate biodiesel and environmentally-friendly soaps using the glycerin produced from the biodiesel. The BITES ( Buildings, Industry, Transportation, Electricity, Scenarios) simulation tool developed by National Renewable Laboratory (NREL) of the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and made freely available over the internet allowed participants to play out scenarios to reduce carbon foot print based on those situations that can be realized through policy decisions leading to building improvements, reduction of industrial pollution, use of alternative fuels, electric cars, and other design modifications in the transportation sector, and cleaner and more efficient conversion technologies for electricity generation and conservation. A total of forty one educators have been trained through this program over a period of four years. The evaluation surveys (pre-and post) revealed that the educators gained substantial knowledge in the fields of sustainability, bioenergy, and bioproducts, and felt comfortable in implementing the content in their courses and laboratories.

A Methodological Assessment Based on a Systematic Review of Circular Economy and Bioenergy Addressed by Education and Communication

“…The observational techniques were generally notable for detailing and describing educational interventions gathered by the researcher, with proposals focused on the areas of design [69] and ecodesign [25], chemistry [70] and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) areas [1], and in web environments integrated with machine learning to publicise biorefineries [71]. There was also research which applied observational techniques to create theoretical frameworks for future production systems in engineering [72], design and European firms [73] and in CE in education [74].…”

“…Finally, in this discipline there were studies which integrated solutions based on CE in building [74]. In social and legal sciences, the focus was on the study and analysis of application of CE in European firms [73], while in science there were studies that worked on evaluating the engagement of communication products with issues focused on sustainable bioenergy [75] and proposals for evaluating educational models in STEM areas in the field of renewable energy [1]. In art and humanities, it was sought to create awareness in consumption habits in the fashion industry [77] and the design of both university courses on CE [25] and collaborative projects in the context of strategies for Educational for Sustainable Development (ESD) for students who work on product design [69].…”

“…The studies which used nonnumerical primary data collected information by conversational techniques from stakeholders from the educational field [18,79,85], from experts on bioenergy [81] and researchers on sustainability in the business field [89]. There was also collection by observation of data from educational proposals working on green chemistry [70], STEM [1] design and CE [25,69,96] and with methodologies that promoted situated learning and service [77,104]. Collected through this technique, were also construction processes of a biorefinery, procedures for sustainability in the field of fashion [77] and information on communication products based on CE [75].…”

“…In recent years, climate change caused by human activity has become a real threat for all species which live on this planet. The increase of the earth's temperature, floods and melting ice are some of the visible consequences of this issue [1][2][3][4]. The foreseeable growth of the population at a global level [5] entails a challenge for businesses and institutions when producing and supplying both resources and services sustainably, posing the need to develop universal measures focused on long-term development of the planet.…”

“…In the educational field, research has been carried out focused on ascertaining the level of implementation of materials related with to CE and bioenergy at a curricular level in formal education [28]. Research focused on the creation of educational models for working on these issues in schools and universities has been undertaken [1]. In addition, research in measuring the level of awareness and perception of studies has been carried out [15,29].…”