The importance of STEM education continues to grow year on year. Therefore, we thought it would be fitting to showcase how the National Energy Foundation (NEF) meets curriculum standards. Each state district adheres to standards for education, with many fadopting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), among others. NEF develops our programs with this in mind, and ensures that each activity meets the standards of the state it is being presented in.
By adhering to these standards, NEF programs help introduce students to key scientific concepts. This in turn could spark a lifelong interest in a STEM field. NEF uses a STEM matrix in order to indicate which standards the activity is reaching clearly. As you can see in the matrix below, each activity is designed to cover different areas of the standards. This ensures that our programs will fit seamlessly into a teacher’s regular curriculum. It also allows them to pick specific supplemental activities we provide to enhance their STEM education.
For example, rEV has the “Why EV? Teacher Poster”, which meets 21 different standards across NGSS, American Driver and Traffic Safety Education, and Common Core. If a teacher or school is interested in which standards it covers, they are all listed out in the matrix. Standards like MS-PS1-3 are shown, which defines how matter and its interactions should be covered. The “Why EV? Teacher Poster”, therefore, will cover this topic and the teacher can be confident they are providing the right information to their students.
STEM is a key part of education and NEF is proud to do our part in providing approved curriculum in order to help schools maximize their impact. If you are interested in helping us to foster the next generation of STEM workers, please contact Chris Reilly at [email protected].