UW-Stevens Point: Five Wisconsin educators travel to Taiwan to share energy education curriculum

University Relations and Communications, 715-346-3046, Fax 715-346-2042, http://www.uwsp.edu/news

Five Wisconsin teachers and Carrie Ziolkowski, program coordinator for the Wisconsin K-12 Energy Education Program (KEEP) at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, recently returned from a professional exchange in Taiwan where they led portions of energy education workshops in three different Taiwanese counties.

At each of the workshops Ziolkowski presented on the philosophy and research done on energy education research conducted by KEEP. The teachers gave presentations on how they teach about energy education in their classrooms and also presented a hands-on activity from the KEEP Activity Guide during one of the workshops.

The trip was organized by Earth Passengers in Taipei, which has hosted KEEP on three other occasions since 2006. The program is sponsored by Global Environmental Teachings (GET) and KEEP.

“These teacher exchanges give Taiwanese educators an opportunity to learn about energy education through hands-on workshops while Wisconsin teachers gain valuable cultural experiences and learn how energy is taught in Taiwan’s schools,” said Ziolkowski. The trip included three workshops for Taiwanese educators, a tour of five schools, a trip to Taroko National Park, tours through different counties, and several interpretive tours through historical sites and cities.

The five teachers selected for the trip have worked with KEEP on a variety of projects ranging from taking KEEP graduate courses, participating in student involvement projects, and assisting with the development of new programs. The teachers selected were:

Random Lake Michael April, Random Lake High School

South Milwaukee Jackie Cebertowicz, Edgewood Elementary School

Mequon Doug Dimmer, Homestead High School

Chippewa Falls Karen Wise, Lake Wissota State Park

Somers Kevin Zimmerman, Shoreland Lutheran High School

Global Environmental Teachings, a program within the Wisconsin Center for Environmental Education (WCEE) in the College of Natural Resources, connects educators and students worldwide through environmental education. For more information, contact Susan Schuller, 715-346-4150 or get@uwsp.edu, or visit http://www.uwsp.edu/get.

KEEP is the result of a collaborative effort between WCEE and Focus on Energy. For more information on KEEP, visit http://www.uwsp.edu/keep.