Telling the Biofuels Story to Students: Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center Teacher Resources

April 09, 2015

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(Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center) Understanding role of biofuels in meeting our energy needs and mitigating global climate change is a complex task. Telling stories is an effective way to help students make sense of science ideas and important societal issues. We created a "Biofuels Story" pictorial to help teachers introduce this story to students. This includes a wall version with pictures that can be posted and narrated on a classroom wall, as well as a supplemental online Prezi version of the story

Human energy use and biofuels and their role in managing global climate change are urgent current socio-scientific issues facing our society. The Next Generation Science Standards recommend that students learn about these about issues. However, the story is complex and students will need multiple opportunities to work through it. The materials provided here provide a way to launch a study of biofuels. We recommend that you tell the story of biofuels and post a story wall in your classroom. The included online Prezi presentation version can serve as an introduction and review of the story.

This combination of an oral story and pictures serves four functions:

Students remember stories because they are coherent and connected to a plot line.
The story wall can act as a reference for students as they work through multiple activities (See teacher guide for details).
The story wall can act as a focal point for discussions and elaborations as students’ knowledge grows.
The combination of oral, written, and pictorial versions of the story provide students with multiple representations of the complex issue giving students with different learning skills access to the material. READ MORE

Biofuels vs Fossil Fuels Unit

The Biofuels vs Fossil Fuels unit has students explore the similarities and differences between fossil fuels and biofuels. In the process, students investigate the carbon-transforming processes of combustion, photosynthesis, fermentation, respiration, and the overall effect of these fuels on the global carbon cycle. This in-depth unit was written in collaboration with education researchers a Michigan State University and aligns with the Next Generation Science Standards.

They apply their knowledge of these processes to the global carbon cycle to examine how use of fossil fuels and biofuels have different effects on atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and consequently global climate change. Students use their understanding of the global carbon cycle to study the claim that biofuels, such as ethanol made from plant material, can help reduce the rate of increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide. In addition, students examine the environmental impact of biofuels agriculture.

Overall, this unit has three important goals. These focus on:

Matter and energy changes associated with the carbon-transforming processes.
The effects of the use of fossil fuels and biofuels on the global carbon cycle and global climate change.
A cost/benefit analysis of the production and use of biofuels.

This is meant to be a stand-alone unit, however we strongly recommend that teachers use the Biofuels Supplement, a shorter version, along with the entire suite of Carbon TIME units. Our research shows that students need this type of sustained instruction to master systematic thinking about matter and energy in biological and geological systems. READ MORE

GLBRC "Data Nuggets" for Students

In the coming months we will be rolling out a series of "data nugget" activities that allow students to answer the research questions investigated by our scientists using real data generated by researchers in GLBRC labs and field trials. Topics will include biomass production, fermentation and biodiversity. These activities are based on a model developed by educators and researchers at W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. Our first activity has students compare the biomass production of different crops to determine when and where perennial bioenergy crops can compete with "king corn." READ MORE