Energy Connections: Student Survey Report

During Fall 2008, the Science Museum of Minnesota's outreach staff visited schools throughout northern Minnesota to deliver the Energy Connections program. A summative evaluation was carried out to gauge the impact the program had on students' understanding of three of the program's key learning goals. As a result of participating in the Energy Connections program, students will learn that electrical energy can be generated from a variety of sources, which can be either renewable or non-renewable, and can have different environmental consequences/impact. People influence what decisions are made about technology and how energy sources are obtained, used, and transferred. Decreasing the use of energy resources can reduce pollution, save money, and conserve limited resources. Students in fourth through sixth grade completed a post-survey after participating in the Energy Connections program. For the purpose of analysis, a random sample of 100 surveys was drawn from the completed surveys for each of the three grade levels, for a total of 300 surveys. Key findings: Over three-quarters of students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade were able to correctly define renewable and non-renewable energy sources. A majority of students in fifth (54%) and sixth grade (66%) were able to list two correct conservation behaviors. As grade level decreased, the percentage of students providing two correct answers also decreased, with a quarter of fourth graders failing to provide any correct answers. Half of sixth graders and around two-fifths of fifth graders were able to provide two correct reasons to reduce electricity use. Less than a third of the fourth graders were able to do so. This report includes the survey instrument used in the study.