- View more resources from this publisher
University of York Science Education Group - View more resources from this publisher
University College London (UCL) - Institute of Education - View more resources from this publisher
Templeton World - Charity Foundation
Tooltip
These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.
Biofuels
This unit looks at biofuels and how these relate to the climate crisis, fossil fuels and the food industry and whether they are the future of fuels.
In this unit students consider the relationship between the growing of crops for food or for fuel and conduct independent research to write a policy brief on biofuel research and development. As part of the brief students will have to examine the environmental, social, economic and political complexities of biofuels and discuss whether they represent the future of fuel.
Initially students are introduced to biofuels and some of the controversies surrounding their development and use. They then work in groups to research a different generation of biofuels and prepare an actor network map using the 'Activity 2- Getting started with the research' worksheet. They then share their findings with the rest of the class on who is affected and who has the power to make decisions about biofuel research and each student draws up a SWOT (strength, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. From this work students create a policy brief which is then peer-assessed. Finally they consider whether biofuels are the future of fuels.
This resource is part of a series of units from 'Science Beyond the Boundaries' which can be used for interdisciplinary teaching about applications of science and is designed for use in sixth-form enrichment programmes.
This unit has 5 main phases, lasting around 5 hours in total. Three phases take place in the classroom and the remainder can be completed either independently or as classwork. It contains 7 activities in total and those that require specialist resources are found in the documents listed below along with teacher guidance and a presentation.
Show health and safety information
Please be aware that resources have been published on the website in the form that they were originally supplied. This means that procedures reflect general practice and standards applicable at the time resources were produced and cannot be assumed to be acceptable today. Website users are fully responsible for ensuring that any activity, including practical work, which they carry out is in accordance with current regulations related to health and safety and that an appropriate risk assessment has been carried out.
Downloads
-
Presentation - Biofuels 7.81 MB
-
Teacher guidance - Biofuels 27.6 KB
-
Activity 6 - Writing a policy brief 49.99 KB
-
Activity 7 - Self and peer evaluation 223.04 KB
Show downloads
-
Presentation - Biofuels 7.81 MB -
Teacher guidance - Biofuels 27.6 KB -
-
-
-
-
Activity 6 - Writing a policy brief 49.99 KB
-
Activity 7 - Self and peer evaluation 223.04 KB
Download all files as a .zip10.12 MB
Information on the permitted use of this resource is covered by the Category Three Content section in STEM Learning’s Terms and conditions.
