What you will need for this course
- Access to a computer
- Paper or digital notebook
- Pen/Pencil as needed
- The desire to know more about how American energy is sourced, transported, and consumed the majority of your fellow citizens 😊
BENERGY Course Methodology
How we make it happen for home-schooled, high school level students
We use two primary methods, Think-Pair-Share and Think-Write-Reflect, both common teaching methods that enable students to easily digest, understand, interpret, and share the lessons learned through the Benergy Course material.
Think-Pair-Share is an effective and widely used strategy in high school education adapted by BEN for homeschooling. It provides opportunities for active learning, critical thinking, improved communication, and deeper engagement with the curriculum. This collaborative strategy allows a student to process new information individually, discuss it with a family member or peer in a less intimidating setting, and then share their refined ideas with a wider group.
Think-Write-Reflect model is a metacognitive strategy that helps students process information and deepen their understanding by moving from individual thought to structured writing and, finally, to a synthesis of their learning. How BEN incorporates it into a lesson plan.
Prompts Used Throughout the Course
THINK – Students individually and silently process a prompt. This is a time for quiet internal processing to organize thoughts before articulating them.
WATCH – A visual prompt or instructional cue that instructs students to observe a stimulus—such as a video, demonstration, or presentation—to gather information, spark creative thinking, or learn a skill.
WRITE – Students write down their ideas in response to the prompt. Writing cements their initial thoughts and can reveal gaps or ambiguities in their thinking.
REFLECT – Students analyze their own writing and thinking process. This can be done alone, in pairs, or in small groups to gain new perspectives.
COMMUNICATE – A specific question, instruction, or cue designed to trigger student response, participation, or skill acquisition. It serves as a teaching tool to increase the likelihood of a correct answer or desired behavior (e.g., asking “What do you do next?” or modeling a behavior).
Other Methodologies We Use
These methodologies are effective for homeschool, high school curricula because they:
- foster deeper engagement through hands-on, real-world experiences
- develop critical 21st-century skills like problem-solving and communication,
- promote student-led learning, and
- increase knowledge retention compared to passive learning. These methods empower students to become active, confident learners by connecting academic subjects to authentic contexts and providing opportunities for independent discovery and real-world impact.  
Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) – an active, student-centered approach where learning is driven by curiosity, questions, and real-world investigation rather than passive memorization. Students explore, research, and collaborate to solve problems, fostering deeper understanding and independence. Key principles include building on student curiosity, providing scaffolding, and fostering a safe space for inquiry.
Project-Based Learning (PBL) – a student-centered teaching method where students actively explore real-world challenges over an extended period to gain deep content knowledge and 21st-century skills. Students work collaboratively to solve problems, resulting in a public product or presentation. It boosts engagement, critical thinking, and agency.
Citizen Science Thinking – an approach to scientific inquiry where members of the public (including students) actively participate in research—often by collecting, analyzing, or reporting data—to answer real-world questions. A “Citizen Science Project” is a form of public participation in scientific research, where non-professional volunteers collaborate with scientists to address real-world questions by contributing to data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
BENERGY Assessment Types
All multiple choice
Summative assessments, evaluates learning and performance at the end of an instructional unit or course.
Diagnostic assessments, also known as pre-tests, are tests that assesses prior knowledge.
Formative assessments, monitor student learning to test if material is understood. Â