Balog hosts a STEM presentation for 4th graders about solar energy
Published Jul 10, 2018Texas A&M at Qatar supports its faculty and staff members to host events and programs to students across Qatar to encourage them to choose educational pathways in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
Dr. Robert Balog was invited to teach a beginners class on solar energy for fourth graders at the ACS International School in Doha on 28 May 2018. His presentation included props for show and tell, and a hand out quiz for the students to identify answers throughout the presentation. During his STEM presentation, Balog powered a fan from a small solar panel, which excited the students and caused them to be interested in solar energy.
Hosted at the ACS International School in Doha, the presentation has received praise from the fourth graders homeroom teacher, Duane E. Smith, who said, “[Robert Balog] has enormous confidence speaking about solar power. Admittedly, it can be hard to teach technically heavy content to younger audiences but his lesson featured appropriate academic language for the intended audience. He also supplemented his oratory with a vivid digital presentation, a small pop-quiz style handout and several devices for use in generating solar power. The teachers were all impressed by his ability to make the entire lesson engaging and understandable. In all, class served as a strong provocation for inquiry and the kids loved it, so it was a glaring success.”
Professor Robert Balog is the Director of the Renewable Energy and advanced Power Electronics Research laboratory at Texas A&M University at Qatar. Balog has given several seminars and workshops to engineers and stakeholders in addition to extensive publications.