2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The growing demand for a skilled renewable energy workforce in the U.S. starkly contrasts with declining student interest in non-medical STEM fields, highlighting the need to reform K-12 energy literacy infrastructure. Addressing this requires a deep understanding of regional disparities—a need often overlooked, as it has been in Nebraska. To bridge this gap, we conducted a region-specific energy literacy study across Nebraska’s high schools, analyzing curriculum content, teacher preparedness, and resource accessibility using survey data from high school science teachers across the state’s six Behavioral Health Regions (BHRs). While 70-80% of schools covered foundational topics like solar, wind, and water energy, advanced subjects such as energy storage and nanotechnology were significantly underrepresented. Hands-on learning was more common in Regions 1, 3, 4, and 5, likely benefiting from professional development programs. However, teachers from Regions 3, 4, and 6 felt the least prepared to teach advanced energy topics due to insufficient academic background, experience, and training. Over 90% of teachers in Regions 1, 2, 3, and 6 cited resource shortages, while 73-100% of teachers in Regions 1, 2, 3, and 4 reported a lack of detailed instructional materials as a major challenge in implementing hands-on energy-focused STEM activities. Other challenges included time constraints, teacher shortages, and students’ lack of prior background. More than half of responding teachers lacked experience in developing energy-related curricula, and participation in training varied widely (60-99%) across regions. Notably, regions from where teachers participated in training also emerged as leading adopters of hands-on activities. Teachers also emphasized the need for university support, advocating for collaborations, two-way communication, and access to ready-to-use lesson plans, activities, and online resources. Financial and travel constraints posed major barriers for students attending a potential 3-day summer camp at UNL, particularly in certain regions. Teachers recommended accommodating students’ summer schedules and diversifying instruction with online courses, virtual university-led modules, and dual-credit programs. Overall, the study recognized Nebraska’s diverse regional needs. Instead of a ‘cookie-cutter’ approach, tailoring education outreach materials to address region-specific disparities and needs can be a powerful and impactful strategy for expanding energy-STEM participation across both urban and rural Nebraska.