Student-Designed Solar Photovoltaics Investigation – Teacher
Summary
Solar Photovoltaics Investigation Teacher Guide
The Teacher Guide for the Student-Designed Solar Photovoltaics Investigation gives teachers everything needed to facilitate this multi-week, project-based engineering design challenge. It includes a clear introduction to the driving question, full student objectives, a project timeline overview spanning eight class periods, a detailed materials list, and step-by-step daily procedures for each phase of the project. The guide also provides a complete nine-category assessment rubric for evaluating student presentations.
Teachers will find specific guidance on how to introduce energy demand calculations using guiding slides, how to facilitate site selection through either a Google Earth desktop analysis or an in-person site walk, and how to demonstrate PV cell and multimeter setups for both basic open-circuit and advanced closed-circuit experimental designs. The guide covers safety protocols for heat lamps, lab proposal review and approval procedures, and tips for supporting students through data analysis and presentation prep. Materials are organized into basic supplies required for every group and design-dependent supplies that vary based on each team’s chosen variable, including options for shading, tilt angle, temperature, and color or filter experiments.
The guide supports NGSS-aligned instruction across multiple performance expectations including HS-PS3-3, HS-ETS1-2, HS-ETS1-3, and HS-ESS3-2, along with AP Environmental Science Topic 6.5 on solar energy. It saves teacher prep time by laying out the project sequence, materials, demonstration scripts, and rubric in one place, making it easier to deliver a successful multi-week investigation without extensive planning. The guide is designed for high school physics, environmental science, AP Environmental Science, engineering, and chemistry classrooms.
Extend the Lesson: Pair this Teacher Guide with all student handouts (Project Timeline and Tasks, Parts 1 through 5) for full project support. Use the Introduction to Solar lesson to introduce solar concepts before launching the investigation, and the Science of Solar lesson for the extended reading explicitly referenced in Part 3.