Fifteen central Missouri teachers came together on August 6th and 7th to learn more about electricity generation and distribution at the University of Missouri.  The two-day graduate level course was developed in partnership with Dr. Leon Schumacher, Agriculture Systems Management Program with the University of Missouri, to provide teachers with in-depth information about energy, energy production, and incorporating renewable into energy production into the energy mix.  Many misconceptions and information gaps exist in the education arena about energy generation and the challenges of energy production.  The course addressed many of those areas of confusion.

The class syllabus featured talks from many distinguished speakers, including Boone Electric Cooperative’s Chris Rohlfing, who spoke on the basics of energy, and Dr. Anthony Lupo of the University of Missouri, who talked about atmospheric science.  The final section of the course included a tour of the University of Missouri’s power plant which uses coal, biomass and gas to fuel the energy needs of the University campus and hospital.

Course reviews completed by the teachers were extremely positive and expressed an appreciation for the training.  The participating teachers were very receptive to the course and received several takeaways, including energy experiment kits to use in their classrooms and one hour graduate level course credit from the University.  The teachers also have the option to pursue a second hour of course credit from the University after completing and submitting an additional course-related project.  Central and its 8 member cooperatives are pleased with the outcomes from the course and are looking forward to offering the course in conjunction with the University of Missouri again in 2014.

Through this course Central and its 8 member cooperatives demonstrate their commitment to community and to education, training and information, which are two of the seven cooperative principles. (2013)