Table 1 Description of the development phases and implementation of the curriculum unit

Connecting the teachers with a STEM professional

Based on the teachers’ preferences, the facilitators contacted a company and initiated a meeting between the teachers and the STEM professionals. The goal of this meeting was to identify a commission for the students that provided the focal point for the curriculum unit.

Bennett et al. (2007)

Fallon (2013)

Tal et al. (2014)

Development of the commission

After the meeting (see above), the teachers drafted a commission letter. The draft was reviewed by the facilitators, and the teachers sent a revised version to the STEM professional. The STEM professional finalised the commission letter (Fig. 2). In essence, the students were commissioned by Ruter to evaluate best practice, available technology, and budget constraints to design solutions for fossil-free public transport that could be implemented within 4 years.

King (2012)

Sadler et al. (2017)

Sevian et al. (2018)

Establishing contact between the teachers and scientists at a university lab

We (facilitators) established contact between the teachers and scientists at a university lab and informed them about the students’ commission. The teachers organised the logistics of the field trip, and university scientists presented the content through lectures and demonstrations of fuel cell technologies.

Falloon (2013) Tal et al. (2014)

Learning goals and assessment

The teachers developed learning goals for the students and criteria for assessment. The facilitators gave feedback.

Bjønness and Kolstø (2015)

Hmelo-Silver et al. (2007)

Tal et al. (2014)

Design of the learning activities in the curriculum unit

The classroom-based learning activities were planned by the teachers and included some learning resources suggested by the facilitators. The teachers and the STEM professional collaboratively designed the introduction of the curriculum unit, the field trip to a research station for buses, and the field trip to the STEM professional’s main office where the students presented their solutions to the commission.

Remmen and Frøyland (2017)

Tal et al. (2014)

Houseal et al. (2014) Tytler et al. (2018)

Implementation of curriculum unit

The commission letter provided the focal point for the students’ learning about renewable energy, including the operation of fuel cells and solar cells, battery technology, and biomass. Within this context, the teachers and students carried out several classroom and field trip activities. The overall aim of the classroom activities was to support the learning of theoretical knowledge related to renewable energy and to support the students in practicing skills such as comparing technological solutions, argumentation, and communication. The curriculum unit culminated in an oral examination.