The Energy Project is a research effort aimed at increasing learner engagement with energy concepts in K-12 classrooms. We work closely with elementary and secondary science teachers, offering professional development opportunities in which teachers use energy tracking strategies to make sense of energy conservation in a wide range of complex physical phenomena. We value the construction and refinement of flexible, rigorous and intuitive energy models which will empower learners to make sense

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... phenomena and resources that they care about in the real world. Therefore, both in instruction and assessment we prioritize energy reasoning strategies over static lists of energy facts or correct explanations. In this paper we share preliminary evidence of significant shifts in teacher's constructive use of diagrams and rigorous attention to energy tracking when confronted with a novel energy scenario. We believe that this study has methodological implications for future research on shifts in energy understanding.