Download Teaching Global Climate Change: A Challenge to Our Future Leaders

Teaching Global Climate Change
Challenging Our Future Leaders
Weather & Climate in the News
• 2006 was the warmest year on record in the
U.S.
• Summer 2007 Expected to Have Record
Drought
• Record Snowfall in the New England States
• Wind chills Reach -45 Degrees in Madison
• Antarctic Ice Melting at Increasing Rates
The Facts:
The mean temperature of the Earth is increasing
and the use of fossil fuels is at an all time high.
United Nations
• UNFCCC Executive
Secretary calls for
speedy and decisive
international action on
climate change
(February 2007)
Global Climate Change…The
Education Connection
• Climate change in the standards, benchmarks,
position statements, etc.
• How climate change is embedded into science
education
• Examples of some teaching strategies that are
in current use
• What could be better….
Science Matters
Ch 18:The Greenhouse Effect p 270-274
Robert Hazen & James Trefil, 1991
• Things that can be agreed
upon:
– carbon dioxide is a
greenhouse gas
– the concentration has been
increasing
• Questions of disagreement:
– Whether warming has already
begun
– How much warming there
will be
• The threat is real; the following
steps should be taken:
– Stop destruction of rain
forests
– Plant more trees
– Decrease the use of fossil
fuels
Science For All Americans
AAAS
• The physical setting and
the flow of energy
• The formation and use
of fossil fuels is viewed
as a dynamic system
• The time scale is vastly
different
National Science Education Standards
National Academy of Sciences
• Standard F: Human
Activities can induce
hazards
• “Although students in
grades 5-8 have some
awareness of global issues,
teachers should challenge
misconceptions, such as
anything natural is not a
pollutant, oceans are
limitless resources, and
humans are indestructible as
a species.”
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy
pages 66-70
Grades 6-8
• Climates have
sometimes changed
abruptly in the past as a
result of changes….
• Even relatively small
changes in the
atmosphere…..can have
widespread effects on
climate
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy
pages 66-70
Grades 9-12
• Life is adapted to
conditions on Earth….
• Weather and climate
involve the transfer of
energy in and out of
the atmosphere
• Systems…technology
often has unintended
outcomes
NSTA Environmental Education Position Statement:
Declarations
• programs and curricula should address student outcomes as
specified in the National Science Education Standards, be
grounded in sound research, and reflect the most current
information and understandings in the field.
• should provide interdisciplinary, multicultural, and multiperspective viewpoints to promote awareness and understanding of
global environmental issues, potential solutions, and ways to
prevent emerging environmental crises.
• developers of environmental education programs should strive to
present a balance of environmental, economic, and social
perspectives.
NSTA Position Statement:
Environmental Education
--Adopted by the NSTA Board of Directors February 2003
• NSTA strongly supports environmental education as a way to
instill environmental literacy in our nation's pre-K-16 students.
It should be a part of the school curriculum because student
knowledge of environmental concepts establishes a foundation
for their future understandings and actions as citizens. Central
to environmental literacy is the ability of students to master
critical-thinking skills that will prepare them to evaluate issues
and make informed decisions regarding stewardship of the
planet. The environment also offers a relevant context for the
learning and integration of core content knowledge, making it
an essential component of a comprehensive science education
program
• 21st Century Content Several significant, emerging content
areas are critical to success in communities and workplaces.
These content areas typically are not emphasized in schools
today. Among those skills are:
• Global Awareness
• Civic Literacy
Sources of Information & Teaching
Resources
• NOAA and the IPCC websites are reliable sources of data and materials
that teachers can use:
• http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/climateextremes.html
• http://www.ipcc.ch/
Teaching Activity:
Making Global Connections
• Uses cards with a collection of issues that students
must discuss and demonstrate the connections
• Emphasizes the interconnectedness of issues facing
society of which one is “global warming”
• Correlated to the National Standards
• Provides and integration of curriculum through
writing and art activity
Some Example Activities from
Wisconsin Schools
• Integrated into a unit on energy and energy production (grade 12)
• “greenhouse effect” is demonstrated accompanied by a discussion of
carbon dioxide production and the ways in which emissions can be reduced
(gr 7-8)
• Part of a unit on weather and climate… the manmade production of carbon
dioxide is discussed (gr 8)
• Discussion of Earth’s systems in and Earth Science class (gr 9)
• Present the concept of global warming… students debate the various
political positions that exist (gr 6-8)
• Discussion of the natural greenhouse effect and then show how human
activities can increase the effect
• A complete two week unit using articles, books, video’s, speakers, and field
trips
They’re Melting!
An Investigation of Glacial Retreat in Antarctica
• Inquiry based activity
• Varies the salinity of the
water
• Varies the temperature of the
water
• Student determine melting
rates under various
conditions
• Antarctic food web is
examined in post activity
discussions
• Science Scope (Jan 2007)
Improvements to Instruction
• Earth Science is moving toward a systems
approach
– Carbon cycle
– Water cycle
– Oxygen cycle
• Integrated instructional approach
– Social studies with science and language arts
• Textbook involvement
Ontario Changes Curriculum Focus
• The provincial government plans to more
heavily focus Ontario students' attention on
climate change and its consequences for
Canada and the world as it revises its science
curriculum
• The new curriculum would change the name of
a Grade 10 science unit on weather to "climate
change."
Barriers We Face
• Entrenched structures predicated on a disciplinary framework
at the expense of interdisciplinary studies
• Dominance of “issue driven” supplementary curriculum
materials
• Lack of adequate pre-service training for teachers
• Varying quality of k-12 materials especially of sponsored
materials
• Vested interests recognize that literacy challenges the status
quo
• Failure to address learning for the 21st century
• A failure to understand true cause and effect relationships
“There was no environmental
education in 1970. Now there are
thousands of schools which offer
good environmental education.”
Gaylord Nelson
Environmental Literacy and Education
• Movement of the field towards a more
comprehensive, integrated, future-oriented
reconceptualization of environmental literacy
called sustainability education.
• Movement to reach out and “green”
professional training
• “green schools” movement
Environmental Literacy
• The capacity of an individual to act
successfully in daily life on a broad
understanding of how people and societies
relate to natural systems
• According the NSTA teacher registry there are
more teachers who classify themselves as
environmental science teachers than physics or
chemistry.
NSTA Initiatives
• Susan Solomon as a
featured speaker at the
NSTA National
Conference in St. Louis
“The significant problems we face
cannot be solved at the same level of
thinking we used when we created
them.”
Albert Einstein
“ . . . promoting excellence and innovation
in science teaching and learning for all.”
John Whitsett
National Science Teachers Association
[email protected]