Geological Society of America

T141 Climate Literacy: Formal and Informal Educational Activities and Community Outreach to Support an Informed Society

Tuesday, 6 November 2012
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
210AB

INTEGRATE: AN NSF STEP CENTER ADDRESSING CLIMATE LITERACY AND SUSTAINABLITY

Paper number: T141-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 10:20 AM – 10:35 AM

Authors

Cathryn Manduca Presenting Author
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Timothy J. Bralower
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Anne Egger
Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA
Ellen Iverson
Carleton College, Northfield, MN
David A. McConnell
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
David Mogk
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
David Steer
The University of Akron, Akron, OH
Katryn Wiese
City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, N/A

Abstract

InTeGrate is an NSF-funded community project to improve geoscience literacy and build a workforce that can apply geoscience principles to address societal issues. Developing climate literacy is an integral part of the project. This year InTeGrate began development of new teaching modules and courses addressing climate change, natural hazards and risk, energy, modeling, and environmental justice issues associated with fresh water. These materials are designed for use in introductory geoscience and environmental science and studies courses, distance learning, and courses for education majors. They will be tested and evaluated for their ability to meet outcomes that contribute to geoscience literacy, including climate literacy. New opportunities for faculty to propose modules or courses for development are currently available: http://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/participate/index.html.

Three workshops offered this year by InTeGrate and its partner, On the Cutting Edge, addressed geoscience and sustainability, including climate and energy literacy. Outcomes included a wide variety of examples of activities currently in use to develop climate literacy, as well as strategies for linking local observations with global issues, for teaching systems thinking, and for integrating geoscience in interdisciplinary courses and programs. To support widespread integration of geoscience and sustainability concepts, these workshops initiated online collections describing current teaching activities, courses, and programs. InTeGrate will continue to build these collections in collaboration with On the Cutting Edge and Building Strong Geoscience Departments, and through open contributions by individual faculty and programs. Full information about the workshops and their outcomes is available: http://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/workshops/index.html Workshops in the coming year will address Geoscience and Engineering, Environmental Justice, Teaching Oceanography (part of On the Cutting Edge program) and Developing the 21^st Century Geoscience Workforce.