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

CLIMATE MISCONCEPTION REMEDIATION WITH 3-D VISUALIZATIONS

Paper number: T141-9
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:50 AM – 10:05 AM

Authors

Abstract

Numerous studies have indicated that high school students and teachers have significant misconceptions related to climate science. A climate misconception multimedia presentation has been developed that utilizes 3-D Magic Planet® presentations combined with summary information presented using PowerPoint slides and hands-on experiments. The Magic Planet® platform enables visualization of complex planetary data on a 3-D sphere. Many weather and climate related presentations have been developed, and NOAA Science On a Sphere® presentations can be formatted for the Magic Planet®. The presentation is being used to test the hypothesis that this type of multi-media presentation can remediate a number of commonly held climate misconceptions in a short period of time. The presentation is designed to target different learning styles and to build connections between student experiences and climate science.

The presentation has undergone initial testing to determine high school and student teacher perceptions of this type of presentation. Survey and focus group interview data on these perceptions will be presented. On-campus presentations using a 30-inch Magic Planet® have been made to visiting student groups. A 16-inch Magic Planet® is used to make in-class school presentations. Pre- and post-surveys have been administered to determine the extent to which climate misconceptions have been remedied through use of the presentation.