Geological Society of America

T183 Climate Literacy: Formal and Informal Education and Outreach Activities and Research and Evaluation Measures of Success

Tuesday, 3 November 2015
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room 324

SUPPORTING STUDENTS UNDERSTANDING OF CHANGE OVER TIME AND SPACE: THE EARTHLABS CLIMATE SERIES

Paper number: T183-4
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:50 AM – 9:05 AM

Authors

Katherine K. Ellins
Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
Alison Mote
The Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, Austin, TX
Tamara Ledley Presenting Author
TERC, Cambridge, MA
Karen S. McNeal
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Nick Haddad
TERC, Cambridge, MA
Julie C. Libarkin
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Erin Bardar
TERC, Cambridge, MA
Betsy Youngman
TERC, Cambridge, MA
Candace Dunlap
TERC, Cambridge, MA
Jeff Lockwood
TERC, Cambridge, MA

Abstract

The EarthLabs Climate Series is a set of four distinct but related high school curriculum modules that help build student and teacher understanding of our planet’s complex climate system. The web-based, freely available curriculum modules include a rich set of resources for teachers, and are tied together by a common set of climate related themes that include: 1) the Earth system with the complexities of its positive and negative feedback loops; 2) the range of temporal and spatial scales at which climate, weather, and other Earth system processes occur; and 3) the recurring question, “How do we know what we know about Earth’s past and present climate?” which addresses proxy data and scientific instrumentation. The four modules (Climate and the Cryosphere; Climate and the Biosphere; Climate and the Carbon Cycle; and Climate Detectives) approach climate change from different contexts, and have provided teachers of biology, chemistry, marine science, environmental science, and Earth science with opportunities to address climate science by selecting a module that best supplements the content of their particular course.

We have assessed over 500 students to examine the impact of the EarthLabs modules on student understanding of the Earth as a system that changes over time and space, as well as their affective perspectives on climate science and confidence in their understanding. Early results indicate that student had pre-post gains on most of the content-based questions ranging from 2%-42%; and significant gains on the affective questions addressing knowledge, awareness, and information about Earth’s climate system and on their confidence in their answers.

This presentation will highlight the four curriculum modules in the Climate Series, the multiple pathways they offer teachers for introducing climate science into their existing courses, the preliminary research results exploring the modules impact and how that research contributed to the improvement and refinement of the EarthLabs modules.