Activities Helping Students Explore the Science of Climate and Ways to Take Action for the

Health of the PlanetRoberta Johnson1, Randy Russell, Lisa Gardiner, Sandra Henderson, and Becca Hatheway

UCAR Office of Education and Outreach1National Earth Science Teachers Association

windows2universe.org

Overview

• Climate and Global Change education on Windows to the Universe* and at NCAR– Online resources– Professional development

• Strategies • Sample activities– Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise– Plugged into CO2

• Lessons learned*Windows to the Universe moved to NESTA in April, 2010

http://windows2universe.org

http://windows2universe.org/climate.html

Three levels of content in two languages

Online Professional Development for Educators

• NCAR Online Education: Climate Discovery – three 6-7 week online professional development courses for middle and high school educators – offered 2007 – 2010 - ~300 teachers to date

• Tailored online courses for specific audiences, based on Climate Discovery Courses - ~50 teachers to date

• Climate and Global Change Professional Development Network (NASA GCCE) – six web seminars offered in Spring and Fall, 2010, offered in collaboration with NSTA and NESTA - ~50 – 70 teachers per web seminar

For information about web seminars, go to:

http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/main/gccepdn_main.html

In-Person Workshops

• 2002 – 2005 – Climate and Global Change Workshops at NCAR – 2 weeks, summer, 20 participants each

• Workshops at NSTA area and national conferences– Since 2004, ~20 climate change workshops (1 hr) and 2

3-hr short courses– ~1000 participants

• Other occasional venues (US, Latin America) - ~500 teachers to date

Strategies - Hands-on Activities + Content

• combine INEXPENSIVE hands-on activities with content presentation

• most teachers (or at least audiences; individuals may lean more one way or another) are very interested in both "ready to use Monday" activities AND in enhancing their own content expertise

Strategies - Make it Easy for Teachers

• make it very easy for teachers to get resources (images, movies, back-ground info web pages) used/displayed in workshops for their use in classroom

• don't just say "do a Goggle search”

• workshop web pages

Strategies – Adjust Workshop Flavor to Opportunity!

• Classroom Tools to Explore the Past, Present and Future of Climate Change• Tackling the Global Warming Challenge in a Rapidly Changing World• Playing with Ecosystem Science: Informal Modeling Games to Expore the

Delicate Balance• Activities from Across the Earth System• Changing Climate, Changing World Workshop• Cool Science from Cold Places: Classroom Activities to Explore the Impacts

of Climate Change in the Polar Regions• Microworlds! Online Tools Exploring Earth's Atmosphere, Water Cycle, and

Greenhouse Gases• Climate and Global Change: A Toolkit for Teaching About Our Ever-

changing World

Climate Change PD Realities

• Politicization has made climate change professional development particularly challenging– Be prepared for “plants”– Fine line between science and advocacy – do not

“preach”– Bring out opportunities and success stories –

climate change science can be DEPRESSING

What’s happened to the Thermal Expansion Demo?

What happens to sea level as ocean waters warm?

Classroom Demonstration or Activity:

Thermal Expansion and Sea Level Rise

Materials:Conical flaskRubber stopper- 2 holesGlass or plastic tubeThermometer Lamp100-150 Watt bulbWater with food coloring

Plugged in to CO2Students investigate various appliances and electronics, discovering how much energy each uses and how much carbon dioxide (CO2) is released to produce that energy.

Calculate these! Work with your neighbors!

P.S.1 kilogram

(or ~2 pounds) of CO2 gas

would fill up an average refrigerator.

Discussion questions:

Did the appliances that use the most energy according to the kill-a-watt meter produce the most CO2 over a year?

How can we reduce the amount of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere while still using these appliances?

CO2: How Much Do You Spew?Students analyze the energy consumption of a hypothetical household to determine the amount of carbon dioxide they are adding to the atmosphere each year.

Directions:• Each group has the a different family/individual described on their card. All these people live in different situations and use energy in different ways.• Read the information about the family’s energy use.• Use the worksheet to calculate their CO2 emissions.• Then, let’s discuss!

Lessons Learned• PD should include content and experience with hands-on activities• Interdisciplinary content relevant to wide spectrum of curriculum• Local as well as global perspectives – make it relevant• Teachers want access to real data for classroom use• Engagement in online community is helpful to continue to PD experience

and avoid isolation• Stress opportunities for action and positive contributions, to avoid “gloom

and doom”• Keep ideology and politics out of the classroom – stress the science• Climate change science particularly useful for teaching unifying concepts

and processes, higher order thinking skills

Be in touch to find out more!

NESTA Executive Director - Dr. Roberta Johnsonrmjohnsn@ucar.edu

720-328-5350

NESTA website - http://www.nestanet.org

Windows to the Universe website – http://windows2universe.org