Climate Change Causes Consequences and Remediation Kurt Lienau, Academy of Health Sciences at PGCC This presentation makes the argument that the best way to address climate change for a diverse group of learners is to explain the range of topics pertinent to climate change as clearly as possible. Briefly it is important for all learners to be taught 1. How the atomic process that causes greenhouse gasses to trap and redirect heat, works. 2. Understand the science behind the measurements of CO2 in the atmosphere, past and present. 3. Become actively engaged in finding out for themselves the effects of and current proposed solutions to climate change.
Teaching Global Climate Action: Bridging the Gap Between Science and Policy With Engaging Classroom Simulations Erik Leiden, Best Delegate LLC Where there is virtually a scientific consensus on the existence of anthropogenic climate change, there is no global consensus on how to address it. Around the world, countries and their citizens contribute to, and are impacted by climate change is vastly different ways. With the universal adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the world will now try to address climate change and sustainable development solutions as they can work in each region of the world. While students may understand the impacts of climate change, they often don't understand the solutions. In "Model United Nations" simulations, students step into the shoes of policymakers around the world to debate different solutions to the myriad issues related to climate change- from building agricultural resilience to changing climates, to mitigating climate change related natural disasters, to trying to reduce rates of greenhouse gas emissions globally. These simulations feature students researching solutions, debating what they think will be most effective, and eventually collaborating to merge their ideas into a “resolution” on climate change based on their research. Model UN is an easy-to-run classroom activity, and introduces students to the challenges in fomenting climate action, from lack of international cooperation, to economic costs of action, to the wide variance in contributors to and impacts from climate change. This presentation has helped teachers in Qatar, South Korea, Italy, Honduras, and across the United States teach their students the challenges of climate change, and give students a different medium for their scientific inquiry on the topic.
Acknowledging the Climate Change Controversy Ronald S. Hermann, Towson University While climate scientists widely agree on the causes and effects of global climate change, not all Americans share this view. Climate change remains a socioscientific controversy with people’s views of climate change influenced by political affiliations, economic views, and other non-scientific factors in addition to available scientific evidence. In this session, teachers will learn how to address students who may be reluctant to learn about climate change or who do not accept climate change as valid science. Techniques will be shared to acknowledge that some U.S. citizens do not accept climate change and to engage students in a dialogue about why climate change is included in science curricula prior to teaching about climate change science in the classroom.
Explore, Explain, Empower: A Climate Change Mini-unit Ready for Roll Out! Kristie Smith, Edgewood Middle School Struggling to integrate climate change into your curriculum? Search no further! These lesson plans can stand alone as a two-week mini-unit or be broken up across a span of months and integrated into ecology, weather, earth science, biodiversity, or other related units. You will leave this session with a unit plan, lesson materials, hands on activities, and resources to engage your students. Together we can inspire the next generation of climate change advocates! From the Sky to the Sea and Everything in Between - Strategies and Activities for Exploring the Causes, Impacts and Solutions of Climate Change. Part 1 Cassie Doty, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory; Lesley Bensinger, Delaware Nature Society; Caroline Blizzard, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Cassie Doty, UMCES Appalachian Laboratory; and Lauren Greoski, Anita C. Leight Estuary Center Lesley Bensinger (Delaware Nature Society), Caroline Blizzard (Maryland Department of Natural Resources), Cassie Doty (UMCES Appalachian Lab) and Lauren Greoski (Anita C. Leight Estuary Center) are members of the MADE CLEAR Informal Climate Change Educators (ICCE) Community of Practice. The ICCE Community of Practice is a diverse set of organizations in Maryland and Delaware that comes together to promote personal growth in climate change content, build collaborative relationships and enhance climate change education for various audiences. Through this collaboration, the presenters have each developed several strategies and engaging activities for communicating various aspects of climate change with their audiences - from causes to impacts to solutions - through the lens of sustainability. During this session, the presenters will share some of these strategies and activities for effectively teaching about climate change. These activities are appropriate for nearly all age ranges as well as the general public. They are also aligned with several Next Generation Science Standards, particularly those pertaining to energy and ecosystem dynamics. The presenters will provide you with lesson plans for the activities as they describe them, and you will have the opportunity to conduct several of them during the session.
Session 2 10:45 – 11:45
Environmental Changes - Analysis of Data and the Criteria for Writing a Scientific Research Paper John Leach, Lakelands Park Middle School Many articles and facts have been discussed and released about the change in Earth's climate over the past 200 years. On which side of this issue do you sit? Life on Earth has flourished and evolved for hundreds of millions of years. However, this does not mean that the climate has been stable throughout this time. Geological data shows evidence of large-scale climate change in the past, caused by factors like the tilt of the Earth axis and tectonic plate movement. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history; almost every aspect of daily life was influenced in some way. By analyzing data from around the world, defend your position on the current climate change issue. A. Impact of human actions, B. Result of natural cycles, or C. Develop a defensible position that can support both concepts.
Seeing the Forest and the Trees: Field Studies in the Context of Climate Change Pat Harcourt, UMCES - MADE CLEAR Climate norms span 30 years or more, and students are young enough to have only a few years of life experience. In this session we will generate testable questions for studying factors related to climate change and possible local impacts of climate change. We will use simple instruments to make field observations of weather factors, plants, and birds. Back indoors we will use long-term data sources to examine how our observations fit into local and regional patterns and trends. The session will include tips and guidance for schoolyard studies and recommendations for data sets that are appropriate to use with students. The lessons will be aligned with NGSS and Maryland Environmental Literacy standards.
Carbon, Climate, Blankets and Birds Mary Helen Gillen and Krysta Hougen, Pickering Creek Audubon Center Pickering Creek Audubon Center offers climate change education for upper elementary through high school on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Center educators will lead an engaging hour sharing their tested indoor and outdoor activities designed for 4th-6th grade. Participants will practice an active carbon cycle classroom game as they move around like carbon molecules. A fast and fun “Building the Blanket” game will review the carbon cycle and demonstrate the role burning fossil fuels plays in thickening our atmosphere’s Heat-Trapping blanket. The effects of climate change on our local habitats and wildlife will be made personal when participants act like birds competing over scarce food resulting from a mismatch of bird migration and flower blooming. Throughout the hour, Pickering educators will talk about the challenges and successes in teaching the complex topic of climate change to young students. The session will end with a discussion on how to best teach climate change, with an emphasis on language to use and avoid and, the benefits of a classroom action project. All activities have been tested and adjusted based on students’ pre- and post-assessments and reflections as well as classroom teacher input. The activities support the Maryland Environmental Literacy Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards. From the Sky to the Sea and Everything in Between - Strategies and Activities for Exploring the Causes, Impacts and Solutions of Climate Change. Part 2 Cassie Doty, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory; Lesley Bensinger, Delaware Nature Society; Caroline Blizzard, Maryland Department of Natural Resources; Cassie Doty, UMCES Appalachian Laboratory; and Lauren Greoski, Anita C. Leight Estuary Center Lesley Bensinger (Delaware Nature Society), Caroline Blizzard (Maryland Department of Natural Resources), Cassie Doty (UMCES Appalachian Lab) and Lauren Greoski (Anita C. Leight Estuary Center) are members of the MADE CLEAR Informal Climate Change Educators (ICCE) Community of Practice. The ICCE Community of Practice is a diverse set of organizations in Maryland and Delaware that comes together to promote personal growth in climate change content, build collaborative relationships and enhance climate change education for various audiences. Through this collaboration, the presenters have each developed several strategies and engaging activities for communicating various aspects of climate change with their audiences - from causes to impacts to solutions - through the lens of sustainability. During this session, the presenters will share some of these strategies and activities for effectively teaching about climate change. These activities are appropriate for nearly all age ranges as well as the general public. They are also aligned with several Next Generation Science Standards, particularly those pertaining to energy and ecosystem dynamics. The presenters will provide you with lesson plans for the activities as they describe them, and you will have the opportunity to conduct several of them during the session.
Session 3 1:30 – 2:45
Modeling, Monitoring and Predicting Global Climate Change in the Classroom: An Experiential Approach Dimitra Neonakis, Wye River Upper School and Partnering for Youth In this unit of study students compare climate data from a variety of reputable sources as well as data they have collected themselves. Students utilize instruments of varying precision to collect climate data. Instruments and techniques vary from simple thermometers to kestrel weather units to a NASA aerokat or weather balloon equipped with an air column profiler which can detect CO2 concentrations, moisture and temperature. Students will compare their own data sets to each other and to accepted data from organizations like NOAA and NASA. Students will create models of chemical reactions in the carbon cycle and will explore the related topic of ocean acidification using model systems. Students create simple climate models and models of the carbon cycle and explore models from NASA, NOAA and HHMI. Students examine political rhetoric surrounding climate change Students keep either digital and or analog lab books, and make use of data apps such as smart buoy. Students pose testable questions, engage in experimental design and roundtable discussion in collaborative teams, maintain #scicomm blogs which include photo and video documentation. Students create and analyze graphs and write a formal lab report in the style of a journal paper. Students develop and implement an action project.
Classroom Connections on Climate, Population and Society Takisha Reece, Sandy Spring Friends School Scientists are now referring to our current geological age as the “Anthropocene” to emphasize the impact that humans have had on the land, seas, climate and wildlife over the past 200 years. In fact, as our species’ population has grown from barely 1 billion to over 7 billion since the Industrial Revolution, human settlements and natural resource use have changed the planet’s climate, physical geography and ecosystems. Teaching about the Anthropocene integrates life and environmental sciences with world history and geography, making for interdisciplinary lessons rich in content, real-world data and problem-solving challenges. In this hands-on session, discover classroom activities and interactive online resources to help students explore different aspects of the Anthropocene including human population growth and climate change, and how various regions are impacted in different ways. As carbon emissions change the planet, the world’s most vulnerable people are disproportionately affected. The presented activities build knowledge and skills in life, environmental and social sciences, while applying learning to authentic problems. The presenter will also engage the group with new online, interactive media that combines social science platforms (mapping and historical timelines) with environmental themes. Participants will receive lesson plans and background readings on CD-ROM and through online links.
Ways to Connect Life Sciences with Climate Change Lolita Kiorpes, North Point High School Learn new ways to blend and teach Climate Change lessons and activities in the Life Science lessons and activities. Use Environment-based projects and activities that incorporate climate change easily into the Life Sciences content. Integrate watershed and ocean health with climate change models. Learn ways to use current and historical data to show the actual science behind climate change. Gain creative ways to make climate change relevant to today’s students so they understand the current importance and impact on our environment.
Shifting the Debate on Climate Change in Science Classrooms Lindsey Porter and Nathan Einsig, Mechanicsburg Area Senior High School Climate Change has the potential to polarize a science classroom, as many students come to the topic with preconceived and often unscientific opinions about Climate Science. Yet constructing arguments is a powerful learning strategy that transcends Science content and crosses curricula. How does a teacher harness the power of argument and debate without giving a platform to anti-science rhetoric? By shifting the debate from a question of if climate change is happening to what ought to be done in light that it is happening, teachers can stimulate learning about climate change in a student-centered way. We will present the techniques we use to conclude our study of climate change in 9th grade Earth and Space Science classes. These include detailing the climate data we examine, short videos, articles, and interactives the students access, and the scaffolding we provide as they gather evidence for the causes of climate change (both natural and anthropogenic), the projected effects of climate change, and finally suggested actions to be taken by both individuals and society at large in light of the reality of a changing climate. Participants will sample the resources used in our classrooms, discuss options for modifying the resources, processes and products to appropriately engage classes from multiple grades and academic levels. Examples of student essays arguing for a mitigation or adaptation approach to climate change will be shared, and our method of utilizing peer editing as a final layer of exposing students to arguments from multiple perspectives will be presented.
Looking Backwards, Looking Forwards Kimberly Bickerstaff, Western Tech HS and Mary Stapleton, Towson University My presentation will use the Looking Backwards, Looking Forwards Loaner Lab from Sci Tech Towson University as the basis for using proxy data to determine past climates. My audience will get snippets of the multi-day activity I used in class to determine how the climate in MD changed over the past 12,500 years by looking at how the amount and types of pollen changed. They will use define and give examples of proxy data, complete a bead simulation (pollen count at four distinct time periods) to collect data, make and analyze graphs and use a CER (claim, evidence, reasoning) to present their findings. My presentation will be hands-on and interactive to show the audience how the activity can be used in their classes. Mary Stapleton, with Towson University will explain how easy it is to use the MD Loaner Lab program although this activity could be put together with some materials from a local craft store as well. Ocean Acidification and Oysters Renee Hartley, Deer Park Middle Magnet School, Kim Linowitch, Gov. Thomas johnson Middle School, Jennifer Shaw, Golden Ring Middle School, and Mary Stapleton, Towson University In this session, participants will be introduced to the newest Maryland Loaner Lab activity, Ocean Acidification and Oysters. The Ocean Acidification (OA) activity is designed to provide students an opportunity to consider the driving question How might increasing levels of CO2 affect oysters in Maryland? Students will build an explanatory model to answer this question using information they learn from designing and conducting their own investigation examining the effects of CO2 on the pH of saltwater. Students will also use a model to explore how acidic oceans affect an oyster’s ability to build shell. Participants will leave this session with an understanding of the new OA lesson and how it aligns with three-dimensional instruction called for by the Next Generation Science Standards. A full pdf of the activity, including a materials list, facilitation guide and student worksheets will be provided so teachers can begin implementing this activity immediately in their own classroom.