Join John Muir Laws and special guests Lin Andrews and Cari Herndon from the National Center for Science Education for a discussion of best practices in teaching about climate change.
To learn more about the NCSE, please visit their website here: https://ncse.ngo/
Links from session:
Lesson Set One: https://ncse.ngo/scientific-consensus
Lesson Set Two: https://ncse.ngo/climate-models
Lesson Set Three: https://ncse.ngo/past-vs-present-climate-change
Lesson Set Four: https://ncse.ngo/local-climate-impacts
Lesson Set Five: https://ncse.ngo/climate-solutions
Climate anxiety and mental health:
http://climatementalhealth.net/
https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520343306/a-field-guide-to-climate-anxiety
According to a 2020 study, 38% of Americans do not accept anthropogenic climate change. Additionally, a 2016 study found that while approximately 75% of science teachers address climate change in the classroom, they aren’t doing so fully and accurately. The study also found that teachers want more professional development to increase content knowledge and support how they teach climate change. When teachers use a curriculum that addresses common climate change misconceptions, student learning increases, and students are inoculated against future misinformation. The National Center for Science Education has created a series of five lesson sets aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards, which provides teachers with a step-by-step curriculum to tackle students’ misconceptions. These lessons can be used as a multi-week curriculum or in addition to other curricula. This talk will cover the scope and sequence of the lesson sets, the misconceptions addressed, and the tools used to address them.
Lin Andrews, Director of Teacher Support, NCSE
Lin joined NCSE in 2019 after teaching biology for 18 years. While Lin misses teaching, joining the NCSE team has been an opportunity to help drive a solid science foundation for students all over the nation and gives her the chance to help teachers navigate the often turbulent waters of overcoming misconceptions in biology and climate science.
Cari Herndon, Curriculum Specialist, NCSE
Cari joined NCSE in 2021 after teaching middle school science for nine years. She earned her master’s degree in secondary education from DePaul University and is passionate about creating inclusive science curricula. As part of the Supporting Teachers team, Cari designs curricula aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards that provide teachers with the tools to help students overcome misconceptions about climate change and evolution.