Transcript Insturctional Stategies to Teach Global Climate Change

Phone disclaimer!
Barry W. Golden
Assistant Professor, Science Education
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University of Tennessee-Knoxville
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Is Climate Change
Controversial?
 What does the scientific community have to say?
 NAS (2005): "The scientific understanding of climate
change is now sufficiently clear to justify taking steps
to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere."
 AAAS (2006): “The scientific evidence is clear:
global climate change caused by human
activities is occurring now, and it is a growing
threat to society”.
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Climate Change=Consensus Science?
IPCC (4th report, 2007):
“Warming of the climate system is
unequivocal…”(p. 50)
“Most of the global average warming
over the past 50 years is very likely
due to anthropogenic GHG
increases…” (p. 50)
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Consensus Science?
 Hansen et al (2006):
 global surface temperatures have increased by .2
degrees C/decade in the past 30 years;
 Karl and Trenberth (2003):
 The main source of global climate change is
human-induced changes in atmospheric
composition. (p. 1719)
 Rosenzweig et al (2008):
 “…increases at continental scales cannot be
explained by natural climate variations alone (p.
353)”.
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Consensus Science?
Oreskes, 2004:
 Scientific journal articles that
counter the consensus:
 0 out of 928 studies in a ten year
period
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Scientific Outliers?
 http://drroyspencer.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/29/magaz
ine/29Dyson-t.html?pagewanted=all
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Where’s the controversy?
At policy level?
TN HB 0368/SB0893
Rep. Bill
Dunn,
Knoxville
“This bill prohibits (school
systems/administrators) …from
prohibiting any teacher in a public school
system of this state from helping students
understand, analyze, critique, and review
in an objective manner the scientific
strengths and scientific weaknesses of
existing scientific theories covered in the
course being taught, such as evolution
and global warming.” (from HB 0368 Bill Summary via
ttp://wapp.capitol.tn.gov)
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Where’s the
controversy?(Policy?)
 “(Santorum) said the notion
of global warming is not
climate science but ‘political
science.’(Associated Press,
Feb. 20, 2012)”
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The status of Climate Change in
Education
 Is GCC and/or Global Warming currently being taught
in US K-12 education?
 Not much! [(If curriculum frameworks are a good
indicator (Golden, 2009)];
 But should we…?
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Should we teach GCC? Yes, based on…
 Culturally ubiquitous nature of GCC references;
 The importance of policy decisions implied by issues
concerning greenhouse gas emissions, etc.;
 The multi-disciplinary nature of GCC!
 NAS Science Frameworks include much about GCC;
 NAS Frameworks ESS 3.D:
 By the end of grade 8:

Human activities, such as the release of carbon dioxide
from burning fossil fuels, are major factors in global warming.
 TN, like most states, is a signatory to write their own
Next Generation State Standards (NGSS) based upon
those NAS frameworks;
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Generating
Arguments About
by Barry Golden, Jonathon Grooms,
Victor Sampson, and Robin Oliveri
Science Scope, upcoming edition
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The
Greenhouse Effect
[http://climate.nasa.gov/causes/]
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http://climate.nasa.gov/kids/images/glaciers.jpg
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Paleoclimate record of CO2 and Temperature
[http://www.southwestclimatechange.org/figures/icecore_records]
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http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs_v3/Fig.A2.gif
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http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs_v3/Fig.A2.gif
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What Patterns DO you detect in the data? Has E warmed,
cooled, over what time span, etc.?
Names
What is/are your answers to the question?
Questions being investigated (for example:
What patterns of climate variations can
you detect in the data?;
Explain how the data support your answer.
Please do refer to as much data as
possible!
(avoid simple statements of belief, either
pro or con)
(5 mins to fill in as group)
*BG! 
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Round-Robin
 Each group will select one person to explain their
group’s conclusions;
 The other members of the group will rotate to a
different group to listen to their explanations and ask
questions (this is your job to ask questions!);
 As you do this, keep in mind these questions/points:
 Be skeptical!
 Do the data fit their explanations? All the data?
 Are there alternative explanations?
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After Round-Robin:
 Consider what you learned from other groups:
 Use what you learned to modify your own thinking!
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Now let’s address data which may allow us to infer causes of
the patterns previously discussed…
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(from http://www.skepticalsc ience.com/pics/Solar_vs_Temp_bas ic.gif)
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Sunspots
[http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/graphs_v3/Fig.A2.gif]
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What Causes can you infer from the data? Why has E
warmed, cooled, etc.?
Names
What is/are your answers to the question?
If you can, include scientific theories &
models in your explanation.
Questions being investigated (for example:
What causes can you infer for the patterns
in the data you noticed previously?;
Explain how the data support your answer.
Please do refer to as much data as
possible!
(5 mins to come up with your group
explanations for cause)
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Round Robin # 2
 Again, select someone to explain your group’s thinking
(make it a different person from the first time around);
 The others will rotate, listen, and ask good questions!
 Be skeptical!;
 Try to point out what may be simple statements of
belief, as opposed to statements supported by
evidence;
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Lesson Debrief
 Other aspects of the unit:
 More round robin experience;
 Peer review in written form;
 Gradual scaffolding of skills;
 Class Debrief;
 Why not simply just “tell” the “facts” about climate
change (or any other science subject)?;
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NAS Science Frameworks (July 2011)
National Research Council. (2011). A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas.
Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
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NAS Sci Frameworks-1. Scientific and
Engineering Practices
 Asking Q’s (science) & defining problems (eng);
 Developing & using models;
 Planning & carrying out investigations;
 Analyzing & interpreting data;
 Using math/computational thinking;
 Constructing explanations (sci) & designing solutions;
 Engaging in argument from evidence;
 Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating
information…
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NAS Sci Frameworks-2: Cross-cutting Concepts
 Patterns;
 Cause & Effect: Mechanism & explanation;
 Scale, proportion, & quantity;
 Systems & system models;
 Energy & matter: Flows, cycles, &
conservation;
 Structure & Function;
 Stability & change…
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Findings from my Research (Golden,
2011)
 Students already “know” many disconnected “facts”
about climate change. However, they haven’t
connected them well to any causal model.
 Students often loosely categorize climate change under
a general ‘Environmental Phenomenon’ category;
 Students see GCC as something either entirely “manmade” or entirely “natural”;
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Findings from my Research
 Students’ views on GCC moved towards scientific
consensus;
 Students who learn GCC via such a unit adopt a more
scientific view of what is appropriate evidence;
 i.e., shift from anecdotesense-making of graphic data,
etc.
 Students improved in their ability to detect patterns in
data, including the ability to appropriately cite
causation.
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Examples-move towards consensus
 View of GW had moved towards consensus, esp. re:
anthropogenic warming;
 Nigella(C-M int): “half of it was natural and half of it
was not natural because half of it was from what we
caused to do, all the gases and things, the pollutants we put
in the air and things from like factories and cars, vehicles.”
 Bono (post int, p. 4): “They (Co2/Temp graphs) show
that our emissions from greenhouse gases and carbon
dioxide and stuff like that have increased a lot, which
humans are definitely contributing to, and the
surface temperature, it shows that that’s rising.”
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Examples: move from anecdotal to scientific
evidence focus:
 Everybody’s climate changes. It gets cold, it gets
hot, they have different stages. Like for example,
in the morning here it’s cold, then it warms up
during the day and it gets cool during the evening
(Bey Pre int, p. 2).
 Well you don’t really notice it when you’re walking
around on a regular basis, but when you sit down
and look at the data you see the temperatures
actually rising, but you don’t really notice it” (Bey
Post int, p. 5).
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Examples: shift in analysis
 Trends: Students grew in their ability to perceive patterns, extrapolate into
the future, and infer causality from graphic data;

Bono: (pre-test): “Solar radiance (Sunspots) causes the Earth’s
warming…because Graph 5’s data shows that the solar radiance is usually
similar to earth’s surface temperature.

Bono (post): “: It (graph) makes it look like the CO2 and temperature are
related. …And recently the CO2 spiked up a whole lot today and
hopefully the temperature won’t follow up. But based on the previous
data it probably will.
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Findings
 Belief identification seemed to be a key. He identified
with his family’s opposition to global warming.
 (Darko C-M int): “My…parents and my sister do not
believe in global warming. I’m kind of on the track
that they are.”
 However, even this child changed to the extent that he
cited graphic data to support his views, even when they
were inaccurate!
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To Conclude:
 Learning Climate Change in an argumentation-
centered format is helpful to students in that:
 It gives them experience in learning GCC by doing
things common in the community of science:
 Thinking about & making sense of relevant patterns in




data;
Practicing the epistemic norms of science;
Appropriately extrapolating into the future, finding
causation, etc., from data;
Collaborating on a team to make sense of phenomena;
Peer Review!
 Emphasizes the “how we know” aspects of science (i.e.,
the ‘Nature of Science’;
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FIN-Thank You!
 QUESTIONS/Comments?
 Interested in helping to explore student learning in this
area? Sign the sheet!
 Barry W. Golden
 [email protected]
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