Education for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience

Abstract

Editor's Note: This article describes a project funded through the 2016 ASLO Global Outreach Initiative. In the coming decades, climate change will have an increasing impact on human and natural systems. In a warmer world, accessibility to food, water, raw materials, and energy are likely to change. Human health, biodiversity, economic stability, and national security are also expected to be affected by climate change. A climate-literate citizenry is essential to build sustainable communities that are resilient to climate change—including extreme weather and climate events—and to protect fragile ecosystems. There are currently few coherent frameworks or models for effective climate change education (Mochizuki and Bryan 2015). Our team of climate scientists and science education specialists from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Berkeley, with the support of the Belmont Forum Global Challenge Program and assistance from ASLO's Global Outreach Initiative have developed and tested an Education for Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience program as part of the Global Understanding and Learning for Local Solution (GULLS) project. Our education model is scalable and transferable, and builds on collaborations between scientists and educators to increase their capacity to share locally relevant climate knowledge through highly effective education and outreach efforts. This program strives to improve climate literacy to provide society with the scientific foundation to take informed actions to minimize climate impacts and prepare for changes that are already well underway. Participants learning about density stratification — Ice cube activity. We have successfully implemented the program in South Africa, Australia, Madagascar, and Brazil, (and plan to offer it in India as well) focusing on “hot spots” of coastal warming in the Southern Hemisphere and building on existing collaborations (Hobday et al. 2016). Coastal communities in these regions that are experiencing a faster rate of coastal warming depend heavily on marine ecosystems and fishery industries, hence may need to adapt to a warmer climate and ocean to ensure their food security and future economies. In addition, the fisher communities in some of these countries are of low socioeconomic status and will be more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, both due to a higher percentage of dependence on fishery industries and a lower capacity to adapt to changes (Allison et al. 2009). The combination of rapid warming and high rates of poverty creates an urgent need for public education and outreach in communities in these and similar settings. Additionally, expanding climate literacy is imperative for ensuring that citizens throughout the world will be better prepared to mitigate climate change and to respond to both the economic and environmental challenges, as well as the opportunities that climate change will bring. Participants learning about the carbon cycle. The program offers climate change and ocean education workshops designed to provide professional development to formal and informal educators and university scientists. The workshops were tailored to fit the specific educational and environmental circumstances, needs, and desires of each of the communities through discussions with the stakeholders in the communities. In these workshops, participants engaged in hands-on activities focused on climate change and the ocean; lesson plans and other instructional materials were shared; and effective teaching and learning practices were modeled. Four education workshops were strategically designed with different audiences in mind, including: (1) Elementary or secondary school teachers (K–12); (2) Science subject advisors who oversee science curricula in schools; (3) Informal educators at museums and aquariums; and (4) University faculty and students (both graduate and undergraduate). All workshops provided participants with research-based teaching and learning strategies and hands-on activities that they can use when communicating or teaching science. The activities we used were developed by MARE (Marine Activities, Resources & Education), a program of the Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley, that seeks to increase literacy in ocean sciences through informal and formal education initiatives. The host countries were responsible for hosting the workshop and recruiting participants (between 10 and 40 for each workshop) and for providing opportunities for the materials to be used in the future through existing and newly organized education and outreach programs. The hands-on activity kits, curricula materials and additional web-based resources were made accessible to all participants and other interested parties. The organizers agreed to serve as the “kit repository and lending centers” for easy access and refurbishment of the kits for participants to use. Participants learning about fish adaptation (form and function). The workshops and kits were very well received by the participants, as evidenced by the feedback provided during their reflections on their experiences. The education team asked the participants to anonymously answer two or three questions at the end of the workshops. When asked what the participants would like to take back and try in their own classrooms, participants expressed interest in creating authentic learning opportunities to transform the way students learn and think about science. Moreover, teachers participating in the workshops became convinced that they should, and were confident that they could provide hands-on science experiences for their elementary students (in countries where they hadn't been teaching science in the younger grades). Many participants conveyed that the workshops gave them (1) the resources and knowledge they needed to teach about the ocean and climate and connect it to their local environment; and (2) that they would like to use the hands-on inquiry-based activities introduced in the workshops to help their students effectively learn. Many participants said they would try new methods of teaching and facilitation to promote: student-centered exploration, exchange of ideas with peers through group work, and deeper understanding through reflection. Below are some quotes from the participants displaying enthusiasm about the workshop and explaining what they would incorporate into their own teaching. Communicating climate science activities. “I was really impressed, and found the workshop to be very informative. I have learned things I can pass on in my class and I know learners will be very interested and learn from these experiences. Thank you so much!” “Really loved the hands-on exploration and open ended activities. Opened up my mind of how learning happens and will challenge me in creating similar opportunities for my students.” “The encouragement of learners to create their questions/discussion is something that I found particularly helpful and I believe brings about self-learning to complement what is being taught.” “Understanding the role of instructor, this information was useful and a great guide [to me] as an instructor. My lessons and courses deal with hands-on activities and experiments, and [it is] crucial to understand how to facilitate to encourage and make sure learning happens.” “[What] I would like to take away from this workshop is: encouraging learners to be involved at all times throughout the activity. Encouraging them by asking questions related to what you want them to focus on. Directing the learners to explore for themselves by hands-on lessons.” When asked if the participants had questions or suggestions for improving the workshop, there was a request for longer workshops consisting of more ocean and climate content to teach in the form of hands-on activities, advice on how they could smoothly integrate the introduced teaching strategies into their everyday teaching, and suggestions for extending the materials into different grade levels. Our goals for the future include seeking additional funding to maintain our interaction with past program participants to provide ongoing guidance, as well as to expand this program into additional countries. We would also like to bring the program to places within the U.S.A. where many communities do not have access to high quality science education and particularly in communities where climate and environmental science are challenged. We also hope to include more formal evaluation and research on the effectiveness of the program. Clearly climate change will continue to be an element of public discourse. Understanding the essential principles of climate science will enable all people to better understand climate processes as well as potential consequences and impacts. This knowledge and deeper understanding of climate, ocean, and how science works will greatly contribute to people's everyday conversations and actions as informed citizens. Adina Paytan, University of California Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 Catherine Halversen, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-5200 Emily Weiss, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-5200 Sarah Pedemonte, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-5200 Esra Mescioglu, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064