‘It’s a gassy world’: starting with students’ wondering questions to inform climate change education

Abstract

There is extensive evidence showing that the climate system is warming and human behavior is linked to the change. Despite increasing attempts to integrate climate change into school curricula, teachers have challenges in preparing and implementing climate change lessons. The study aims to look at (a) the kinds of wondering questions middle school students construct after they are engaged in a climate change activity called ‘It’s a Gassy World’ and (b) what teachers highlight in their reflections on these questions to improve their teaching. In this multi-case explorative study, the data comes from student artifacts, teachers’ written reflections, and semi-structured conversational interviews with teachers. A constant-comparative analysis of students’ wondering questions (N = 165) showed that the nature of the questions varies. These were grouped under three different categories: direct observation, interdisciplinary connections, and future projections questions. We then analyzed five teachers’ written reflections and interviews from a cultural historical activity theoretical perspective. This analysis revealed that teachers paid particular attention to certain tools (physical and conceptual), norms (epistemic and teaching), emotions, and division of labor routines in classrooms. We discuss how students’ wondering questions help teachers notice essential features of climate change learning such as spatiotemporal thinking.