Teachers training on climate change

Abstract

We will present the training of secondary school science teachers in the region of Crete on climate change issues. The training is in the framework of a national educational program that includes topics related with climate change, like the drivers, the impacts and the measures for sustainability. Teachers participate actively in the workshops and are involved in hands-on activities and experiments that simulate climate phenomena in a simple way. The aim is to educate further their students in the climate science through topics that fit in the national science curriculum. The teachers are also trained in the hub that is developed by researchers of the University of Crete that is around the atmospheric monitoring station in Finokalia in Crete and is focused on the expertise of the Greek research group while it also adapts international scientific knowledge to the local special conditions. After training, teachers have the possibility to collaborate in groups to prepare their own lesson plans that are appropriate for their students. They also implement the activities in the classroom, assess the implementation in practice and propose potential improvements. The proposed methodology is the inquiry based learning that promotes the active participation of the trainees.