Climate in the Classroom
Project Description
We work directly with regional educators to support them in their efforts to integrate climate change topics into their curriculum.
We do this through:
- Finding and developing curricular materials which promote student awareness and understanding of the science of climate change, together with its causes, consequences, and actions we can take. These curricula could be used in schools, for homeschooling, and in extra-curricular situations, such as youth groups, after school clubs, nature centers, summer camps, etc.
- Developing and giving one-time presentations about climate change to elementary through high school students as an introduction to the subject. Give the teacher, parent, or group leader follow-up curriculum materials.
- Connecting and working with high school and middle-school students who might help develop curriculum and present in lower-age classrooms and/or wish to use education in climate change as their senior project, capstone project, or to fulfill another class requirement.
- Providing opportunities for teachers to network and learn together through quarterly Teacher Conversation programs and teacher professional development workshops.
Project Leader
If you are interested in joining this project or you are an educator/school administrator who is interested in joining our mailing list, please contact Ellie Cosgrove.
Goals
- Provide access to climate change curriculum and support regional teachers with curriculum development.
- Identifying and supporting regional teachers who would like to be leaders in their schools and districts who will encourage colleagues to integrate climate change curriculum into their classrooms.
Connection to SOCAN Mission
One of SOCAN’s main mission objectives is to educate the public about climate science, and of the most effective ways of doing this is reaching students at all levels.
Background Information
The Next Generation Science Standards, adopted by Oregon, explicitly include the expectation that students will understand climate science, but many teachers need the support to do so. We support teachers in their efforts to find and develop curricula to meet these standards and provide professional development opportunities where they can collaborate with other teachers and practice teaching about these topics.
