Frank Niepold

NOAA Climate Program Office

Climate Education Coordinator

Frank.niepold@noaa.gov

Climate.gov

January 6, 2013

Increasing Climate Literacy

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Within this goal, NOAA will pursue specific objectives that over the next five years:

Objective: A climate-literate public that understands its vulnerabilities to a changing climate and makes informed decisions

Over the next five years, evidence of progress toward this objective will include:

- Key segments of society understand climate risks and use that knowledge to increase resilience to likely climate impacts;

- Consumers of climate information understand climate uncertainty and utilize this knowledge in their decision-making processes; and

- Educators and other outreach professionals increase their use of climate science resources.

NOAA’s Next Generation Strategic PlanLong-Term

Goal: Climate Adaptation and Mitigation:

An informed society anticipating and responding to

climate and its impacts

• …a continuum of competency and is an ongoing process.

Literacy

Progression

Target Audiences

Uninterested and/or unaware

Climate science interested

Climate science attentive

Climate

science

engagedINFORMED

DECISION MAKING

KNOWLEDGE

AWARENESS

Climate Literacy is…

Current Federal Partners: NOAA, EPA, NSF and US Forest Service

Climate Literacy development

NOAA's Climate Program Office Education

and Outreach program are developing the

climate literacy essential principles as part of

NOAA's environmental literacy priority through

a partnership with NOAA's Office of

Education, outside agencies and numerous

organizations.

The Climate Science Literacy Guide serves

as a framework for understanding and

communicating about climate science.

The ideas outlined in the guide represent

the knowledge that is deemed important for

citizens to know and understand about

Earth’s climate.

The guide aims to promote greater Climate

Science Literacy among the public by

providing this list of climate principles and

concepts.

…an understanding of your influence on climate

and climate’s influence on you and society.

A climate literate person:

•understands the essential principles of Earth’s climate system,

• knows how to assess scientifically credible information about

climate,

•communicates about climate and climate change in a meaningful

way, and

• is able to make informed and responsible decisions with regard to

actions that may affect climate.

Climate Science Literacy is…

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What are current

materials trying to

teach students about

climate change?

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– Pressing need to infuse

climate and energy

literacy into schools and

other educational

contexts to prepare

society and future

workforce to addresses

the environmental issues

and challenges of the

future.

2008/2009

2012

2010

2011

Role of a Boundary Framework: Climate and Energy Literacy documents?

Role of a Boundary Framework:

Climate Literacy document?

The framework was built off the foundation of the AAAS Project 2061

Benchmarks and Atlas for Science Literacy

The Climate Literacy framework established the goal for individuals

and communities to have an ability “to make informed and responsible

decisions with regard to actions that may affect climate.”

This goal will require a more comprehensive focus and integrative

approach than most climate educational resources, programs,

textbooks or curricula now address due to the fragmentation and lack

of prioritization of the climate topic in current educational systems.

This framework has begun to inform the development of climate

educational materials and resources, national and state standards, and

professional development materials and programs. 10

Landscape Analysis of the Quality of

Climate Materials?

• CLEAN is completing the analysis by aligning, collecting and annotating 500 excellent digital teaching resources addressing climate science or energy (of 10’s of thousands of resources)

• Resources scientifically and pedagogically reviewed

• Resources annotated reflecting reviewer comments

• Resources aligned with

• National Science Education Standards

• AAAS Project 2061Benchmarks for Science Literacy

• NAAEE Excellence in Environmental Education Guidelines for Learning

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What is an excellent activity?

Scientific Accuracy• Is the source authoritative and trust-worthy?

• Is the science accurate and current?

• Are there proper citations or references?

Alignment with Climate and Energy Concepts• Are the learning activities or useful bits at a reasonable level of granularity

relative to key climate and energy concepts?

Pedagogy• Is there pedagogical scaffolding or “teaching tips”?

• If not, will educators be able to easily develop their own strategies to engage learners with this resource?

Ease of Use• Is the resource easily accessible online?

• If other materials or software is required, can it be easily and inexpensively accessed by educators or learners?

For a complete list of the CLEAN Review Criteria, refer to http://cleanet.org/clean/about/review.html 12

CLEAN Review Process

CLEAN Review CriteriaLearning Activity

Visualization Video Short Demo/

Experiment

Learning Activity

Visualization Video Short Demo/ Experiment

Scientific Accuracy(eg. attribution, scientific process, scientific validity, orginal data sources, valid concepts, misconceptions, avoiding bias, references)

7 question

s

5 questions

6 questions

6 questions

Pedagogic Effectiveness(eg. learning objectives, learning styles, diverse audience, prerequisite skills, assessment, inquiry, engaging & motivating)

10 question

s

6 questions

5 questions

7 questions

Usability and Technical Quality(eg. advertisements, materials, support required, teacher guide, design, access, size )

7 question

s

6 questions

5 questions

4 questions

Framework Standards

Instruction

Curricula

Assessment

s

Teacher

development

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The Process

NRC-AAAS

NSTA

Achieve +

26 states

NGSS Matrix of Standards by Grade Level and

TopicLife Science (19) Earth Space Science (102) Physical Science (3)Engineering

&Technology (1)

Ele

me

nta

ry S

cho

ol

KOrganisms and Their Environments (2) Weather (9) Structure and Properties of Matter

1Structure and Function Patterns and Cycles Light and Sound (1)

2

Interdependence of Organisms and their

Surroundings (3)

Earth's Changing Surface Structure, Properties, and Interactions of

Matter

Pushes and Pulls

3Environmental Impacts on Organisms

Structure, Function, and Stimuli (5)

Weather, Climate, and Impacts (9) Interactions of Forces

4Life Cycles and Traits Processes that Shape the Earth (4) Energy

Waves

5Matter and Energy in Ecosystems (3) Earth Systems and Their Interactions

Stars and the Solar System (8)

Structure, Properties, and Interactions of

Matter

Mid

dle

Sch

oo

l

Structure, Function, and Information

Processing

Growth, Development, and

Reproduction of Organisms (2)

Matter and Energy in Organisms and

Ecosystems (1)

Interdependent Relationships in

Ecosystems

Natural Selection and Adaptations

Space Systems (1)

History of Earth

Earth's Interior Processes

Earth's Surface Processes

Weather and Climate (18)

Human Impacts (1)

Structure and Properties of Matter

Chemical Reactions (1)

Forces and Motion

Interactions of Forces

Energy (1)

Waves and Electromagnetic Radiation

Engineering Design

Links Among

Engineering,

Technology,

Science and

Society (1)

Hig

h S

cho

ol

Structure, Function, and Information

Processing

Matter and Energy in Organisms and

Ecosystems (2)

Interdependent Relationships in

Ecosystems (1)

Natural Selection and Evolution

Inheritance and Variation of Traits

Space Systems (1)

History of Earth

Earth's Systems (22)

Climate Change (32)

Human Sustainability (4)

Structure and Properties of Matter

Chemical Reactions

Nuclear Processes

Forces and Motion

Interactions of Forces

Energy

Forces and Energy

Waves

Electromagnetic Radiation

Engineering Design

Links Among

Engineering,

Technology,

Science and

Society

CLEAN Gap Analysishttp://cleanet.org/clean/community/gap_analysis

What is the quality of the materials?

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What is the quality of the materials?

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What is the quality of the materials?

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What is the quality of the materials?

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An Example of a CLEAN Catalog Record

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Description

Time

Title, Link,

Developer

Notes from

Topics

Grade Level

Climate Literacy

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Notes from

NAAEE

Science Education

Standards and Maps

of Concepts

Teaching Materials Created at CLEAN

Workshops

• These climate and energy activities were created

by faculty as part of the CLEAN professional

development workshop series.

• These materials are not yet part of the CLEAN

collection of reviewed resources.

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Teaching the Climate System, May 2012

Workshop• These activities assemble various elements from the CLEAN reviewed collection to present a

comprehensive treatment of one aspect of the climate system. These materials were created by

faculty as part of the CLEAN Climate Workshop, held in May, 2012.

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Maps of Climate and Energy Concepts

• Strong approaches to teaching about climate and energy make connections between the Essential Principles of Climate Science and help integrate the fundamental concepts into an overarching scope and sequence for student learning.

Maps of Climate and Energy Concepts

• The Climate and Energy Maps can help you understand what concepts form the foundation for any specific concept and what students need to fully understand it.

If you want to know how to build and move students'

understanding of climate and energy concepts to more

advanced levels, you can simply examine the maps

above the central concept.

Maps of Climate and Energy Concepts

The Earth-2 Transfer of thermal energy between the atmosphere and the

land or oceans produces temperature gradients in the atmosphere and the

oceans. Regions at different temperatures rise or sink or mix, resulting in

winds and ocean currents. These winds and ocean currents, which are

also affected by the earth's rotation and the shape of the land, carry

thermal energy from warm to cool areas. (4B/H2)

The Earth-4 Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as carbon

dioxide and water vapor, are transparent to much of the incoming sunlight

but not to the infrared light from the warmed surface of the earth. When

greenhouse gases increase, more thermal energy is trapped in the

atmosphere, and the temperature of the earth increases the light energy

radiated into space until it again equals the light energy absorbed from the

sun. (4B/H4)

The Earth-6 The earth's climates have changed in the past, are currently

changing, and are expected to change in the future, primarily due to

changes in the amount of light reaching places on the earth and the

composition of the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels in the last

century has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the

atmosphere, which has contributed to Earth's warming. (4B/H6)

Maps of Climate and Energy Concepts

Energy Sources and Use-2 When selecting fuels, it is important to

consider the relative advantages and disadvantages of each fuel. (8C/H2)

Energy Sources and Use-5 Decisions to slow the depletion of energy

resources can be made at many levels, from personal to national, and

they always involve trade-offs involving economic costs and social

values. (8C/H5)

Information Processing-1 Computer modeling explores the logical

consequences of a set of instructions and a set of data. The instructions

and data input of a computer model try to represent the real world so the

computer can show what would actually happen. In this way, computers

assist people in making decisions by simulating the consequences of

different possible decisions. (8E/H1)

Maps of Climate and Energy Concepts

What is the quality of the materials?

Based on analysis being conducted through the Climate Literacy & Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN) Pathway grant, which is focused primarily on existing digital resources

The overall scope of the current materials* used teach students about climate change in the United States are often narrowly focused

The quality is uneven

Some important areas, such as adaptation, are largely missing or thinly covered

Other areas, such as the Earth’s Energy Budget, lack outstanding interactive resources that will engage learners

The gaps and thin spots could be filled through more focus of the development community (active grants) and future solicitations 35

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NOAA Evidence of progress: Educators and other outreach

professionals increase comprehension and use of climate science

concepts and education resources

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NOAA is Partnering with the CLEAN Project on the Climate Portal

Education section: Live Winter 2013

The CLEAN Portalhttp://cleanet.org

Guidance for Understanding and Teaching About Climate and Energy

ScreencastHit PlayButton

CLEAN: Maps of Climate & Energy Concepts

The CLEAN Portalhttp://cleanet.org

The CLEAN Collectionhttp://cleanet.org/clean/educational_resources/index.html

ScreencastHit PlayButton

A CLEAN Resource

ScreencastHit PlayButton

CLEAN Concept Map – Resources Alignment

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Conclusions and

Recommendations

Climate and related energy topics have the potential for

integrating learning across disciplines.

The inherent “problem based” nature of climate change,

however, require skillful balance to avoid “gloom and

doom” on one hand or inadequate strategies on the

other.

The Guiding Principle for Informed Climate Decisions--

Humans can take actions to reduce climate change and

their impact-- which set the stage for the other

Principles, is innately solutions oriented.

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