Promoting Climate Literacy
through K–12 Professional
Development Opportunities
Margaret Mooney, Steve Ackerman, Luke Schiferl,
Jonathan Martin and Tom Whittaker
Cooperative Institute of Meteorological Satellite Studies
Space Science and Engineering Center
UW-Madison
AMS 18th Symposium on Education
AMS 18th Symposium on Education
The Ripple Effect
By teaching teachers,
CIMSS hopes to reach
an ever-expanding
circle of students
towards advancing climate
literacy across all society
and maintaining a pipeline
for future scientists
Two main climate literacy initiatives: On-Line Curriculum
& Teacher Workshops
On-Line Curriculum
• Funded by UW-Madison
• Based on feedback from
2007 teacher summit
• Developed collaboratively
by four departments
(CIMSS, AOS, Geology, CCR)
• Consistent with Climate
Literacy Framework
• Clarifies IPCC report
• Beta version debuted
summer 2008
• 15 teachers took course
and provided detailed
feedback on each module
• Follow-up interviews with
independent evaluator
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/climatechange/
Course Outline
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/climatechange/
Life on Earth has been shaped by,
depends on, and affects climate.
CIMSS was developing the outline
for the course at the same time
NOAA & NSF was developing
The Climate Literacy Framework
so we simply wove the two together
as individual lessons advanced.
Nearly every lesson features a
“slide show RCO” which requires
the user to advance slides with
an option for audio.
The Sun is the primary source of
Energy for the Climate System
First 6 Climate Literacy Principles
are addressed in detail
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Interdependency of Life & Climate
Observation & Modeling
Sun’s Energy
Complex Earth System Interactions
Climate changes over time and space
Certainty of human influence on climate
The 7th principle is only mentioned
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economic costs & social values
Every Graph from the IPCC
Summary for Policy Makers is
explained along with several
images and graphs from the
IPCC Frequently asked Questions
publication.
On-Line Activities
Along with audio and
interactive lesson content,
each lesson features
one or more activities to
reinforce concepts,
many from NASA & and NOAA
but most are unique to CIMSS
The course also featured a
new applet that enables
comparison of temperature
anomalies (Vostok Ice Core)
with variations in Earths orbit
and tilt (Milankovitch Cycles)
New Climate Applet
1) Graph on the right
shows 400,000 years of
temperature anomalies derived
from the Vostok Ice Core sample.
As the three main elements of
Earth orbit changes are enabled
(checkboxes) a magenta-colored
line plot is made which combines
the sine ways of each element
according to their periodicity.
2) The Earth-Sun system
depicts the Earth in orbit around
the Sun, as controlled by the
various checkboxes.
3) The controls:
Toggle between orbital plane
Label checkbox
Eccentricity
Precession
Tilt
Season Lock
Rotation
Orbit
Faster Orbit
2008 Teacher Workshop
Geoscience Time Scales & Climate Change
July 9th &10th
TOPICS COVERED
Weather and Climate
Geologic Time Scales & Paleoclimate
Global Climate Change
IPCC Summary for Policy Makers
On-Line Climate Change Resource
IPCC Probability Activity
Google Earth SST & Hurricane Activity
Milankovitch/Vostok Ice Core Educational Applet
• Lodging & lunches provided
• Option for college credit
• 31 applicants
EVALUATIONS (ON-LINE)
21 rated the workshop overall as “excellent” ,
the rest checked “very good”
http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/education/
IPCC Pre-test
distributed at workshop & on-line
IPCC Pre-test
IPCC Pre-test
Pre-test results
On-Line Multiple-choice & True False
IPCC Pre-test results
from workshop participants
QUESTION / Answer / Percent Correct
¾ What is the most abundant greenhouse gas? Water Vapor 41%
¾ Which greenhouse gas is of most concern to climate scientist studying warming?
Carbon Dioxide (C02) 97%
¾ What constitutes the bulk of the mass in any single tree? Carbon 34%
¾ What is the biggest force behind climate change prior to the industrial revolution?
Changes in the Earths orbit and tilt 31%
¾ What was the first creature added to the endangered species list because of
human-induced global warming? Polar Bear 62%
¾ TRUE or FALSE
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The Ozone Hole contributes to global warming. False 75%
Global Warming is accelerated by the melting of snow and ice covered surfaces.
True 93%
Melting of Arctic snow and ice will likely result in rising sea levels. False 33%
Melting of snow and ice in Antarctica will likely result in rising sea levels. True 97%
¾ How long does it take for C02 in the atmosphere to disperse?
20, 50, 75, or 100 yrs? 100 Years 24%
¾ According to the IPCC report, how many inches could sea levels rise by 2100?
1-4 inches, 4-7inches , 7-24inches ? 7-24 inches 51%
Interpreting Post-test
Pre-test
Post-test
Interpreting Post-test
Pre-test
Post-test
Interpreting Post-test
Pre-test
Post-test
Embedded Questionnaires
116 pages of results!
What was the most important insight you gained as a result of completing this lesson?
What instructional strategies (audio/text/interactives) worked well in this lesson?
What was the greatest challenge(s) you faced in completing this lesson?
Please provide an example of how you plan to use the knowledge gained from this lesson.
Please provide suggestions for the improvement of this lesson.
Please list any operational difficulties you encountered including what type of computer, browser and
connection you used.
How long did it take you to complete this lesson?
Assignments and activities were clearly explained.
Content and activities supported the lesson objectives.
Opportunities were provided to apply concepts in actual or simulated problems or situations.
This lesson requires active participation in the teaching and/or learning process.
Performance expectations were clearly presented for this lesson.
The material in this lesson was at an appropriate level for science teachers.
Based on this lesson, I would recommend this course to other science teachers.
Overall, how would you rate this lesson?
Some Feedback from
On-Line Questionnaires
AOS 509 Summer 2008 Lesson 6 Evaluation Data from Learn@UW
What instructional strategies (audio/text/interactives) worked well in this lesson?
• I liked the applet-it really helped things make sense.
• I liked the Milankovitch applet.
• I like the interactive milankovitch cycles graph... the third one.
• Once I could view the applet, the lesson went well. Also the close scripting to the printed text was
appreciated.
• I thought the audio in conjunction with the diagrams helped the most.
• I loved the Milankovitch Cycles Climate Applet! Anytime I can experiment with something and try
different things, my understanding increases as well as my retention of the material.
What was the greatest challenge(s) you faced in completing this lesson?
• analyzing data from the ice core, temp, and earth cycles
• Understanding the applet well enough to be able to create a lesson for the assignment.
• None
• The applet did not work for me for 2 days.
• getting the Milankovitch cycles applet to load
Some Feedback from
On-Line Questionnaires
AOS 509 Summer 2008 Lesson 9 Evaluation Data from Learn@UW
What was the most important insight you gained as a result of completing this le
• The relationship between statistics and the reporting by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change.
• how the IPCC set up their scale
• I really liked the excel activity.
• Learned how to use an exel spreadsheet for analysis and gained insight into how
confidence levels are assigned.
• Quantitative data can support climate change.
• understanding of statistics, data in regards to Lake Mendota, understanding of how
scientists vaildate their hypothesis
• The langauge of certainty.
• Before I thought that just presenting statistics in percentages was a good way to
convince people of the concepts you're trying to provide evidence for, but the certainty
levels from IPCC seem to make sense and seem to be a better way for helping
convey a message to the general public.
• I was not aware of the Likelihood Scale and the statistics that backed that up.
• The need to quantify qualitatively the data.
• Excel has changed immensely
• I was unaware of how the IPCC used phrases such as "likely" and how they based their
decisions.
• Understanding the mathematics behind the IPCC levels of confidence. Until I saw the
percentages, I didn't realize the level of certainty. For example in my mind, "very
likely" wasn't nearly as high. My mental ranking would be more around 75-80%.
Independent Interviews
Conducted by Dr. Laura Collins, CRL Seattle WA
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What 3 words or phrases describe your overall reflection on the Climate Change course?
Please explain your rationale for choosing them.
Based on your experiences participating in other online courses, what, if anything did this course
offer that you feel is hard to find in other courses?
What part of the course did you feel was most productive?
How can the delivery of this course be improved? What are the deal breakers- what has to be
changed?
Educators talk about seeing the light bulb turn on for their students. What “ah ha” moment did you
have about climate change during this course?
Describe an experience or activity that was particularly meaningful to you during the course.
Please note what impact it had on you.
Describe an experience or activity that was particularly challenging during the course.
If you can, please note how the experience might be improved.
What support at your school or district do you have to implement ideas about climate change in
the curriculum?
We would like to know in what ways your new knowledge of climate change issues will impact
your personal practice. How are you planning to use this material/content in your
curriculum/teaching this coming year?
What new skills and content knowledge do you now have that will improve your ability to help
students learn?
What are your goals/objectives for student learning as you implement concepts from the climate
change course?
Independent Interviews
Conducted by Dr. Laura Collins, CRL Seattle WA
¾ 3 words
thought provoking/worthwhile and challenging/frustrating.
¾ Most productive?
audio with text component
¾ Deal breakers- what has to be changed?
the lack of discussion and interaction among participants
¾ “ah ha” moments
Knowledge of global warming and the carbon cycle
¾ Experience or activity that was particularly meaningful
Overwhelmingly, participants commented that the Milankovitch Cycle
was particularly meaningful, followed by the statistics excercise
Conclusion
“Based on the analysis of these interviews, it is evident that the Global and Regional
Climate Change course met its goal of explaining the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Summary for Policy Makers.”
“The course was a catalyst for teacher learning. “
“A hallmark of the course was its interactive visuals and applets.”
2009 Plans & Goals
¾ Incorporate Feedback into final version √
¾ Offer revised version of course Fall semester (?)
¾ Translate into Spanish & French & …. (2010?)
¾ Teacher Workshops
• February NSF funded Climate Summit √
• July NASA funded Carbon Cycle & Climate Modeling
Workshop √
• Climate Change Workshop at ESIP summer meeting (?)
• September Climate Change workshop (?)
To Learn More at AMS
¾ Come to our booth! #435
¾ Visit the Poster sessions
TUESDAY 9:45 AM-11:00 AM, Hall 5, Joint Poster Session 4, Satellite Education
JP4.1 Satellite Observations in Science Education
Tommy Jasmin
¾ Attend Another Talk
TUESDAY 1:30 PM Satellite Education & Public Outreach
J10.4 After more than 10-years of e-Learning, what have we learned?
Steve Ackerman
Tuesday 4:45 Joint Session 11
Navigating the hurricane highway: Understanding hurricanes with Google Earth
Joe Turk, NRL
Thank-you …
and let’s collaborate!