High School Students' Climate Literacy Through Epistemology of Scientific Modeling (Collaborative Research: Chandler)

This project will focus on learning about model based reasoning in science, and will develop, implement, study, and refine a 6-week climate science module for high school students. The module will feature use of a web-based climate modeling application, and the project team will collect and analyze evidence of model-based reasoning about climate phenomena among students.

Full Description

This project will focus on learning about model based reasoning in science, and will develop, implement, study, and refine a 6-week climate science module for high school students. The module will feature use of a web-based climate modeling application, and the project team will collect and analyze evidence of model-based reasoning about climate phenomena among students. Scientists routinely use data-intensive, computer-based models to study complex natural phenomena, and modeling has become a core objective of current science curriculum standards. The project will provide new insights about student use of scientific models to understand natural phenomena, and advance knowledge about curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices that promote model-based reasoning among students.

This 4-year Design and Development project will examine use of a web-based climate modeling tool designed to provide non-scientists experiences with climate modeling in high school geoscience classrooms. A theoretically-grounded and empirically tested approach to design-based research, instructional design, and assessment development will be used in an iterative cycle of instructional innovation and education research to find answers to two research questions: 1) How do secondary students develop epistemic and conceptual knowledge about climate? And 2) How do secondary science teachers support student use of climate modeling application to develop epistemic and conceptual knowledge about climate? Data associated with conceptual and epistemic knowledge, curriculum-embedded modeling tasks, interviews, and videorecorded observations of instruction will be used to study impacts of the new curriculum module on 55 high school science teachers and 3,000 students. Project participants include students from low socioeconomic populations and other groups underrepresented in STEM fields. The curriculum will also serve as a resource for an existing, online professional development course at the American Museum of Natural History that engages teachers nationwide.

PROJECT KEYWORDS

Project Materials

Title Type Post date Sort ascending
Teachers’ Use and Adaptation of a Model-based Climate Curriculum: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study Resource 02/06/2024 - 08:27pm
Teachers’ Use and Adaptation of a Model-based Climate Curriculum: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study Resource 02/06/2024 - 08:27pm
Supporting Secondary Students’ Understanding of Earth’s Climate System and Global Climate Change Using EzGCM: A Cross-Sectional Study Resource 09/20/2023 - 02:40pm
Supporting Secondary Students’ Understanding of Earth’s Climate System and Global Climate Change Using EzGCM: A Cross-Sectional Study Resource 09/20/2023 - 02:40pm
Student Outcomes of Teaching About Socio-scientific Issues in Secondary Science Classrooms: Applications of EzGCM Resource 09/20/2023 - 02:30pm
Student Outcomes of Teaching About Socio-scientific Issues in Secondary Science Classrooms: Applications of EzGCM Resource 09/20/2023 - 02:30pm
Using Climate Models to Learn About Global Climate Change Resource 06/30/2022 - 05:48pm
Using Climate Models to Learn About Global Climate Change Resource 06/30/2022 - 05:48pm
Empirical Research on K-16 Climate Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature Resource 06/30/2022 - 05:39pm
Empirical Research on K-16 Climate Education: A Systematic Review of the Literature Resource 06/30/2022 - 05:39pm
Easy Global Climate Modeling (EzGCM) Toolkit Resource 09/15/2021 - 02:11pm
Easy Global Climate Modeling (EzGCM) Toolkit Resource 09/15/2021 - 02:11pm
High School Students' Climate Literacy Through Epistemology of Scientific Modeling (Collaborative Research: Chandler and Forbes) Poster 07/21/2021 - 08:42am