With this award, the School of Education and the Department of Geology at Indiana University ~ Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is developing a three-phase, tiered mentoring program about climate change. Ten 11th and 12th graders from the Arsenal Technical High School science magnet program are being recruited to teach a tested curriculum about climate change to 8th graders from highly diverse, local feeder schools in Indianapolis. The students are trained during a six-day summer workshop (working in teams) to learn the content and effective pedagogy for teaching climate change science in the classroom, using existing curricular resources. They are also given the opportunity to explore climate change throughout geological time by visiting the Children's Museum's "Dinosphere" exhibit. In the second tier, these students will team teach 25 to 30 eighth graders at Shortridge Middle School during a five-week climate unit. In the third tier, the students will create a portable exhibit called The Global Warming Road Show, which will be presented to other middle school students in the school. Participants in the road show take on the role of a climatologist, making observations, collecting data, and conducting analyses. A university-based team is supporting each phase of the tiered mentoring program.
