This project is supporting a special themed issue of The Earth Scientist, the quarterly journal of the National Earth Science Teachers Association (NESTA) on climate-change education. The issue includes submissions from climate-change educators that compile existing resources, many recently developed, that are suitable for K-12 Earth- and Space-Science classrooms and based on peer-reviewed science. The issue is being distributed at NESTA and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) events and conferences and is available for download at the Windows on the Universe website.
The goal of this project was to develop a special themed issue of the National Earth Science Teachers Association’s (NESTA’s) quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist (TES) on the topic of climate change education. The issue is available at www.nestanet.org/cms/sites/default/files/journal/Fall12.pdf. In order to accomplish this, we shared information about the opportunity widely within the federally-funded climate change education community. We also developed a process for peer review of submissions, to ensure adequate vetting of submissions and a high-quality product. We solicited reviewers from among the K-12 Earth and space science educator, climate change education and scientific communities to participate in this process. We received a total of 10 submissions for the issue, six of which passed peer review and were published in the Fall 2012 issue of TES (Volume XXVIII • Issue 3.). The six papers included in the issue are: The Carbon Cycle Game: A Regionally Relevant Activity to Introduce Climate Change by Joëlle Clark, Jane Marks, PhD, Carol Haden, EdD, Melinda Bell, Bruce Hungate, PhD The ELF (Environmental Literacy Framework with a Focus on Climate Change): Building Climate Change Science Knowledge Through Hands-On Activities, by Louise Huffman, Jean Pennycook, Frank Rack, and Betsy Youngman EarthLabs - An Earth System Science Laboratory Module to Facilitate Teaching About Climate Change, by Tamara Ledley, Nick Haddad, Erin Bardar, Katherine Ellins, Karen McNeal, and Julie Libarkin Teaching Controversy, by Mark McCaffrey Lesson Plans and Classroom Activities from the Climate Literacy Ambassadors Community, by Margaret Mooney, Steve Ackerman, Galen McKinley, Tom Whittaker, and Tommy Jasmin Predicting the Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystems: A High School Curricular Module, by Vanessa Peters, Tanya Dewey, Andrew Kwok, George Hammond, and Nancy Songer The journal issue was printed and distributed to NESTA members, as well as made freely available to educators at NESTA professional development events across the country. We also reached out to the climate change education community, to find out if any groups wanted copies to distribute in their workshops. Several groups asked for copies, and we sent along the number of requested copies to each of them. Finally, we posted the issue on the NESTA website as openly available, and shared it by email with the climate change education community for open distribution. Intellectual Merit: The project resulted in a compendium of scientifically accurate educational resources on climate change for K-12 science educators. Broader Impacts: In addition to providing valuable resources to K-12 educators seeking quality resources to teach about climate change, we also developed a peer review process for our journal which we have continued to use since the production of the Fall 2012 issue. This has provided a significant improvement in the journal, and also helps to engage a broader community in our publications and organizations, all benefiting the qualify of the resources and programs we provide K-12 teachers.
