Teaching Kids About Climate Change: A Conversation With Prof. Randy McGinnis

Professor J. Randy McGinnis
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
College of Education
University of Maryland

with Emily Hestness
(UM EDCI graduate, Spring 2009):

Q - Why do you think kids are so interested in learning about Climate Change issues? A - We believe that climate change has become an important topic of discussion throughout our society, so the kids hear about it from multiple sources.  In our experience working with teacher education majors at UM, when we ask them to speak with elementary school students in public schools about climate change issues, they report back to us that their students as young as first grade are coming to the classroom having heard about climate change from their parents, from TV, from the movies, and from the Internet.

Our teacher interns and their learners want to know how climate change will affect their lives and the world around them.  Particularly, when they see animals that they care about, such as penguins and polar bears, being affected negatively by changes in the climate they are very concerned and want to take action to help them. Both the older and the younger learners also notice that there may be disagreement surrounding climate change, and they wonder why that is occurring.

Q - How can teachers help kids learn about climate change in a fun and interactive way?

A fun and interactive way that kids can learn about climate change is to focus on the global aspect of the issue. The study of the issue offers an opportunity for students to explore diverse regions of the world, diverse ecosystems, and diverse human communities and see how they all are being affected by a changing climate.  Students can learn about what other people (including kids) think about the issue and what some people are doing to address climate change. They also can decide how they personally can play a role in shaping the future.

Q - Can kids -- even at the youngest grades -- understand what climate change is all about and why we should care?

We believe that kids even in the youngest grades can engage with the climate change issue in a meaningful way that is developmentally appropriate. The climate change issue is very multidimensional, so there are so many things we are continuing to learn about climate change. It would be impossible for students to become knowledgeable about every aspect of it.  However, we have found in our work as teacher educators that our interns and even their youngest students can learn about stewardship and what it means to care about their environment. They can learn that people's actions have positive and negative consequences, and that this is true also for people's actions toward the earth and its atmosphere. 


Q - How important is it for teachers to get "down and dirty" with climate change issues -- taking learning beyond just reading a textbook?

It is extremely important for teachers to teach about climate change in an active learning manner that goes beyond simply reading about it in a textbook. Especially because very few of today's textbooks present climate change in depth, and because scientists' understanding of climate change is progressing seemingly on a daily basis, it is very important for teachers to look for outside resources that can support their students' learning about the issue. Fortunately, there is a growing body of educational resources for teachers to become aware of that can support them in teaching about climate change. Technology can be especially motivating and useful for helping students visualize how the earth is changing and the projections for the future under different scenarios. For example, teachers can use multimedia resources to show students images and video footage of how climate change is presently impacting their world. 

Q - Can discussions about climate change help engage students to learn more about science (and math) and its importance to our society?

We believe that the climate change issue is becoming one of the most crucial science topics for this generation of young learners.  When students see how scientific knowledge can be applied to decision-making (societal and personal dimensions) about a specific issue like climate change, it makes the importance of science (and math) become apparent. When they come to understand how scientists collect, analyze and interpret data, particularly numerical data, they see immediately the application of mathematics and science to real-life problems. As a result, they want to learn more science and math and consider more seriously the possibility to pursue careers in such subjects.

College of Education - University of Maryland
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Project NEXUS Science Curriculum Home Page

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