As an example of the importance of communications about climate science, NOAA responds to millions of annual requests for climate data vital to planning and operations. In vulnerable areas, infrastructure can be designed with a better understanding of projected sea-level rise, flooding, changes in hurricane frequency and intensity, and other threats related to a changing climate. Image courtesy of NOAA.

Communicating Climate Science in the Classroom

An online workshop for undergraduate faculty
April 2 - 11, 2012

This workshop has already taken place. You can watch recordings of the sessions on the program page and see the teaching materials created at this workshop.

As a key component of the essential principles of climate literacy, the Guiding Principle for informed climate decisions states, humans can take actions to reduce climate change and its impacts. Yet before action can be taken, the populace needs to understand the scientific basis for why action is needed, the rationale for which actions to take, and the motivations to move away from "business as usual." Communicating about climate change is a challenge faced by scientists, policymakers and educators alike. This workshop will explore effective practices for communicating climate science and climate policy in the classroom and will provide strategies to help improve student understanding of this complex and sensitive topic.

Workshop activities will include:

Presentations from communication specialists and public opinion researchers,
Demonstrations of various classroom strategies for displacing misconceptions and communicating climate science,
Examples of successful activities that are designed with an emphasis on effective communication,
Work time to develop new classroom resources,
Opportunities to collaborate and network with other faculty.

The workshop will be held online and will use web conferencing, web collaboration tools, online discussions, and conference calls. Workshop activities will be a blend of synchronous sessions and asynchronous work time.

The workshop is free of charge, but space is limited and pre-registration is required by March 1, 2012.

Learn more about the workshop goals and expectations | Proceed to the workshop program

Workshop Leaders

Karin Kirk, Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Cathy Manduca, Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Dave Dempsey, San Francisco State University
Susan Buhr, CIRES, University of Colorado
John Cook, Global Change Institute, University of Queensland

For more information, contact Karin Kirk (kkirk at carleton.edu).