MIT CCCT - Why education and student emotions matter

MIT Coastal Climate Change Toolkit

A Scientific Framework with Hands-On Experiments

Climate change:

Why education and student emotions matter

People of all ages want to know more about climate change: what is causing it, how it will affect them and their lives, and the actions they will need to prevent the changes or learn to live with them.

Teens Know Climate Change Is Real. They Want Schools to Teach More About ItMost high school students say climate change is real, but are iffy on the science behind global warming, a survey finds.

What do Americans want to know about climate change?Americans most want to know about solutions.

Excerpt from report citing students' misconceptions about the cause of climate change

https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/teens-know-climate-change-is-real-they-want-schools-to-teach-more-about-it/2022/11

Yet experts warn—and the survey results show—that just because the majority of students believe in human-driven climate change doesn’t mean they fully understand it.

...For example, 46 percent of teenagers say that the hole in the ozone layer created by gases from spray cans and refrigerators is a significant contributor to global warming, which is not accurate. (Recent and rapid climate change has been driven primarily by humans burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas, which release greenhouse gasses that trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere. This phenomenon warms the planet, alters its weather patterns, and causes the ice caps to melt.)

More than a quarter of students say that solar flares and increased radiation from the sun have been a major driver of global warming since the 1800s, and nearly a fifth say that volcanoes are a major source of the greenhouse gases contributing to climate change—both false statements.

'It Has to Be a Priority': Why Schools Can't Ignore the Climate CrisisSchools have a part to play in combating climate change, but they don't always know how.

Climate ChangeHeat. Fires. Floods. Learn how climate change affects school infrastructure and curriculum, and how students and schools are responding.

Teaching kids about climate change is important because it empowers them to understand the environmental challenges they will face in the future, encourages them to make informed decisions about sustainability, and provides them with the knowledge to take action to mitigate climate change through informed choices and potential future leadership roles. Educating young people is crucial for creating a more sustainable future for the planet.

As stated in 2021 UNESCO report, Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education: “Research on the effectiveness of climate change education finds that much of it focuses exclusively on scientific teaching, without cultivating the full breadth of competencies necessary to engage students in effective action” (p. 34).

Introduction to the 2024 Climate Literacy GuideClimate Literacy guide presents important information communities to know and understand about Earth’s climate, the impacts of climate change, and solutions.

Teaching ClimateClimate.gov’s Teaching Climate section offers reviewed learning activities and curriculum materials, multimedia resources, and professional development opportunities for formal and informal educators who want to incorporate climate into their work.

Educator's Guide to Climate EmotionsThis guide will help K-12 Educators address the emotional needs of their students as they learn about climate change and climate justice.

A Teachers' Guide for Managing Climate Anxiety in the ClassroomExperts share research-backed tips for teachers on how to respond to students' complicated feelings about climate change.

Young people are suffering from climate anxiety. Here’s how to help. » Yale Climate ConnectionsTeachers and parents can help them get involved in protecting the climate.

Most Teens Learn About Climate Change From Social Media. Why Schools Should CareTeens are getting information on climate change from YouTube and Facebook, underscoring the need to teach media literacy in schools.

www.ipsos.com/en-us/news-polls/extreme-weather-poll-2022

To Teach Students about Climate Change, 'Just the Facts' Isn't EnoughWe also need to talk about emotions and discuss pathways to action

Climate Change Education: What Are We Hearing from Educators and Administrators? | eePROJoin us for an overview of the survey results of a national survey of U.S. K–12 teachers and administrators about climate change and the implications for our collective work as environmental educators.

EARTHDAY.ORG RELEASES CLIMATE EDUCATION vs. THE CLIMATE CRISIS - Earth DayEARTHDAY.ORG is the global force behind Earth Day, which activates one billion people around the world every April 22 to advocate for the health of our planet. Today, EARTHDAY.ORG released a brand-new report outlining the case for climate education as part of the climate crisis solution.

We’d love to hear how you used this tool in your community, how the students responded, and your suggestions to improve the experiments and other resources. Contact us at ccsae@mit.edu.

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