Postdoctoral Researcher - Biological Education

 My name is Jessica Duke (she/her/hers), and I am a biology education researcher who studies undergraduate student perceptions of climate change. My work focuses on understanding what factors impact our students' ability to recognize localized effects of climate change. My research aims to better understand these student perceptions to inform pedagogy and curricular design. 

Upcoming Talks 

Duke, J. R. & Holt, E. A. (Anticipated - Jul 2026). Defining undergraduate science students’ acceptance of climate change. Contributed talk at Ecological Society of America (ESA) conference, Salt Lake City, UT. 

Holt, E.A. & Duke, J. R. (Anticipated - Jul 2026). The Acceptance of Climate Change Scale: Development and validation. Poster presentation at Ecological Society of America (ESA) conference, Salt Lake City, UT.

*All talk times presented in Mountain Time (MT) unless otherwise noted

Previous Talks and Workshops

Development and Validation of the Acceptance of Climate Change Scale

Geological Society of America - Inivited Speaker - Oct. 2025

A tangled web: The many constructs of climate change acceptance

SABER West - Sunday, 19th January 2025 at 11:20 am

Bridging the Gap: Students explore climate change in their backyards

Denver University Biology Seminar, Friday, March 29th at noon. 

Reframing the narrative: Personalizing climate change for undergraduate students - Third Place

Western Associations of Graduate Schools Conference - 3MT Competition - Friday, March 22nd, 10 am

Scoping Review of Articles Measuring Climate Change Acceptance

NARST, Denver, CO, - March 20th, 2024 at 11 am - 12:30 pm.

Ph.D. Defense - Friday, February 2nd at 3:35 pm UNCO Ross Hall 1010. - Successfully Defended!

Reframing the narrative: Personalizing climate change for undergraduate students 

3 Minute Thesis Competition, The University of Northern Colorado, December 5th, 2023 - 7 pm - First place 

Scoping Review of Articles Measuring Climate Change Acceptance, poster presentation

Research Evening, The University of Northern Colorado, December 5th, 2023 - Winner of the Hutchinson-Lahman award

Localizing Climate Change: A undergraduate student classroom intervention 

Ecological Society of America, Portland Oregon, August 8th, 2023  

Localizing Climate Change: A classroom intervention

In collaboration with Holt, E.A.

Teaching and Assessment Symposium, University of Northern Colorado, May 10th, 2023

Thoughts on Climate Change: Exploring Student Perception

Thursday, April 20th, 2023; 2 pm - Colorado State University, Clark A 202

Connection to Nature: A student perspective

Society for the Advancement of Biological Education Research - Conference West, January 2023

Evaluating the inclusivity and equity-mindedness of course syllabi - Conference Workshop

In collaboration with: Holt, E., Mayo, L., and Meadows, L. 

Society for the Advancement of Biological Education Research - West meeting, January 2023

Student Thoughts on Climate Change

Western Carolina University Paul Burton Seminar, December 2022

Seeing Climate Change: Psychological Distance and Connection to Nature 

Ecological Society for America’s Joint Meeting with Canada, August 2022