Teaching climate change in diverse contexts can be challenging; however, working with colleagues, community members, and leaders in business, government and non-profits can ensure that such teaching persists and expands as needed. This session will be a discussion format to share examples and name challenges and opportunities in building systemic supports for teaching climate change at a variety of scales within educational systems. Facilitators are experienced implementors in this field and bring a variety of perspectives to the conversation. We will also explore tools that have been used to foster deeper collaborations, help facilitate leadership support, and expand teacher capacity to engage in sustainability and climate change learning.

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Explore examples of needed systemic supports for sustainability and climate change learning 2. Examine tools for working on building supports in your own contexts 3. Share learning with other participants around challenges and opportunities for building systemic supports

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Tana Luther (Louisiana Dept. of Education: Baton Rouge, LA)

Sponsoring Company: Adventerra Games North America LLC

N/A

SPEAKERS:
Sue Mundell (Adventerra Games North America: Boston, MA), Bryan Mundell (Founder), Lauren Kelly (Crowley ISD: Fort Worth, TX)

Participants will experience the potential of teaching climate science through the lens of writing climate fiction. We will learn about the history of the science fiction genre as well as the newer subgenre of climate fiction ("CliFi") and note key contributions to science through innovative and speculative thinking made possible through literature. Participants will experience a crash course version of a unit in which students write a climate fiction novella integrating NGSS and CCSS for Science and Technical Subjects which will spur their curiosity in what “could be” with regard to climate science solutions. Participants will dive into aspects of unit facilitation of the writing and reading processes and leave with a framework for K-12 implementation as well as publication pathways. This experience can be personalized to meet student need through Universal Design for Learning strategies.

TAKEAWAYS:
Through implementation of a climate fiction writing unit, teachers can introduce skills and habits of mind that support youth innovation in addressing climate issues.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Lark (Kognity: Stockholm, 0)

Centering learning around local phenomena can foster sustainable futures when learning is framed in larger global systems thinking and principles. The SDGs provide a framework of 17 central goals that help to foster thriving and sustainable communities. The SDGs are used across many different nations to raise awareness, engage people in action around critical needs for fostering thriving communities, and innovate solutions for our shared futures. This session will explore the SDG framework and its connections to potential local phenomena that connect to learning standards. Participants will be supported to consider examples of how this framework can be used for teaching students about sustainability, climate solutions, and green economy transitions that are critical to our shared future. We will draw on resources and experiences from partner organizations across the nation and the world.

TAKEAWAYS:
After learning about the SDGs, participants will explore the interrelationships between the SDG Framework and local phenomena for use in their own teaching.

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Brian Mandell (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC), John Olson (Metropolitan State University: Saint Paul, MN)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collects hundreds of terabytes of data daily from satellites, buoys, weather stations, animal tags, and more. Though that may sound intimidating, much of this data is readily available to teachers and can be used in the classroom to teach about our natural world. Using scientific data in the classroom can be a great way for teachers to motivate students and for students to learn inquiry-based methods using real-world data. This presentation will highlight many of NOAA’s standards-supported resources, how to access them, and strategies for using them in the classroom. NOAA data spans Earth, life, and physical sciences, and comes in a variety of formats ranging from raw unprocessed real-time measurements and satellite images to processed visualizations, graphs, charts, and animations. Many resources are ready-to-go so you can bring data into your classroom tomorrow!

TAKEAWAYS:
What types of data are available from NOAA and how to find and use NOAA data in your classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD)

Participants will engage with the Polar Data Stories collection of authentic data sets from polar scientists on phenomena such as how changing ocean currents affect penguin foraging in the Antarctic Peninsula and how climate change is affecting the forests in the Arctic. Through exploring two examples of data stories and engaging with both the student and educator-facing materials, participants will become familiar with the application of these data sets in high school biology and/or environmental science classes.

TAKEAWAYS:
Attendees will learn how to implement Polar Data Stories in their science classrooms where students use real science data to construct scientific explanations of polar phenomena.

SPEAKERS:
Julie Wood (The Young Womens Leadership School of Brooklyn)

Human activities have caused changes in global temperature and weather patterns. This generation of students will need to understand climate science in order to adapt to this changing environment. In this session, participants will explore a project in which students incorporate engineering and basic coding - no experience necessary. We will use micro:bit technology to connect basic coding commands to collect authentic data using embedded sensors. Participants will use this collected data to modify design solutions based on human vulnerabilities to severe weather. Participants will find ways to expose their students to the engineering capabilities needed to solve problems. This project allows students to compare design solutions to identify which is best for the problem at hand and to experience the interactive process of evaluating solutions. This project allows for the authentic integration of technology, mathematics, crosscutting concepts, science practices, and easy implementation

TAKEAWAYS:
Use technology to expose students to coding and engineering design solutions for severe weather.

SPEAKERS:
Stacy Thibodeaux (Southside High School: Youngsville, LA), Jessica Kohout (Educational Consultant: Voorhees, NJ)

In this workshop, participants will learn strategies for leading meaningful conversations around climate justice topics with young audiences. Students come to school with a variety of prior experiences and understandings about climate change and justice topics. Understanding where your students are and their willingness for and openness to having conversations around ideas of fairness, equity, and justice is key to creating a safe and nurturing environment where students will willingly participate in potentially uncomfortable conversations. In this session, we will discuss the various approaches we have taken to introduce climate justice to 6th grade students while supporting diverse backgrounds, experiences, and readiness for these conversations. Attendees will learn about strategies and participate in hands-on activities that have led to a successful teaching and learning environment where students feel empowered by knowledge to seek positive change in their own communities.

TAKEAWAYS:
In this workshop, participants will learn strategies for leading meaningful conversations around climate justice with youth. We will showcase various approaches to teaching climate justice to 6th graders while supporting diverse backgrounds, experiences, and readiness for these conversations.

SPEAKERS:
Bess Caplan (Howard County Conservancy: Woodstock, MD)

Teaching climate change in diverse contexts often means we need to meet communities where they are at and teach through concerns that are central to their lives. The SDGs provide a framework of 17 central goals that help to foster thriving and sustainable communities. The SDGs are a global framework that is used across many different nations to raise awareness and engage people in action around critical needs for fostering thriving communities. This session will explore the SDG framework and its connections to climate literacy principles. Participants will be supported to consider examples of how this framework can be used for teaching students about sustainability, climate solutions, and green economy transitions that are critical to our shared future. We will draw on resources and experiences from partner organizations across the nation and the world. "

TAKEAWAYS:
1. Be able to describe the SDGs Framework 2. Explore the interrelationships between the SDG Framework and climate literacy principles 3. Consider connection points with the SDG Framework to your own teaching

SPEAKERS:
Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Brian Mandell (Smithsonian Science Education Center: Washington, DC), Molly Talbot (Louisiana Dept. of Education: Baton Rouge, LA)

Creative ideas will be explored for developing and using climate science storylines based on Midwestern climate phenomena, past and present. For example, the timing of the settling of Midwestern states was a direct result of global and regional climate changes that included the Little Ice Age (creating a demand for animal furs for coats and hats) and the giant 1815 eruption of the Indonesian volcano Tambora (which caused the famines of the “year without a summer” and drove large numbers of easterners westward into the Midwest. Examining regional Midwest geology (such as glacial deposits and bedrock limestone layers) can also foster student sensemaking of the cycles of climate change that can occur on longer time scales. Analyzing the evidence of past climate changes and its impacts on humans and other life will help students carry out the processes of sensemaking to better understand the current trends in climate change (obtained from NASA satellites) and their implications for humans.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate-related storylines anchored by Midwest regional phenomena provide powerful frameworks for students to develop sensemaking of performance expectations concerning weather and climate. Instructors will leave with multiple ideas for incorporating the latest climate science into their classroom.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession (Washington University in St. Louis: Saint Louis, MO)

Designers and writers from the well known STEM Teaching Tools collection (www.stemteachingtools.org), a free repository of resources that reference other national resources funded by the NSF and created by national leaders in climate science and education, have developed a branch of resources called the ClimateEdTools which provide learning pathways for educators as well as strategies for use in youth centered learning contexts. Come and explore these resources with us as we examine the deeply intersectional socio-ecological issues facing our world and how to teach about them. In this workshop we will explore how to engage in science instruction that centers local climate justice phenomena to teach climate science standards. In addition, we will workshop how educators may apply this collection of resources to meet the needs they have in their own teaching and learning contexts.

TAKEAWAYS:
Climate Ed Tools contain rich examples of climate justice instruction, strategies for engaging youth, and to support climate change learning and communication among educators. These open education resources (OER) include video overviews, valuable guidance educators, and tons of background resources!

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

An important and exciting focus of climate science addresses tipping points, which are non-linear reinforcing feedbacks within the climate system. Current climate research has identified at least a dozen different important climate tipping points that could possibly be triggered in the near future, with significant implications for human society; these include changes to glaciers, permafrost, ocean circulation, surface albedo, ocean acidity, and the biomass storage of carbon. This presentation will address what these tipping points are, why they are potentially dangerous, and how best to teach about them. The topic of climate tipping points aligns with several of the NGSS Earth and space science performance expectations and also strongly aligns with the NGSS CCC on the Stability and Change of systems. Ideas will be presented for phenomena and storylines addressing climate tipping points, which can be used in a chemistry, Earth science, environmental science, or physical science course.

TAKEAWAYS:
The subject of climate system tipping points is societally timely and important, and is an engaging topic for addressing NGSS several performance expectations in Earth and space science, and helping students understand the NGSS crosscutting concept of Stability and Change.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Wysession (Washington University in St. Louis: Saint Louis, MO)

Sponsoring Company: Lab-Aids

In this interactive workshop from our new Biology program from SEPUP, students will engage with a model of how human choices affect the sustainability of a particular resource—the fish population of a fictitious lake—and the potential effects of various actions.

In this session, participants will consider the ramifications of climate fatigue on generations who are and will continue to be responsible for climate-affecting decisions as scientists and citizens as well as the means to apply social-emotional learning (SEL) to equip educators and students with hope. Participants will explore the benefits (for educators and students) of integrating SEL concepts and benchmarks with the NGSS throughout educator and student learning experiences. We will identify connections between and opportunities for educator- and student-led discussions, advocacy opportunities, and giving educators and students ownership and agency in their learning through utilizing their backgrounds, interests, abilities, and voice. Participants will have access to strategies and tools that support the integration of SEL within climate science instruction and overviews of instructional units that lend themselves to building climate optimism.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will leave with a set of strategies and tools to implement with regard to their own relationships with climate science, as well as those they can use with other educators and their students to shift toward hope and advocacy.

SPEAKERS:
Erin Lark (Kognity: Stockholm, 0)

Ecological systems have been damaged by humans. Science can be used to guide responses and support the thriving of species. Science education tends to reflect Western perspectives, including the view of humans as separate from and exerting control over nature. However, science learning can build from caring, relational orientations toward multispecies worlds and socio-ecologically just and thriving systems. We must engage learners in ways that highlight these webs of interdependence and support learners in responding to complex human-nature ecosystem dynamics. In this session, we will explore strategies and examples of science learning that cultivate caring ecological relationships, including firsthand experiences of learning by engaging with and investigating land and water systems. We will draw on co-designed resources from STEM Teaching Tools (www.stemteachingtools.org) and Learning in Places (learninginplaces.org) to support these experiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Human-nature relationships are culturally and historically rooted and are embedded in approaches to science teaching and learning. Supporting reciprocal and caring human-nature relationships leads to socio-ecologically just and thriving systems—and aligns with NGSS 3-D learning.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Nancy Price (University of Washington: Seattle, WA)

This work is based on the result of a design-based research on internationalizing climate change instruction. During the instruction, the instructor introduced the content knowledge on climate change through a lab activity. Next, the students visited six stations to understand the impact of climate change on different areas of the world. They were also asked to identify the patterns and trends associated with various global maps demonstrating global climate change's differential impacts and complete a provided worksheet based on this gallery-walk activity. After the gallery-walk activity, students were asked to respond through a scientific report to the claim, “Climate change is the great equalizer and equally affects everyone in the world.” The students constructed a scientific explanation either in support of or against the provided claim. The workshop participants will experience the activity and discuss how to adopt it in their classrooms.

TAKEAWAYS:
How to internationalize climate change instruction for global competence.

SPEAKERS:
Shukufe Rahman (Graduate Student: Bloomington, IN), Conghui Liu (Ph.D. Candidate: Bloomington, MO)

Sponsoring Company: EARTHDAY.ORG

We will highlight the importance of climate education and present educators with strategies and resources to develop climate literacy and advocacy in their classrooms. We aim to inspire and support educators to increase climate education in their classrooms this year.

SPEAKERS:
Bryce Coon (EARTHDAY.ORG: Washington, DC)

Sponsoring Company: NOAA

Join us for a demo of our database of 1,200+ educational resources from NOAA. We host ocean, coast, Great Lakes, weather, and climate resources. Tour our lesson plans and activities and ask us your questions. Learn more at noaa.gov/education/resources. This session is appropriate for K-16 educators.

SPEAKERS:
Kayla Smith (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Silver Spring, MD)

Explore one model of integrating climate literacy into the classroom using hands-on climate lessons. In partnership with the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the legislature-funded ClimeTime program, the Gonzaga Center for Climate, Society, and the Environment has created the Climate Literacy Fellows program. Through this program, the Climate Center hires and trains exceptional Gonzaga undergraduates to deliver high-impact climate literacy activities in elementary and middle school classrooms (grades K-8). The Climate Literacy Fellows help students understand how climate influences them and how they and society influence climate through hands-on, inquiry driven activities that center the NGSS standards and experiential learning. Our presentation would focus on the demonstrating one or more of the climate kits in action and opportunities for improvement, as well as suggestions for implementation in other places.

TAKEAWAYS:
The importance of a hands-on approach to engaging students with the process of science and understanding the broader context that climate change occurs in.

SPEAKERS:
Karli Honebein (Gonzaga Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment: No City, No State)

Through an interactive presentation, participants will engage with the learning concepts presented a "Sagging Circuits" lesson. Participants will build an electric grid using materials provided by The Energy Coalition’s program: Energy is Everything. The lesson will connect to real-world scenarios by portraying a town’s electric grid and monitoring the supply and demand. The lesson incorporates a story describing the various energy-use activities occurring to monitor the town’s energy consumption and manage the city’s electricity supply. Participants will be instructed to build a series of circuits to depict the energy load on the electrical grid and record their data on a handout and graph their daily load profiles on graph paper. Additionally, the lesson will inspire a discussion of the impact of renewable energy resources on the power grid.

TAKEAWAYS:
This hands-on, standards-aligned workshop will show the influence of engineering, technology, and science on society and the natural world. Participants will leave the workshop with concepts and strategies to implement a similar lesson with their students.

SPEAKERS:
Hanna Buechi (Sr. Project Coordinator: Irvine, CA), Jasmine Pineda (Project Manager: Irvine, CA)

Climate kNOWledge engages all 6th grade students from the Howard County Public School system (MD) in learning about and understanding climate science and climate justice through a 45-day science unit. The goal of Climate kNOWledge is to bring current climate science into the classroom while helping students understand the disproportionate impacts climate change has on communities worldwide. Students participate in two field experiences; a schoolyard data collection where hands on protocols help them understand specific climate phenomena like the urban heat island effect, and an offsite field trip to learn about climate change solutions. The unit culminates in student-led action projects that are grounded in evidence-based reasoning and address a local climate change impact. This session will provide an overview of the new Climate kNOWledge unit and will discuss strategies for leading meaningful and educational conversations around climate justice topics with young audiences.

TAKEAWAYS:
Participants will learn strategies for leading conversations about climate justice with students. We will showcase activities, case studies, and other tools that lead to successful learning environments where students feel empowered by knowledge to seek positive changes in their own communities.

SPEAKERS:
Bess Caplan (Howard County Conservancy: Woodstock, MD)

Climate change is the biggest threat affecting our collective futures. We need to provide young people with the tools to be able to navigate a future that is unclear. Technology is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to climate solutions. However, teaching students how to understand the limitations and benefits of how technology can lead to climate solutions is important. This poster session will showcase student work that was completed during the Howard County Conservancy’s Youth Climate Institutes STEM Action Team. Students worked collaboratively to identify climate impacts within their own communities and developed models to potential solutions.

TAKEAWAYS:
Get ideas of how to incorporate STEM projects while teaching Climate Change and Environmental Science.

SPEAKERS:
Jessica Kohout (Educational Consultant: Voorhees, NJ)

Changing global and local climates have perceptible impacts on communities, so teachers need to be able to develop lessons based on reliable date and research-based reports that their students can access and analyze to inform future decision-making. In this session, I will share some examples of use.

TAKEAWAYS:
Available climate data exists to be used in developing lesson plans to guide student decision-making.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Passow (Dwight Morrow HS (retd): Englewood, NJ)

Climate science education is foundational for all learners given our changing lands and waters. These changes vary across the landscape and thus we also need to learn about the differential way in which climate change is impacting people across different contexts. Often the most marginalized peoples are the first impacted. This session will explore ways to teach about climate science that provide insight into the lived experiences and current adaptations of those most impacted by climate change. Tools for engaging in conversations around such inequities, curriculum resources, and ways to engage in solutions centered action research with students will all be explored. We will draw on emerging resources being built within the STEM Teaching Tools collection (www.stemteachingtools.org), a free repository of resources that reference other national resources funded by the NSF and created by national leaders in climate science and education.

TAKEAWAYS:
Strategies for engaging in climate change and climate justice learning appropriate to grade band NGSS standards, climate and energy literacy standards, and for both school and community-based learning contexts.

SPEAKERS:
Philip Bell (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Kelsie Fowler (University of Washington: Seattle, WA), Deb Morrison (Educator and Learning Scientist: Seattle, WA)

Heat domes! Wildfires! Drought! Students across the world are experiencing the impact of climate change in their everyday lives, but often students feel hopelessness and fear when thinking and learning about these issues. In this workshop, we will discuss Photovoice, a flexible (e.g. low-floor, high-ceiling task) classroom practice that unpacks students’ ideas, experiences, and emotions through critical reflection on self-generated photos of climate impacts in their own community. Through individual and collaborative reflection, students investigate their ideas in ways that shift feelings of fear and hopelessness toward constructive hope and action. We will first explore how student-generated photos from their local community can build teacher capacity to identify and understand students’ thinking about climate change and the phenomena they find compelling about the topic. Then we will dig into how to utilize photovoiceas a launching point for relevant climate change instruction.

TAKEAWAYS:
You will takeaway a Google slide deck with specific teaching tools that are how-to guides for facilitating students' individual and collaborative teams, meaning making around the photos they generate, and how to navigate their emotions towards collective actions around local climate change impacts.

SPEAKERS:
Michael Lawson (Teaching Assistant Professor), Imogen Herrick (Assistant Professor of STEM Education: , CA)

Recent and ongoing research uses an Indigenous methodology to formalize the Cultural Connections Process Model (CCPM)--an approach for authentic co-production of educational resources by Indigenous communities and education/research organizations. This session will showcase the model as well as emergent research findings, and provide hands-on opportunities to explore the resources created when the model was developed and implemented in several Alaska Native communities. These place-based resources are built to target Next Generation Science Standards as well as focus on community priorities, and Indigenous education frameworks, Alaska Native languages, cultural values and cultural content standards. All the resources created using this model are freely and publicly available on project websites, and work is underway to create a long-term repository for these and future CCPM resources.

TAKEAWAYS:
The goal of this session is to share ongoing research formalizing the Cultural Connections Process Model and explore free videos, hands-on lessons, and more, created using the model. Attendees will develop an understanding of how to implement the model and access the free classroom resources.

SPEAKERS:
Lynda McGilvary (Geophysical Institute: Fairbanks, AK), Lori Schoening (Geophysical Institute: Fairbanks, AK)

The session will suggest ways in which to reach out of the science classroom and into the heart to connect climate science to the human factor of the climate crisis. Specific pieces of writing (fiction and essay), art, photography, poetry, music, and multimedia will be shared with audience members. These will be provided as examples of the science-humanities connection and how to leverage the emotions present in the work to underscore the severity of the climate crisis. The presentation will suggest entry points in the NGSS Standards to integrate the interdisciplinary approach. The session will also highlight artwork from diverse cultures, some of which will feel the impact of Climate Change earlier than industrialized nations (i.e. Marshallese or other Pacific Islanders). Resources and lists of potential works linked to Climate Change will be provided so attendees may select the works that would best connect to their unique student populations.

TAKEAWAYS:
Teachers can use writing, art, photography, poetry, and other forms of expressions from our global culture to supplement a student's scientific understanding of the potential and current effects of Climate Change. If you humanize the problem, advocacy follows.

SPEAKERS:
Peter Knutson (Dubuque Community School District: Dubuque, IA)