Using Global Climate Models to Investigate the Phenomenon of Increasing Surface Air temperatures

Abstract:

How does one teach about Earth's climate and the phenomenon of global climate change (GCC) in secondary classrooms? What makes the best approach for our secondary educators and how does such an approach impact students' reasoning about the phenomenon? We investigated these questions through study that was conducted in ten secondary Geoscience classrooms in a partner school district to the NSF supported project CliMES (Climate Literacy and Modeling Epistemology of Science). As a part of this project in collaboration with NASA-GISS, we have developed a three-week, NGSS aligned curriculum module grounded in EzGCM- a climate model. Students investigate the concepts of anomaly, the changing rate of increase in average global temperatures, and the long-term record of atmospheric carbon dioxide to understand the phenomenon of global increase in average surface temperatures. We present insight about how this strategy influenced their reasoning and helps them in effective decision making about global climate change which necessitates understanding information about the Earth’s climate over multiple spatial and temporal scales. Students’ knowledge of climate data and their engagement with EzGCM were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative analysis of data obtained from concept inventory, student modeling tasks, and student interviews. Our results demonstrate that students were able to use EzGCM to obtain relevant data. Their meaningful engagement with EzGCM through comparing simulations representing stable and predicted Earth’s climate, enabled them to predict, hypothesize, and draw causal explanations about the phenomenon of average increase in global surface temperatures. K-12 climate literacy efforts are supported by the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013) and as states adapt to or revise their own standards, helping teaches in understanding how they can effectively teach about Earth's climate, in alignment with their state standards is becoming critical. This presentation offers information about conceptual frameworks for inquiry-based instruction in climate change aligned with NGSS and science and engineering practices.