Publication Abstracts
Bhattacharya et al. 2020
Bhattacharya, D., K. Carroll Steward, , and C. Forbes, 2020: Using climate models to learn about global climate change: Investigating the phenomenon of increasing surface air temperatures using a global climate modeling approach. Sci. Teach., 88, no. 1, on-line.
Since 1880, Earth's average global temperature has increased by approximately 1.4 °F (0.8 °C). Approximately two-thirds of the warming has occurred since 1975. Despite consensus about global climate change (GCC) within the scientific community, students struggle to comprehend 1) why temperatures are warming globally, 2) at what rate the change is occurring, and 3) how climate scientists make predictions about Earth's future climate.
These challenges are due, in part, to the abstraction inherent to GCC, a phenomenon that occurs over long periods of time (past and future), and over large regions (regional and global). With the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), GCC is emphasized at the secondary school level, with a focus on analyzing and understanding the evidence for GCC (HS-ESS3-1), climate modeling (HS-ESS2-4, HS-ESS3-5), and the impact of humans on the environment (HS- LS2-7, HS-ESS3-6).
However, learning opportunities that emphasize developing students' understanding of the basic science underlying GCC, such as the greenhouse effect and the carbon cycle, may not fully address the temporal and spatial aspects of this phenomenon and teachers may not have access to high-quality curriculum materials that could help in addressing these challenges.
To enhance teaching and learning about Earth's climate and GCC in secondary science classrooms, we are engaged in a four-year, NSF-funded project to develop, implement, and evaluate a new four-week curriculum module that is grounded in the use of a data-driven, computer-based climate modeling toolkit — EzGCM.
Instructional approaches focused on investigations grounded in climate data have been successful in improving students' understanding of the global warming phenomenon, as well as the methods scientists use to develop the evidence. However, it is challenging to obtain, analyze, understand, and present large scientific data sets and complex computer models in the classroom. Tools such as EzGCM make modeling and big data more accessible to students and more appropriate for classroom teaching and learning. However, if not integrated meaningfully, students' interactions with these data and models remains superficial. In this article, we describe our approach to using models to support students' reasoning about Earth's climate and GCC through the use of EzGCM.
Export citation: [ BibTeX ] [ RIS ]
BibTeX Citation
@article{bh04000e,
author={Bhattacharya, D. and Carroll Steward, K. and Chandler, M. and Forbes, C.},
title={Using climate models to learn about global climate change: Investigating the phenomenon of increasing surface air temperatures using a global climate modeling approach},
year={2020},
journal={Sci. Teach.},
volume={88},
number={1},
pages={on--line},
}
[ Close ]
RIS Citation
TY - JOUR ID - bh04000e AU - Bhattacharya, D. AU - Carroll Steward, K. AU - Chandler, M. AU - Forbes, C. PY - 2020 TI - Using climate models to learn about global climate change: Investigating the phenomenon of increasing surface air temperatures using a global climate modeling approach JA - Sci. Teach. VL - 88 IS - 1 SP - on EP - line ER -
[ Close ]
