Climate Science Learning WA February 2019 Newsletter
ClimeTime Initiative
ClimeTime is a Washington state-level network developed to build the capacity of science teachers helping to help youth understand climate science and promote a thriving and sustainable environment. The ClimeTime work is facilitated by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) with all nine Washington Educational Service Districts (ESDs) and seven community-based organizations (CBOs) launching or expanding programs for science teacher training supporting Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and climate science education. In addition to teacher professional learning and training, the project supports the 16 grantees to develop instructional materials, design related assessment tasks and evaluation strategies, and facilitate student events in collaboration with the Institute of Science and Math Education at the University of Washington.
Project Updates - A selection of current activity within ClimeTime
On January 17, 2019 (Cohort 1) and January 18, 2019( Cohort 2) a total of 48 elementary teachers met at ESD 123 for their first follow-up day for Earth Systems and Changes. Teachers engaged in learning about how ocean currents impact weather and climate in eastern Washington, using Models and Explanations, and developing formative assessment classroom tasks. Teachers experienced a convection current experiment and then found data and evidence in articles about drought, ocean currents and air currents, as well as watching NASA satellite images showing how currents move and weather is generated. They developed initial models and then, using their new learning, developed final models and explanations to make their thinking public. During this day teachers began to plan for classroom formative tasks focused on place based phenomena and functional in the context of their current science units.
High School teachers in the NCESD (ESD171) region are in the field test and adaptation phase of unit development for a second year high school course based on the Conceptual Progressions Model for the NGSS. Each unit is being crafted with inspiration from the University of Washington’s Ambitious Science Teaching framework with a focus on locally relevant phenomena. One unit is using Pika stress levels to investigate the cycling of matter and energy in the geosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere and how changes in the system can impact the Pika. Pictured below are the initial causal loop models from a student group in Molly Ravitz’s class. Molly teaches in the Cascade School District in Leavenworth, Washington. Cascade is one of six districts in the NCESD region who are implementing the Conceptual Progressions Model at high school.
NCESD 171 is also involved in an OCDE Project GLAD® unit is being written on Climate Change. This unit will have a 3rd - 5th grade component, as well as a middle school component, in order to have a broader impact for our teachers and students. We will be piloting the use of these materials in April and May with a full OCDE Project GLAD® Tier I training in June.
Register for NOAA Webinars to support ClimeTime work and see past webinars and resources eg.Webinar #1: Integrating Native Ways of Knowing on Climate Change - Video and associate resources from the webinar.
Elizabeth Schmitz has joined the Learning and Teaching Science team at OSPI as the Environmental and Sustainability Education Program Manager. She has worked as an environmental education specialist Kentucky Division for Air Quality, has worked on climate change issues, and was the executive director of the Kentucky Environmental Education Council (KEEC). In 2017, Elizabeth returned to the Pacific Northwest to lead the Sauvie Island Center in Oregon. Elizabeth is thrilled to be working in the field of environmental and sustainability education with us here in Washington saying, “I am already inspired by the great work happening in schools and school districts, and I look forward to supporting the efforts of our learners and teachers across the state!” She can be reached at Elizabeth.Schmitz@k12.wa.us
The STEM Education Innovation Alliance will be meeting to share science education efforts with legislators and community members in Olympia on February 17 and several of these efforts have focused on climate education specifically. These are the projects selected from a great range of efforts across the state to present in a ‘science fair’ format:
Oakland Bay Junior High School: Hydropower as a Renewable Resource
Reardan High School: Southern Resident Killer Whales
Ellensburg High School: Beaver Activity and Habitat
Science and Math Institute: Stormwater Stewards
Colton High School: Soil Health Benefits of Cover Crops
Colville High School: Colville Fish Hatchery
Connect with ClimeTime
Sign up for future ClimeTime newsletters at: tinyurl.com/ClimateScienceLearningWA. Also be sure to add the email climtime@uw.edu to your address book so the newsletter will not be blocked.
Add social media tags to any events, courses, news including: #climetime, #teachclimate, #teach4climate
On Twitter we are at @WAClimeTime - check out this feed for shares on projects in real time.
Brown University has created curriculum around Climate Change and Questions of Justice. Explore these resources as possible ways to enrich your climate education efforts.
This organization has K-12 educational resources for thinking about solutions to environmental challenges more generally, including climate change specifically.
Cllimate Central (www.climatecentral.org) - Provides professional learning resources and data visualizations for understanding a wide variety of climate related issues.
In thinking about how to engage folks in working around locally based climate phenomena, many educators need support in building equitable science learning communities that differ from traditional science learning settings.
In addition, such communities have very different talk structures; check out the playlist for Promoting Student Science Talk in the Classroom as these resources are useful to both formal and informal educators.
Student voice is important as we think about going forward in climate science education. Student have raised their voice across Europe around climate action. Check out how young learners, highlighted in the Young Voices For the Planet videos, can not only engage in climate science education but also take action to change their world.