Using Models to Teach about Climate Change: A look at NGSS Expectations and Teacher Perceptions
Abstract
The Next Generation Science Standards have been updated from the previous version of the standards with some much needed emphasis on topics in climate and climate change. In particular, the standards have focused on K-12 students learning about science models, which is extremely important when discussing climate change. The NGSS suggest that students be able to 1) develop and use science models (not just use them to explain a concept) because this is how scientists actually use models during the scientific process; and 2) understand systems and system models across all science concepts and all age levels because it leads to further understanding about a more complex natural system (like climate change). To summarize, the NGSS expects that K-12 students should develop and use system models across disciplines and age groups in a way that is similar to how scientists use them in practice, which is to make predictions about unanswered questions. Research indicates that students who learn about science content using an approach that aligns more authentically with the way real science inquiry is done have a better understanding of the content, better understanding of the nature of science, improved critical thinking skills, and improved problem solving skills. Research also indicates that most teachers are aware of this method to teach science content, but sometimes have trouble implementing it into the classroom effectively for many reasons. If accepted, this presentation will share an approach to incorporate modeling into the classroom effectively as well as report the results from a study that qualitatively look at three teacher's perspectives on using models in the classroom while teaching units about climate change, in order to identify how/why teachers struggle to teach about models involved in content related to climate change. Preliminary results indicate that the teachers in this study view models as an effective way to explain a concept to their students, but none of them mention or discuss the predictive power of models. Although models are a useful way to explain a complex phenomenon concisely, arguably the most important role science models play in scientific inquiry is their ability to allow scientists to make prediction, especially when it comes to climate change. Since all three teachers overlooked the predictive power of models, it indicates that that they do not have a firm understanding of the role science models play in making scientific predictions. In conclusion, there is discrepancy between what the NGSS indicate students should be learning about modeling and what teachers are prepared to teach. In order to better prepare teachers to meet the demands required of them, they need to be better educated about models, what they are, what they do, and how scientists use them. By preparing teachers to teach K-12 students about the role models play in climate research, we can build a more knowledgeable society that is better prepared to make informed decisions on how to deal with issues in our changing climate.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2013
- Bibcode:
- 2013AGUFMED53A0634Y
- Keywords:
-
- 0825 EDUCATION Teaching methods;
- 0830 EDUCATION Teacher training;
- 1600 GLOBAL CHANGE