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Workshop Detail: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
(5-9): When a Good Climate Goes Bad: Connections and Solutions
presented by
Teresa Eastburn, Educational Designer at the UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, Kyle Ham
Curriculum Developed by National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) / University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
What are our choices when it comes to adapting to or mitigating climate change? Join us as we explore climate’s past and present behavior, draw connections between energy and a warming world, look to predictive tools for a pulse on what’s to come, and engage in fun yet informative activities that help us understand both connections and solutions to the biggest issues facing our country: the failing economy and our devastated environment.
A major goal of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is to understand the potential impacts of a changing climate on society. Scientists use sophisticated tools to forecast the likelihood of such changes on regional, national, and global scales, as well as the potential consequences of such changes on crops, sea level, air quality, human health, and the natural balance among all living things. This workshop will provide you with the necessary content knowledge, educational activities, and multimedia resources to confidently engage your students in activities surrounding global warming/climate change and its relationship to our energy future. Join us as we get a pulse of Earth’s past, present, and future climate, use Google Earth to illustrated areas currently threatened, and review the various energy-related remedies currently under consideration.
In this workshop, teachers will engage in a variety of inquiry activities and discussions that span the breadth and depth of our planet’s complex and ever-changing climate system and its relationship to energy. Part I of the workshop will focus on activities that explore the Sun’s energy in our atmosphere, the energy dimension of climate change, links between energy security and climate policy, and where the nation and international community stand in terms of our ability to create a clean and sustainable energy economy. We will also explore Earth’s climate history, direct and indirect records that scientists study to detect past climate, factors that brought about past climate change, as well as those that determine climate in general.
In Part II, we will engage in activities surrounding the future and look at anticipated consequences of a warming planet -- especially in Texas. We’ll unravel how climate model’s make such predictions possible, and the limitations in making such a forecast.
In Part III we’ll engage in activities and discussions surrounding communication and decision-making in the face of future climate uncertainty. We’ll also look at our individual and collective actions that contribute to the burgeoning problem, and those that might help us address or combat it as well. Lastly, we’ll explore many of the best online resources for teaching about energy and climate, including using GIS/Google Earth to explore our changing world.
Participants will receive a workshop CD that includes all presentation materials, graphics, animations, activities, articles, and a variety of climate-related publications. In addition, a digital copy of NCAR’s Climate Discovery Teacher Guides will be provided with a wealth of climate activities beyond those covered in the workshop. Facing the Future’s climate curricula will also be highlighted and an electronic copy provided of their many educational resources.
Teresa Eastburn is an educational designer for the UCAR Office of Education and Outreach, and a former classroom teacher who now teaches informally with the over 15,000 students, teachers and life-long learners who visit NCAR’s Mesa Lab each year. She also works with NCAR scientists and local educators who are developing educational resources to complement NCAR research, and enjoys developing multimedia resources and keeping her technology skills up-to-date. Currently, she is a participant in the two-year Center for Informal Learning and Schools program through the San Francisco Exploratorium, and has enjoyed expanding her knowledge on informal education, and meeting fellow informal educators and those serving in professional development from around the country.
Teri’s background is in developmental psychology, cognitive development, education and multimedia design. She holds a multi-subject teaching credential, a certificate in cultural, language, academic development (CLAD), and an M.A. in human development. Being the life-long learner that she is, she hopes to continue her schooling both formally and informally well into old age, all while continuing to work within education and public outreach at UCAR and NCAR where opportunities to learn abound – the greatest of perks!
Summer Institute, a component of the MIDAS Project, is supported by a