Teaching Climate Change
Learn how to teach climate change to students aged 11-14 years old and engage them with the ESA Climate Detectives project.
Duration
3 weeksWeekly study
3 hours
Teaching Climate Change
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Teach the causes of climate change, and how we can mitigate global warming
On this course, you’ll learn how to successfully teach climate change to secondary school students aged 11-14 years old.
You’ll learn about the key facts behind the climate crisis, before going on to develop practical learning activities for your pupils.
Discover how to teach climate change in schools with Climate Detectives
Using unique resources from the European Space Agency (ESA), you’ll work towards leading a team of students through the ESA’s Climate Detectives project.
Climate Detectives encourages students to research a local climate issue in their area, and use ESA resources and information on the ground to work towards a solution based on the analysis of secondary data.
Understand what climate change is and how we can mitigate it
To bolster your knowledge of the subject, you’ll learn the difference between weather and climate, and investigate the causes and effects of climate change, learning about how the climate is affected by both geological and human factors.
You’ll understand how to collect and interpret data from the Earth Observation satellite, using it to develop projects that engage and inspire your students to investigate and communicate local climate issues and solutions.
Work with other teachers to develop your practice
Alongside an international cohort of teachers, you’ll explore how the topic of change change is used in the taught curriculum, how to develop a research question using data, and how to organise your findings using the relevant scientific terminology.
You’ll finish the course confidently able to facilitate teaching and learning of climate change in your classroom, using cutting-edge resources and expertise from the ESA.
What topics will you cover?
- What is climate change?
- Climate change in the taught curriculum.
- Climate science projects for students, such as ESA Climate Detectives.
- How climate change is measured using satellite data.
- Mitigating climate change.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Describe what climate change is and what it is not and improve your subject knowledge of how space technology is used in climate science.
- Identify misconceptions within your class and approaches to teaching the science of climate change.
- Produce a plan to support students to undertake a climate change investigation.
- Apply the techniques used by scientists to collect and analyse data on climate change within the classroom.
- Evaluate the use of climate change and related careers as a context to teach science across the curriculum.
Who is the course for?
This course is designed for teachers of secondary school students aged 11-14 years old, including Key Stage 3, S1-S3, and Junior Cycle (Ireland).
What software or tools do you need?
In the second week of this course we look at visual satellite data from the Earth Observation Browser. You will not need to use the EO Browser to complete the course and alternative data sources are available.
Who will you learn with?
ESERO-UK Teacher Fellow, working for STEM Learning, York. Using the context of space to inspire STEM teaching and learning. Teacher of physics, satellite engineer, father of two.
Catherine designs and delivers Science workshops and CPD in STEM to teachers throughout Ireland. She holds a masters in Environmental Science and has taught science for many years.
Stephanie works at Science Foundation Ireland in Dublin on the Education & Public Engagement team. She's the ESERO Ireland manager and loves collaborating to design STEM teaching and learning supports
Who developed the course?
National STEM Learning Centre
The National STEM Learning Centre provides world-class professional development activities and resources to support the teaching of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects.
ESERO UK
ESERO-UK, also known as the UK space education office, provides free resources, support and information for teachers to enhance the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) using space as a context.
ESERO Ireland
ESERO Ireland provides free resources aligned to the Irish curriculum, support and information for teachers to enhance the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) using space as a context.
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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