COURSE TITLE:

CLIMATE CHANGE FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS

NO. OF CREDITS:

6 QUARTER CREDITS
[semester equivalent = 4.00 credits]

WA CLOCK HRS:  
OREGON PDUs:  
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 48:  
60
60
60

INSTRUCTOR:

Charity Staudenraus
charity.heritage@gmail.com

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course meets OSPI’s STEM requirements

Climate change poses the single largest, global threat to life on Earth, and yet the United States and our schools lag far behind the international community in educating and acting responsibly to mitigate the causes and effects of a warming planet. This online course for grades K - 12 teachers uses excellent platforms developed by NASA and the EPA to educate about the science of climate change in kid-friendly, interdisciplinary ways. Youthful graphics, games, lesson samples that cut across science, social studies and math, virtual expeditions to places where climate change is visible, CO2 footprint calculators and more make this a rich learning environment from which grades K - 12  teachers will develop their own units and themes—whether that’s oceans, birds, butterflies, fish, trees, fresh water supplies.  Many of your common science units can be modified with a climate change perspective (ie ocean life, plants and animals). There are no written texts for this course.  All reading is online.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon completion of this course, participants will have:

  • A reliable knowledge of the science behind climate change and the important role played by CO2 and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
  • Knowledge of and the ability to describe the many impacts of climate change and the cycles involved, such as warming oceans, more intense storms, shifting habitat, growing range of invasive species, ocean acidification, loss of coral, stress to trees and plants and wildlife and more.
  • A deeper appreciation for how significant a global threat climate change poses.
  • A working knowledge of the NASA and EPA web sites and how to use the tools they offer in bringing the message of climate change to their K-5 students.
  • A range of options to mitigate the effects of climate change as well as adaptive strategies for a warming planet.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Completion of all specified assignments is required for issuance of hours or credit. The Heritage Institute does not award partial credit.


HOURS EARNED:
Completing the basic assignments (Section A. Information Acquisition) for this course automatically earns participants their choice of CEUs (Continuing Education Units), Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, or Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours. The Heritage Institute offers CEUs and is an approved provider of Washington State Clock Hours, Oregon PDUs, and Pennsylvania ACT 48 Hours.




 

UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT INFORMATION

REQUIREMENTS FOR UNIVERSITY QUARTER CREDIT
Continuing Education Quarter credits are awarded by Antioch University Seattle (AUS). AUS requires 75% or better for credit at the 400 level and 85% or better to issue credit at the 500 level. These criteria refer both to the amount and quality of work submitted.

  1. Completion of Information Acquisition assignments 30%
  2. Completion of Learning Application assignments 40%
  3. Completion of Integration Paper assignment 30%



 

CREDIT/NO CREDIT (No Letter Grades or Numeric Equivalents on Transcripts)
Antioch University Seattle (AUS) Continuing Education Quarter credit is offered on a Credit/No Credit basis; neither letter grades nor numeric equivalents are on a transcript. 400 level credit is equal to a "C" or better, 500 level credit is equal to a "B" or better. This information is on the back of the transcript.

AUS Continuing Education quarter credits may or may not be accepted into degree programs. Prior to registering, determine with your district personnel, department head, or state education office the acceptability of these credits for your purpose.

ADDITIONAL COURSE INFORMATION

REQUIRED TEXT

There are no text required for this course.  Online reading. 

None. All reading is online.

MATERIALS FEE

There are no materials fees.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR TEACHING THIS COURSE:

CHARITY STAUDENRAUS, M.A.T, received her BA from Willamette University, her MAT from Willamette University. Charity has experience teaching math, science, social studies, business, and language courses at the middle and high school level.  She is currently serving on the 2014-2017 Oregon Science Content and Assessment Panel as well as the Oregon Instructional Materials Criteria Development Committee.  In addition Charity is consulting on a Rutgers University and WPI project funded through multiple Department of Education and National Science Foundation Grants.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CLIMATE CHANGE FOR TEACHERS & STUDENTS

WEB SITES

NASA CLIMATE FOR KIDS:NASA’s Eyes on the Earth
http://climatekids.nasa.gov/
This excellent educational resource would be hard to develop without the scholarship, scientific knowledge  and funding that is usually only found in large, government sponsored organizations. What’s particularly appealing is the youth-oriented graphics, a wide array of game and activity options that make the NASA site immediately useful to teachers in their classroom presentations or for homework assignments which students can easily do on their own.

EPA A Student’s Guide to Global Climate Change
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html
While the EPA site is more basic than NASA’s, it is quicker to review and may provide a somewhat easier tool for teachers to use.  This site also has some nice features not found on NASA’s which are the Climate Change Expeditions and the CO2 emissions calculator.

The National Wildlife Federation Climate Classroom for Kids
http://climateclassroomkids.org/
This is an excellent supplementary site that focuses on the Wildlife Federation mission of protection of animals and features species endangered by climate change such as polar bears, penguins, sea birds, tropical wildlife and more. The For Educators section and Fun Stuff for kids to do outdoors is well worth reviewing.

US Department of Energy
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/education/index.html
The US Department of Energy is a premiere, easily accessible resource for teachers to scope out alternate, renewable energy, with sections on energy literacy, greening your school plus a searchable database of lesson plans dealing with energy.

Climate Reality Project, Reality Drop
http://www.realitydrop.org/
Reality Drop is an online initiative of the Climate Reality Project founded by former Vice President Al Gore which aims to refute the various standard climate denier claims with counter arguments that can be “dropped” onto your Facebook pages.  This is an excellent tool for students and teachers to spread the word about climate reality through their online social networks.

Climate Change Education.org
http://climatechangeeducation.org/
There are some really good resources for climate change education on this site. Check out the videos tab.

The Year of Living Dangerously
http://www.sho.com/sho/years-of-living-dangerously/home
This is a groundbreaking documentary series on SHO that explores the human impact of climate
change. From the damage wrought by hurricane Sandy to the upheaval caused by drought in the Middle East, Years of Living Dangerously combines excellent storytelling from top Hollywood filmmakers with the narrative expertise of some of our brightest starts and respected journalists.

Web sites to explore Climate Denial
Article on teachers views of climate change

http://www.psmag.com/nature-and-technology/on-climate-change-confused-teachers-make-for-misinformed-students

Skeptical Science
http://www.skepticalscience.com

Skeptic Organizations
http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/solutions/fight-misinformation/global-warming-skeptic.html#.VsifPJMrLSI

Congressional Voting Record
http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

1/3 of Congress in Denial
http://grist.org/climate-energy/surprise-a-third-of-congress-members-are-climate-change-deniers/

Common skeptic arguments
http://billmoyers.com/2014/05/16/eight-pseudo-scientific-climate-claims-debunked-by-real-scientists/