What are the causes and effects of a changing climate and how do they impact human lives and the environment?

To explore this question, a team from CIRES Education Outreach partnered with faculty from the University of Colorado Boulder School of Education and a cohort of science educators through the Climate Education and Dialogue for Denver Public Schools (DPS) project. The overarching project goal is to build teacher capacity in learning and teaching about climate and resiliency education using the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the co-design unit planning process, and the three-dimensional learning approach.

The project team met for four face-to-face workshops that included expert science support from CIRES graduate students. An educator cohort had opportunities to learn about climate and energy topics and educational resources, select and unpack climate-focused NGSS Performance Expectations, identify a school-based and student-driven design challenge, initiate the co-design unit planning process of three secondary science climate and resiliency units, and pilot the collective units in spring and fall 2017. By spring 2018, the units had undergone both pedagogical and scientific reviews and revisions.