Helping Lecturers Help the World: A Workshop on Teaching Climate Change

This workshop facilitated by Travis Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) seeks to improve the ability of scientists from a range of disciplines to engage the topic of climate change. This includes teaching it in introductory science subjects (e.g. “Astro 101”) and discussing it with the public. Climate change is a critically important topic and many scientists are well positioned to make a difference. For example, astronomers know about planets and their atmospheres, while biologists understand the impact of climate on ecosystems. First year classes are an effective way to teach climate change because these classes reach a large number of students, cover related topics and the relevant lecturers are often engaged in public outreach (e.g., through presentations in schools and media). Climate change is a difficult topic to teach because it spans a wide range of subject areas, from physics to psychology. It is also a controversial topic, meaning that simply knowing the science content is not enough to effectively teach it. The purpose of our workshop is therefore to introduce scientists to: (1) resources that will improve their science content knowledge about climate change, (2) effective interactive and inclusive methods for teaching the topic in introductory classes, and (3) established strategies for engaging the public.