Hot Topics in Earth Science: Development and Evaluation of a Climate Change-Centered Professional Development Program for Secondary Science Teachers

Abstract

There is a limited window to address global climate change (GCC) if we want to avoid the most severe impacts (Millar et al., 2017). This time window has almost closed, with little actual progress made toward significant changes in policy or consumption patterns. Simultaneously, misinformation and disinformation campaigns still influence the general understanding of GCC. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) include the integration of climate change education into elementary and secondary science as a critical component (NGSS Lead States, 2013) but some states—such as Oklahoma—fail to meet the science standards set by NGSS (e.g. Colston & Ivey, 2015). Teachers might avoid these topics owing to several (perceived) barriers (Ennes et al., 2021; Li et al., 2021): 1. Time constraints 2. Lack of support (institutional, curricular, societal) 3. Complexity of the science In order to improve the teaching of climate change science, any professional development (PD) program that addresses climate change at the forefront of its topics should also seek to address these barriers by providing implementable resources and strategies. Hot Topics in Earth Science (HTES) was a PD developed for in-service secondary science teachers (Grades 6-12) in central Oklahoma. It had a dual focus on pedagogical and curricular approaches to teaching climate change science at the secondary level and the associated content. Techniques were discussed explicitly by facilitators and modeled by subject matter experts through content designed to challenge and broaden teachers’ conceptual understandings related to climate change science. Teachers were encouraged, with the support of science education personnel, to develop high-context lesson sequences to facilitate with their students throughout the academic year. Here we present a summary of our approach to the PD, samples of teacher products and responses over the course of the PD, and a reflection on successes and areas of improvement for similar PDs in the future.