Description
NSTA Minneapolis 2025 Conference Session
Climate Science: How, as a teacher, do you equip students to break through pervasive rhetoric and misinformation ? This session presents one teacher’s foray into answering this question. Using frameworks of place-based learning, project-based learning, and design thinking, middle-school student-scientists used data to explore questions around their local climate and connections to their community (ESS2.D, ESS3.D). Students generated and revised hypotheses, researched background information, and gathered and analyzed local data. Finally, students shared their findings by creating virtual field trips to explain their understanding. Interactive elements like images, voice-overs, and videos gave students of all levels the ability to independently share their process and conclusions, honing their skills as researchers, data analysts, and science communicators – often with observable learning gains. Come hear about Climate in My Backyard and learn how to facilitate it in your classroom!