Climate Change Education in Ontario

Introduction

Climate change affects all humans, thus it is important to catch the youth up with the state of the world and which issues are most pressing. Young people will likely be the generation most affected by the worsening climate, making it necessary for them to have the tools to face it.

Climate Change Education History

As the urgency of climate change grows, climate education becomes increasingly important. The Ontario curriculum encourages the integration of climate change into various subjects, largely at the discretion of the teacher. This makes climate education for adults important, which is largely controlled by the media. Although awareness of climate change has improved, media reporting of other facts like its mechanism and negative consequences have not kept up with scientific advancement. The development of social media can be very valuable for the future of climate education, allowing environmentalists to reach a larger audience, provided that the spread of misinformation is mitigated by the consumer’s ability to evaluate source credibility.

Climate Change Education in Canada

The large gap in climate change understanding in the general public often leads to a difference in what is taught in the classroom based on teachers’ personal biases. A curriculum that communicates the expected climate education is necessary to standardize climate knowledge. Saskatchewan and Ontario were assessed as the best provinces in Canada for climate change education. The Ontario curriculum encourages the integration of climate change in unrelated subjects as well as anthropogenic mechanisms of climate change directly in science class, which we use as a baseline to build a plan for climate change education in Ontario.

Climate Change Learning in Different Developmental Stages

Climate education differs at different ages. Education for younger children emphasizes exposure to nature although this does not effectively teach about climate change. Children cannot fully understand the concept of self and action, meaning that they must be taught about climate change in untraditional ways. Children associate aesthetics with morality and think nature should be preserved because it makes people happy rather than for ecological reasons. Climate change can be taught to younger students in terms of morality - sustainability is good and climate change is bad.

Lesson Plan

Supported by our research, we developed two lesson plans for elementary and secondary school students (Tables 1, 2). Our elementary school plan uses visual arts and discussion to convey solutions to climate problems. Students will create art pieces and post them in a “gallery” setting for their peers to view. They will explain their art piece by discussing the solution depicted in it. Our secondary school plan challenges students to identify climate change facts and solutions. They will exercise their research skills to realize and communicate their findings. Both plans aim to engage students in active participation and research skills.

Example Course Outline For Elementary Climate Unit

Table 1: Outline of elementary-level climate unit. The climate change course focuses on solutions as opposed to problems and allows students to investigate climate change through discussions with peers and presenting their ideas through artistic and verbal forms. | Course Objectives | Course Details | |————————–|———————| | Course Goals | | | - Introduce students to the concept of climate change is and let them research for themselves| | | - Develop an understanding of the negative consequences associated with climate change | | - Use a variety of mediums to facilitate discussion on climate change (oral/visual presentations, written work, discussions)| | | - Build their research skill inventory through researching methods of mitigating and pacifying climate change|
| || | Teaching Methods || ||- Active learning| ||- Problem-based work (researching methods of solving or helping a particular aspect of the climate crisis)| ||- Open discussions with peers and guest speakers| ||- “Climate Question of the Day” from students| ||- Interactive learning| ||- Artistic expression of knowledge| ||- Writing stories about climate change| ||| | Key Concepts || || - Introducing climate change through discussion with a focus on its implications and solutions|

Works Cited

Arrhenius, S., 1896. On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 41(251), pp.237–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/14786449608620846.

Beery, T., Chawla, L. and Levin, P., 2020. Being and Becoming in Nature: Defining and Measuring Connection to Nature in Young Children. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 7(3), pp.3–22.

Bentz, J., 2020. Learning about climate change in, with and through art. Climatic Change, 162(3), pp.1595–1612. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02804-4.

Bidabadi, N.S., Isfahani, A.N., Rouhollahi, A. and Khalili, R., 2016. Effective Teaching Methods in Higher Education: Requirements and Barriers. Journal of Advances in Medical Education & Professionalism, 4(4), pp.170–178.

Billmann-mahecha, E. and Gebhard, U., 2009. “If we had no flowers… “ Children, Nature, and Aesthetics. The Journal of Developmental Processes, 4(1), pp.24–42.

Borland, J.H., 2011. Provoking Dialogue: A Short History of Outdoor Education in Ontario. Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 23, pp.32–33.

Considine, D., Horton, J. and Moorman, G., 2011. Teaching and Reaching the Millennial Generation Through Media Literacy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(6), pp.471–481. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.6.2.

Dolan, E.L. and Collins, J.P., 2015. We must teach more effectively: here are four ways to get started. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 26(12), pp.2151–2155. https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E13-11-0675.

Drewes, A., Henderson, J. and Mouza, C., 2017. Professional development design considerations in climate change education: teacher enactment and student learning. International Journal of Science Education, 40(1), pp.67–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1397798.

Field, E., Schwartzberg, P. and Berger, P., 2019. Canada, Climate Change and Education: Opportunities for Public and Formal Education (Formal Report for a Sustainable Future). Available at: http://www.lsf-lst.ca/cc-survey [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Ginsburg, J.L. and Audley, S., 2020. ‘You Don’t Wanna Teach Little Kids about Climate Change’: Beliefs and Barriers to Sustainability Education in Early Childhood. International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education, 7(3), pp.42–61.

Grundmann, R., 2007. Climate change and knowledge politics. Environmental Politics, 16(3), pp.414–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010701251656.

IPCC, 2013. Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA: Cambridge University Press.

Liu, S., Roehrig, G., Bhattacharya, D. and Varma, K., 2015. In-Service Teachers’ Attitudes, Knowledge and Classroom Teaching of Global Climate Change. Science Educator, 24(1), pp.12–22.

Mavrodieva, A.V., Rachman, O.K., Harahap, V.B. and Shaw, R., 2019. Role of Social Media as a Soft Power Tool in Raising Public Awareness and Engagement in Addressing Climate Change. Climate, 7(10), p.122. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli7100122.

Nazir, J., Pedretti, E., Wallace, J., Monetmurro, D. and Inwood, H., 2011. Reflections on the Canadian Experience With Education for Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 11(4), pp.365–380. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14926156.2011.624673.

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007a. The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8: Science and Technology, 2007. Available at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/scientec18currb.pdf [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2007b. The Ontario Curriculum Grades 11 and 12: English. Available at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/english1112currb.pdf [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2009. Technological Education: The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10. Available at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/teched910curr09.pdf [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013. Canadian and World Studies: The Ontario Curriculum Grades 9 and 10. Available at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/canworld910curr2013.pdf [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2017. The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12 – Environmental Education: Scope and Sequence of Expectations, 2017. Available at: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/environmental_ed_9to12_eng.pdf [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Ontario Ministry of Education, 2021. Mathematics: Curriculum and Resources. [online] Available at: https://www.dcp.edu.gov.on.ca/en/curriculum/secondary-mathematics/courses/mth1w/d/d1 [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Romps, D.M. and Retzinger, J.P., 2019. Climate news articles lack basic climate science. Environmental Research Communications, 1(8), p.081002. [Online Image] https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ab37dd.

Russell, C.L. and Burton, J., 2000. A Report on an Ontario Secondary School Integrated Environmental Studies Program. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 5, pp.287–303.

Samantray, A. and Pin, P., 2019. Credibility of climate change denial in social media. Palgrave Communications, [online] 5(127). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-019-0344-4.

Siperstein, S., Hall, S. and LeMenager, S. eds., 2016. Teaching Climate Change in the Humanities. 1st ed. [online] London: Routledge. Available at: https://doi-org.libaccess.lib.mcmaster.ca/10.4324/9781315689135 [Accessed 21 Nov. 2021].

Wynes, S. and Nicholas, K.A., 2019. Climate science curricula in Canadian secondary schools focus on human warming, not scientific consensus, impacts or solutions. PLoS ONE, [online] 14(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218305.