About the Book
Inspire the next generation to create a sustainable and hopeful future
Climate change is one of the greatest threats humanity has ever faced. The most recent 10 years have been the hottest on record, and the results have been increasingly extreme storms, flooding, and fires around the world. Understanding the causes of climate change and potential solutions is essential learning for students, and is aligned with NGSS standards. A recent report by the North American Association for Environmental Education Research indicates that 74 percent of U.S. teachers and 80 percent of administrators agree that climate change will have an overwhelming impact on students’ futures. But according to the same survey of more than 1000 teachers, only 42% say they even mention climate change in the classroom.
In an effort to support teachers, Corwin conducted a market survey sent to more than 135,000 educators and school leaders in North America, asking about their concerns regarding teaching climate change. The top three issues reported were concern that the content was not related to their subject (65%), a worry that children were too young or vulnerable for such an upsetting topic (20%), and lack of confidence in their ability to understand and teach the science behind climate change (17%).
In response to these concerns, authors Bertha Vazquez, Kimi Waite, and Lauren Madden wrote What Teachers Want to Know About Teaching Climate Change to provide research-based and classroom-tested guidance for K-12 educators to teach climate change accurately, effectively, and confidently. The book gives busy teachers the tools they need to incorporate climate change education across disciplines and align the content with existing standards without adding a new topic for overworked teachers to tackle.
Offering a practical roadmap for teachers to integrate climate change lessons into their existing curriculum, this book
- Includes crowd-sourced tips for reducing our carbon footprint and inspiring success stories from teachers who have effectively taught climate change in their classrooms
- Focuses on overcoming additional obstacles to teaching climate change, such as lack of data literacy and potential partisan pushback
- Debunks the 10 most common misconceptions about climate change and encourages critical thinking skills to help students identify misinformation
- Fosters hope in students by acknowledging their personal agency and encouraging collective and meaningful action that builds community
- Provides bibliographies of free curriculum, lessons, and other content for teaching climate change across various age groups and disciplines
This book is an essential resource for educators and leaders inside and outside of the science classroom who want to help their students build a better tomorrow.
Table of Contents:
Preface: Why Students Need You to Teach Climate Change, Now More Than Ever
Part I: What Do I Need to Know to Get Started Teaching Climate Change?
Chapter 1: The Foundations of Teaching Climate Change
Chapter 2: Debunking Ten Misconceptions about Climate Change
Part II: How Do I Overcome the Biggest Obstacles to Teaching Climate Change
Chapter 3: The Importance of Data Literacy in Climate Change Education
Chapter 4: Navigating the Politics of Climate Change
Part III: How Do I Avoid Anxiety and Encourage Healthy Engagement in My Students?
Chapter 5: Climate Injustice and the New Narrative of Activism
Chapter 6: Tackling Climate Anxiety by Promoting Student Agency
Part IV: How Do I Integrate Climate Change Education Into My School and My Curriculum?
Chapter 7: Connecting Climate Change to National Teaching and Learning Standards
Chapter 8: Learning from The New Jersey Experience
Appendix 1: Finding Free Curriculum
About the Author :
Bertha Vazquez is a retired science teacher who taught middle school for 34 years in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. She is the education director at The Center for Inquiry, an international nonprofit organization that promotes reason and science. She runs a teacher-led network of more than 100 teachers who have presented more than 400 professional development sessions for their fellow teachers in all 50 U.S. states. Her multi-faceted approach to teaching climate science has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, Earth magazine, and in a book and film series by Lynne Cherry titled, Empowering Young Voices for the Planet. Her efforts awarded her the 2008 National Environmental Education Charles C Bartlett Award, among others. She is the editor and contributing author of the book, On Teaching Evolution, published in 2021. She has also worked on several translation projects, including the translation of Maria Jinich’s book into English, A Brief History of Four Billion Years of Evolution: Understanding Darwin. She is a regular speaker at skeptical and humanist conferences, and is a Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
Kimi Waite is an Assistant Professor of Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. A former elementary school teacher in South Los Angeles and a STEM curriculum specialist in Compton, she has received both national and state recognition for her leadership in environmental education, social studies, and climate change education. She is an early career fellow with the UCLA Center for Diverse Leadership in Science; the 2021 California Council for the Social Studies Outstanding Elementary Social Studies Teacher of the Year; a 2021 Public Voices Fellow on the Climate Crisis with the OpEd Project and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication; and a 2019 Environmental Education 30 Under 30, awarded by the North American Association for Environmental Education. Since 2019, she has been a steering committee member for California’s statewide climate change initiative, the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPS). Her work has been published by outlets such as PBS, The Boston Globe, Grist, Ms. Magazine, The Progressive Magazine, The Journal of Curriculum & Pedagogy, and more.
Lauren Madden is a Professor of Elementary Science Education at The College of New Jersey. She holds a BA in Earth Sciences-Oceanography, MS in Marine Science and PhD in Science Education. In recent years, her work has focused directly on K-5 climate change education, and she was the lead author on the New Jersey School Boards’ Association & Sustainable Jersey For Schools’ Report on K-12 Climate Change Education Needs in New Jersey. Her work advocates for scientific literacy and the health of our planet through teaching and learning. Her research has been supported by grants from the New Jersey SeaGrant Consortium, National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She has written a textbook on Elementary Science Teaching Methods along with more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Her expertise has been cited widely in media venues including the New York Times, Washington Post, and PBS Weekend News Hour. She was named the 2021 Outstanding Science Teacher Educator of the Year by the Association for Science Teacher Education and served as the inaugural iCAN STEM Role Model Award by the New Jersey STEM Pathways Network.
Review :
This is a book for educators by educators. I wish I had had this book during my early years as a science teacher. It provides a wealth of information about the current state of climate education as well as practical advice and resources for educators.
What Teachers Want to Know About Teaching Climate Change delivers on the promise of its title. Bertha Vazquez, Kimi Waite, and Lauren Madden
offer research-based and classroom-tested guidance to equip K–12 educators to teach climate change not only accurately but also effectively. A tremendous contribution!
The authors deftly explore the facts, feelings, and future needed by every educator to teach climate change accurately and equitably. The book is structured for ease of access where each chapter includes Q-and-A format reinforcement, teaching tips, success stories from schools around the country, reflection questions, and resources. I have already begun to apply things I’ve learned from this book!
This critically important book helps teachers consider how climate change relates to the topics they are already teaching today so that students can consider how they can lead the way to a better tomorrow.
This book is a powerful resource for STEM educators to implement intentional lessons in climate education for students of any age. It narrates the tools, tips, and how-to in a myriad of contexts so that there’s something for everyone.
A "get ready, get set, go" guide for teaching climate change in your classroom. Thoughtful information on climate change, science literacy, and supporting hope regarding this complex topic.
