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The following article originally appeared in the 2021 edition of the School of Education magazine, advancing. For a PDF, please click on the magazine to the right. |
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Enriching the Climate Change Curriculum
Through a variety of programs, partnerships and workshops, the UCI Science Project is improving how K-12 students learn about climate change and equipping them with the skills to make a difference.
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Established in 2020, the UCI Science Project (UCISP) is inspiring and preparing the next generation of students to tackle the most important environmental issues our world will face.
In just one year, the UCISP has hosted – via workshops, conferences, and professional development opportunities – more than 1,000 K-12 teachers and hundreds of students. Looking forward to year two, UCISP Director Dr. Kelley Le hopes to expand the program’s reach to work with tens of thousands more. One of the main services the UCISP offers are tiered programs for K-12 teachers to become certified in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) through a science and equity lens. Enacted in California in 2013, the NGSS is a set of research-based K–12 science standards that are meant to give local educators the flexibility to design meaningful learning experiences that stimulate students’ interests in STEM and prepares them for college, careers, and citizenship. Roughly 30 percent of the NGSS is related (both directly or indirectly) to climate science and the role of humans. Prior to the NGSS, teaching about climate change was optional. Now, it is mandated, and schools are seeking ways to make the curriculum engaging, local and culturally relevant to support students as community change agents. |
Dr. Kelley Le, director, UCI Science Project
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“The old standards positioned students as noncontributors that were learning to skillfully memorize facts or approaches of what has already been uncovered in science,” Le said. “Our programs allow teachers to reflect deeply on their teaching practices to move toward 21st century teaching and learning in hopes of developing students as diverse, complex and critical thinkers that can tackle real-world issues they currently face.”
Le literally wrote the book on how to teach climate change. Her new book, Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12, was released in 2021 by Routledge and is an extension of her Ed.D. dissertation at UCLA. The book is used in various workshops to support educators and leaders to teach climate change using evidence-based practices and approaches.
Le is also currently working with both UC and CSU programs to offer workshops on teaching climate change with faculty from teacher preparation programs. She is working closely with School of Education Dean Richard Arum on the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs) initiative. This project brings together both the UC and CSU systems to connect current and future K-12 teachers and key stakeholders through a joint center.
“Our goal is to bend the curve by amplifying statewide initiatives to support 500,000 students each year to become literate in environmental and climate change issues and solutions,” Le said.
The UCISP also provides different opportunities to connect students and teachers with researchers and scientists from various UCI departments. This includes an Engineering Classroom Ambassadors Program and the Young Engineers & Scientists (YES) Program.
Le literally wrote the book on how to teach climate change. Her new book, Teaching Climate Change for Grades 6-12, was released in 2021 by Routledge and is an extension of her Ed.D. dissertation at UCLA. The book is used in various workshops to support educators and leaders to teach climate change using evidence-based practices and approaches.
Le is also currently working with both UC and CSU programs to offer workshops on teaching climate change with faculty from teacher preparation programs. She is working closely with School of Education Dean Richard Arum on the Environmental and Climate Change Literacy Projects (ECCLPs) initiative. This project brings together both the UC and CSU systems to connect current and future K-12 teachers and key stakeholders through a joint center.
“Our goal is to bend the curve by amplifying statewide initiatives to support 500,000 students each year to become literate in environmental and climate change issues and solutions,” Le said.
The UCISP also provides different opportunities to connect students and teachers with researchers and scientists from various UCI departments. This includes an Engineering Classroom Ambassadors Program and the Young Engineers & Scientists (YES) Program.
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YES is a free program that builds capacity and STEM identity in K-5 students around engaging hands-on curricula grounded in community environmental issues. The program brings together UCI faculty and students in science and engineering, informal educators from local nonprofit organizations, and teacher leaders to support science and engineering at the elementary school level.
In the past year through YES, kindergarten and first grade students learned about biomimicry and engineering design with The Aquarium of the Pacific and the UCI Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Second and third graders learned about environmental science and stewardship with the help of Amigos de Bolsa Chica. In an upcoming YES partnership, fourth and fifth graders will learn about the planet’s oceans and stewardship with The Ocean Agency, a nonprofit that seeks to accelerate ocean science and conservation. Le expects the reach of the UCISP to grow exponentially over the next year. The UCISP and The Ocean Agency are currently partnering to create a teacher resource hub on ocean literacy, outreach toolkits for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and much more to advance environmental science efforts. As part of the upcoming world’s largest exhibit event, UCISP will help to identify 500 schools in the United States and develop a lesson plan for teachers and students to be able to have conversations about our society’s relationship with the ocean and what the ocean can do to curb climate change. |
A student participant in the UCI Science Project’s Young Engineers &
Scientists (YES) Program
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With additional funding to the UCISP, Le envisions being able to leverage local organizations more efficiently and continue providing more meaningful hands-on learning opportunities for K-12 students.
“There are countless organizations in our region that are doing significant work toward these issues, and we would love to partner with them to amplify their work,” Le said. “With additional funds, we can connect schools with local environmental organizations and agencies and support them as informed and skillful agents of change we need.”
The UCISP is one of five subject matter projects in the UCI Teacher Academy, along with the Irvine Math Project, UCI Writing Project, UCI History Project and the California Reading & Literature Project. Founded in 2018 with a generous gift from the SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, the UCI Teacher Academy provides a home for teachers and school leaders to develop and enhance their professional practice by offering programs in teacher preparation, professional development, teacher leadership, and administrator leadership.
“There are countless organizations in our region that are doing significant work toward these issues, and we would love to partner with them to amplify their work,” Le said. “With additional funds, we can connect schools with local environmental organizations and agencies and support them as informed and skillful agents of change we need.”
The UCISP is one of five subject matter projects in the UCI Teacher Academy, along with the Irvine Math Project, UCI Writing Project, UCI History Project and the California Reading & Literature Project. Founded in 2018 with a generous gift from the SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union, the UCI Teacher Academy provides a home for teachers and school leaders to develop and enhance their professional practice by offering programs in teacher preparation, professional development, teacher leadership, and administrator leadership.
