STUDENT CONCEPTIONS’ OF THE EARTH’S CLIMATE SYSTEM AND THE GREENHOUSE EFFECT

There is much interest in teaching students about global warming and climate change. Central to these issues is understanding the Earth’s climate system and the greenhouse effect. Although science educators have explored students’ conceptual understandings and knowledge of the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change, few have investigated the ways in which students conceptualize climate as a system or how components of the system influence climate. From these studies and our work with teachers we have developed a general model of students’ conceptions of the Earth’s climate system and how greenhouse gases and global warming impact the climate system. We have also identified students’ mental models of the greenhouse effect. This talk will explore these findings and their implications to future research, teaching and learning.