LINKING THINKING GLOBALLY TO ACTING LOCALLY IN UNDERSTANDING & ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE: EFFICACY OF THE SPECIAL PLACE PROJECT

Geoscience is the most place-based of all the major sciences. Students of the geosciences at all levels report place-specific outdoor experiences early in their lives as a key motivating factor in their decision to study the environment. In an era of increasing urbanization and growing disconnection from the local resource base on which society depends, building upon the importance of the local place to the life and health of a learner’s community becomes increasingly important. Recent scientific advances beginning to allow us to translate large-scale global climate changes to the local impacts which will dominate how most individuals experience this phenomenon afford us a unique opportunity to connect science to the daily lives of our students in an actionable way if approached in a pedagogically sound fashion.

The Special Place Project, in which introductory students conduct semester-long geologic case studies on sites familiar and important to each person, offers an opportunity to translate general understanding of climate change and its impacts into a specific setting with meaning for the individual. This personal and site specific expression of climate change understanding offers an opportunity for students to take ownership of the issue and the potential to mitigate or adapt to its effects in their own lives and environment. For geoscience instructors, incorporating the climate change component into the special place project affords an opportunity to assess not only the student’s understanding of climate change content but to test their ability to apply general scientific information correctly to a specific situation which the student may eventually be in a position to act upon. The approach also seeks to combat student apathy and despair on issues related to climate change, and environmental protection more generally, known to challenge the current generation of students whose education has lead them to believe that there is no hope for the world in their lifetimes.

This presentation explores the efficacy of incorporating climate change into the Special Place Project and its impact upon general student understanding of climate change content as measured by pre- and post-tests and observed in the students’ case studies in a variety of academic settings ranging from liberal arts to community colleges.