Quaternary climate change is one of the most complex, yet relevant issues facing researchers and educators today. Not only is the topic scientifically complex, but there are economic, social and political ramifications as well. This site will allow educators to locate and use the best resources for teaching about Earth's climate system and the changing climate over the past one million years. Here you will find climate data, visualizations, teaching activities and case studies. By learning from past climate changes, we can apply this to present-day and future climate shifts.

Materials for Teaching Climate Change found in this website:

• Recommended resources for teaching climate change, including research summaries, data sets, graphics, and carbon footprint calculators.
  
• Classroom and lab activities contributed by faculty members.

• Courses about climatology and climate change, including syllabi and course goals.
• Visualization Collections include: Weather and Climate, Atmosphere, Ocean-Atmosphere Circulation, Energy Balance, Paleoclimate: Climate Change Through Time, Process of Antrhopogenic Climate Change, and Impacts of Climate Change.
• Carbon Footprint Collection - find several strategies and examples for teaching this topic.
  
• Ideas for teaching with ice core data developed during the 2008 workshop.

Additional materials from across the SERC sites:

• Site Guide: Climate Change and Global Warming, a directory to a large variety of materials for teaching about climate change.
  
• Climate Change Collection, a reviewed collection of educational materials on climate change
• Browse through over 40 introductory-level teaching activities about climate in the Starting Point Collection.
• Learn about how to teach controversial environmental issues and how this can be influenced by students' values, attitudes and pre-held beliefs.
  
• Atmospheric science and climatology data sets from the Using Data collection.
• Climate Proxies from the Microbial Life Educational Resources collection
• Communicating Global Climate Change: Using Debate to Engage Integrative Learning. This series of video clips from MERLOT/ELIXR demonstrates the use of debate as a strategy for engaging student with the issues surrounding climate change. Project materials, timelines and PowerPoint slides are also included.

Upcoming Workshop

Teaching Climate Change from the Geologic Record
In association with the AMQUA Biennial Meeting
University of Wyoming - Laramie
August 10-11, 2010 (with optional field trip on August 12)
Conveners: Cathy Manduca, Cathy Whitlock, Alison Smith, Greg Wiles, Rolfe D. Mandel, Karin Kirk

A piece of ice from the Mt. Moulten ice core in West Antarctica. This ice is 45,000 years old, and the gas bubbles are plainly visible. Click to enlarge

Past Workshops

2008 workshop -Teaching Climate Change with Ice Core Data

This workshop featured presentations by Penn State's team of ice core researchers, Richard Alley, Sridhar Anandakrishnan, and Todd Sowers. After hearing about the science of ice cores and ice sheet modeling, workshop participants practiced accessing NOAA paleoclimatology data (more info) , guided by Carrie Morrill of NOAA. Then small groups were formed to brainstorm and design new teaching activities using ice core data. The following day, workshop participants were treated to a tour of Penn State's ice core freezer and ice core lab. To find out more about this workshop, see the presentations and outcomes from the workshop.

2006 workshop - Teaching Climate Change

August 14 - 15, 2006
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT
Co-Sponsored by AMQUA/USNC-INQUA

Contribute a Reference

Do you have teaching materials, references or web sites you'd like to tell us about? Contribute materials here.

The Teaching Climate Change Email Lists

Read the email list discussion, join the email list or unsubscribe.

Email List from the 2006 workshop
Email List from the 2008 workshop