Workshop Program
Teaching Climate Change: Lessons from the Past

August 14 evening and August 15, 2006
Montana State University, Bozeman, MT

Co-Sponsored by AMQUA/USNC-INQUA and the NAGT on the Cutting Edge faculty development program

Monday August 14

Travel to Bozeman, MT.
Map and directions to MSU : Map of MSU campus (PDF file) : Visitor Information

If you wish to park on campus you will need to purchase a hang tag for $2.50 per day. Parking is free after 6:00 PM, so if you arrive after that on Monday evening you do not need to pay for parking. Parking permits may be purchased at the Visitor Information Booth located at South 7th Avenue and West Grant Street or the University Police Department at South 7th Avenue and Kagy Boulevard. There is also a pay parking lot directly across the street from the Strand Union building which costs $5 for the whole day.

5:00-7:00 PM Social Mixer/Dinner
No-host cocktail mixer and dinner buffet. Dinner served at 6:00.

7:00-8:30 Introduction
Introduction and workshop goals

Title slide from the introductory presentation by David Mogk

Overview of website and digital collections (PowerPoint 916kB Aug30 06)
David Mogk, Montana State University

Round Table Discussion I: What are the goals of teaching climate change?
Groups organized by: introductory courses, courses for majors, multi-disciplinary courses.

What content, topics and skills are essential?
What are the opportunities in different learning environments?
What teaching strategies have you used that are particularly effective?

Summary of this discussion (Microsoft Word 33kB Aug31 06)

Evening - networking

Tuesday August 15

8:00 Breakfast - Continental breakfast at the Strand Union Building, Ballroom C

8:30-8:45 Charge of the Day

8:45-9:45 William Ruddiman (University of Virginia):

Title slide from the presentation "Insights on Textbook Writing"

Insights on textbook writing (PowerPoint 1.6MB Aug30 06)
From 1990-2000, I taught entry-level and upper-undergraduate courses in climate change to undergraduates at the University of Virginia. My textbook 'Earth's Climate' was published the year I retired, and I asked the students to critique the book as a significant part of their term grade. From this, I culled a few things of potential relevance to this workshop -- the difference between how upper-level and lower-level students saw the textbook (and science itself), and the places in the book that gave most of the students substantial trouble. Those experiences have me currently groping toward a different kind of textbook structure that would challenge the natural curiosity of the best students and yet satisfy the lower levels of commitment of the less ambitious ones. I plan to comment briefly on several climate-related textbooks and popular books, and I may also relate my encounters with the education 'establishment,' some of which left me confused.

9:45-10:15 Break

10:15-11:15 Panel Discussion: Master instructors present "What works and why?"
(Short presentations and discussion)

Title slide from the presentation "Teaching with Real Data"

Teaching with real data (PowerPoint 2MB Aug30 06)
Connie Woodhouse (NOAA National Climate Data Center, Boulder CO)

Title slide from the talk "Teaching Large Classes"

Teaching large classes: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (PowerPoint 1.2MB Aug30 06)
Jacqueline Shinker (University of Wyoming, Laramie)

Title slide from the talk "What Works and Why?"

Teaching small lab/field-based classes (PowerPoint 61kB Aug30 06)
Eric Leonard (Colorado College, Colorado Springs)

11:15-12:15 Mark Chandler (Columbia University): EdGCM: Global Climate Modeling for the Classroom
The Educational Global Climate Model is a suite of software that allows educators and students to experience computer climate modeling research using desktop computers. The demonstration covers major components of EdGCM and how it gives students a complete and realistic scientific research experience including: setting up climate experiments, running computer simulations, post-processing digital data, using scientific visualization tools, writing scientific reports and publishing findings to the web.

12:15-1:00 Lunch Buffet - Strand Union Ballroom C (during lunch sign up for focus groups later in the day)

1:00-1:30 Mark Chandler (Columbia University): Using global warming simulations to teach climate change fundamentals
Following from the morning session, we will see how output from GCM simulations can be used to examine the fundamentals of global climate change and reproduce classic global warming experiments.

1:30-3:30 Share Fair (Break snacks provided midway)
Strand Union Building, Ballroom C
Participants should bring examples of their favorite exercises. This could include posters, handouts of class activities, computer programs (self-contained on laptops or on-line), physical models, samples, maps, etc. Group will be divided in half and any presenter will occupy their station for 1 hour. Everyone else will migrate around to interact one-on-one with presenters and discuss not just what they teach, but also how they developed the activities, teaching tips, and so on.

3:30-5:00 Focus Groups
Small group discussions organized by topics of interest. Identify what resources are currently available, what resources are needed to better teach each topic, and make plans for next steps to build a comprehensive collection of teaching activities.

Write an outline of activities.
Show what resources will be used.
Develop the context, content, goals of the activity.
Create plans to design, create, and disseminate the activity.

Results of focus group planning (Microsoft Word 30kB Aug31 06) - outline of ideas to create new learning materials for teaching climate change.
5:00 End of day wrap-up

Brief reports from groups and any other matters that arise, plans for next step (GSA or AGU session?), recruitment of more participants, other resources needed, and workshop evaluation.
Results from discussion of next steps (Microsoft Word 24kB Aug31 06)
Dinner on your own in downtown Bozeman.

AMQUA field trip to Northern Yellowstone leaves the morning of August 16.
AMQUA biennial conference begins the evening of August 17.