Hello everyone,
Welcome to the InTeGrate Climate of Change Teaching Interest group! We acknowledge that it's been quiet around here and it's possibly been many months since you signed up for this group.

We would like to launch this virtual group formally to help you get to know each other and begin to make use of the interest group. You are all interested in the InTeGrate teaching module and how to most effectively use it in your own teaching. We think that by sharing your experiences and helping each other solve problems you will be able to make best and easiest use of the materials.

As the community engagement coordinator at SERC, I am here to help make this group thrive by helping out with administration and helping you engage in a productive way. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you see a place where I can help.

To start off, let's get the ball rolling with around-the-table introductions:
1) Give us a quick introduction––what's your background and interest in the topic?
2) How have you used the material from the module? If you haven't used it, can you explain why?
3) What would you like to get out of this group?

Looking forward to seeing your discussions take off––
Alice

Hi! I'm one of the module authors, so I thought I would jump in here with my own perspective on the value of the modules - and even more so, the value of this community. One of the best aspects of developing the Climate of Change module was working in collaboration with my colleagues, Becca Walker and Cynthia Fadem. When you're trying out some really new things, it's great to have people to bounce ideas off of - so I really hope this forum will provide a space to share ideas and work out problems.

I don't expect anyone will use the Climate of Change module 'as is', off the shelf (although it certainly could be used that way!). I'm assuming (and always have) that everyone will want to adapt the module, units, and assignments in ways that work best for them - that they will use the available materials as a starting point.

I'm REALLY interested in hearing about those module adaptations - and NEW INVENTIONS! I have only taught the entire module (with ALL materials) twice...Since then, I have been adapting different sections for different classes, and even tried to adapt part of the module for an online class. I would love to hear what others are doing and troubleshoot some of the more challenging aspects of teaching the model (to large classes with ~100 students, or in an online format, or even adaptations/extensions for upper-level courses).

Looking forward to hearing about your experiences!

Hi, I know this board hasn't been super active lately, but I wanted to add a little bit about my use of Climate of Change.
I teach a class called Global Climate Change, which is a 100-level general education course at my 4-year PUI (Parkside has high percentages of under-represented groups, adult learners, and 1st gen students). My course was about 90 students, so I did everything in groups except for the preparatory readings. One of the gen ed requirements is a literacy one which in a 100 level translates to reading different materials, so I made all of the InTeGrate readings required, with reading response questions as part of their grade. I scattered the various modules throughout the course, but the total time I spent using the modules (including all the case studies) was probably closer to 4 (or maybe even 5) weeks. Part of this is that I did almost everything in class except for the readings, and a lot of my students come in with slightly weaker skills in things like geography, map reading, graph reading, math, etc., so there was quite a bit of hand holding.
This coming year, I'm adapting the course into a hybrid and then completely online format (I actually have a complete draft version of the online course developed already). I'd love to talk more about what I'm planning to do with it, and what I've felt I need to drop to make it work online. For example, I haven't been able to figure out a good way to replicate the Climate System Game (5.1) online, so I'm using a mix of concept mapping and scenario predictions to try and achieve similar learning objectives. (If any of the developers of this unit will be at the Earth Educator's Rendezvous next week in Madison, I'll be in attendance too and would love to chat more IRL.)

Hi
I am new to this community and would like to hear about how your online class experience was.
:)