This article in the Journal of Geoscience Education discusses why a learner-centered environment is particularly suitable for earth system science learning, and how it provides students with motivation and the opportunity to understand this complex area of scientific inquiry. Through a course that explores global change from both and earth science and human perspective, students use role playing, writings, class discussions, and presentations to develop and negotiate a mock international environmental agreement. Rubrics are used both to assess student learning and to provide feedback to students about their work.
Full Text of the article is available online.