Unit 3: Geologic Record of Past Climate part of Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources
Callan Bentley, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Students will be introduced to a few of the different methods used in paleoclimatology, including isotopic ratios as paleotemperature proxies. They will investigate the greenhouse gas connections of two ancient ...

Unit 1: Identifying Misconceptions & Logical Fallacies part of Carbon, Climate, and Energy Resources
Pete Berquist, Virginia Peninsula Community College
Students will identify how they, as individuals, think about climate science and explore common perceptions and misconceptions that exist about climate science. The activities within this unit incorporate ...

Unit 4: Case Study Analysis part of Mapping the Environment with Sensory Perception
Lisa Phillips, Texas Tech University; Kate Darby, Western Washington University; Michael Phillips, Illinois Valley Community College
In this unit, student groups will evaluate different environmental case studies to critically investigate qualitative and quantitative data analysis, collection, and inquiry. Students will begin to consider ...

Module 7: Mammal Responses to Climate Change in the Past and the Future with Neotoma Explorer part of Neotoma:Teaching Activities
Russell Graham, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Animal distributions are frequently controlled by climate extremes, especially seasonal ones. Therefore, if the climate changes from cold to warm (or vice versa) then using modern mammal distributions and modern climate conditions it is possible to make predictions about how the mammal will respond to the climate change -- whether it is past or future. In this module students use the Neotoma Paleoecological Database to test predictions, or establish hypotheses, about how certain species of mammals have responded to climate change in the past and how they might do so on the future. Part of the Neotoma Education Modules for Biotic Response to Climate Change.

Module 6: Modern (Living) Animals – What Do the Habitat Preferences and Geographic Distribution of Modern Animals Tell Us about Why Animals Live Where They Do? part of Neotoma:Teaching Activities
James S. Oliver III and Russell W. Graham, The Pennsylvania State University
Paleoecologists reconstruct past climates and ecosystems by comparing the habits and habitats preferred by living animals or ones closely related to those found as fossils. In this module, students take the first step in this process by examining modern species distributions to make observations about species habitat preferences. Given a list of species, students use the Neotoma Explorer to obtain species distribution maps and compare them to temperature and precipitation maps. A series of questions guide them through their comparison and analysis of the maps. Part of the Neotoma Education Modules for Biotic Response to Climate Change.

Module 5: Some Modern Biotic Responses to Climate Change part of Neotoma:Teaching Activities
Russell Graham, Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
In this module, students explore biotic responses to changing climate. The module steps through different styles of response (i.e. stasis, adaptation, extinction) and provides examples of each from modern biota. Students are given a set of exercises where they create a hypothesis for future mammal distribution changes. Part of the Neotoma Education Modules for Biotic Response to Climate Change.

Unit 4: An Uplifting Story of Sea Level Change part of Ice and Sea Level Changes
Leigh Stearns, University of Kansas Main Campus; Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College
How much and how quickly does Earth's surface respond to changes in a glacier's mass? How can geodesy help scientists understand the relationship between ice mass change and changes in the bedrock ...

Unit 2: Temperature--A Global Trendsetter part of Ice and Sea Level Changes
Leigh Stearns (University of Kansas) Becca Walker (Mt. San Antonio College)
How have average global air temperature and sea level changed in the last three decades? Have the changes been consistent? Can future changes in air temperature and sea level be predicted? In this unit, students ...

Unit 1: Rising Concerns Over Rising Sea Levels part of Ice and Sea Level Changes
Leigh Stearns, University of Kansas Main Campus; Becca Walker, Mt. San Antonio College
How are rising sea levels already influencing the developing nation of Bangladesh, and what are the anticipated consequences of additional sea level rise in the next century? This introduction to the Ice and Sea ...

Unit 7: Climate Change from the Socio-Environmental Systems Perspective part of Regulating Carbon Emissions
Robyn Smyth, Bard College; Curt Gervich, SUNY College at Plattsburgh; Eric Leibensperger, Ithaca College
This unit summarizes and synthesizes the previous six units by inviting students to reflect on their experiences throughout the module, identify key learning moments and consider how these events influenced their ...