Top

Journal of Science Education and Technology

Published in:

09-08-2023

Supporting Secondary Students’ Understanding of Earth’s Climate System and Global Climate Change Using EzGCM: A Cross-Sectional Study

Authors: Silvia-Jessica Mostacedo-Marasovic, Amanda A. Olsen, Cory T. Forbes

Published in: Journal of Science Education and Technology | Issue 2/2024

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

Global climate change (GCC) is one of the greatest challenges of our age and a highly significant socio-scientific issue (SSI). Developing secondary students’ understanding about the Earth’s climate and GCC is critical for empowering future citizens and a key focus of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS Lead States, 2013). In this cross-sectional study, we investigated secondary students’ evidence-based reasoning about GCC grounded in a curricular intervention involving the use of a data-driven, computer-based global climate model—EzGCM—over 3 years with four teachers who adapted the module in their own courses—two secondary science teachers during the Spring of 2018 (year 1), and all four teachers during the Fall of 2018 (year 2) and the Fall of 2019 (year 3). Our research questions were: (i) to what extent has the EzGCM-based curriculum supported students’ conceptual understanding about Earth’s climate and GCC over time? and (ii) in what ways do EzGCM features enhance students’ evidence-based reasoning about Earth’s climate system and GCC? We evaluated students’ evidence-based learning using: (i) pre/post concept inventory and (ii) students’ interviews. Results from the quantitative analyses of a pre- and post-module assessment indicated that student learning gains increased mainly in the third year. Results from the qualitative analysis of student interviews showed that EzGCM helped students use the different graphic outcomes to develop a more robust understanding of the temporal and spatial changes in surface air temperature and CO₂, the trends in and relationships between different climate variables, and temperature anomalies. Overall, these results highlight affordances of the EzGCM-based curriculum to support students’ reasoning about Earth’s climate and GCC.

previous article Examining How Students Code with Socioscientific Data to Tell Stories About Climate Change

next article Student Outcomes of Teaching About Socio-scientific Issues in Secondary Science Classrooms: Applications of EzGCM

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Aksit, O., McNeal, K. S., Gold, A. U., Libarkin, J. C., Harris, S. et al. (2017). The influence of instruction, prior knowledge, and values on climate change risk perception among undergraduates. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55(4), 550–572. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21430CrossRefADS

Arya, D., & Maul, A. (2016). The building of knowledge, language, and decision-making about climate change science: A cross-national program for Secondary students. International Journal of Science Education, 38(6), 885–904. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1170227CrossRefADS

Banilower, E. R., Smith, P. S., Malzahn, K. A., Plumley, C. L., Gordon, E. M., Hayes, M. L. et al., (2018). Report of the 2018 NSSME+. Horizon Research, Inc.

Bhattacharya, D., Carroll-Steward, K., Forbes, C. T. et al. (2021a). Empirical research on K-16 climate education: A systematic review of the literature. Journal of Geoscience Education, 69(3), 223–247. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2020.1838848

Bhattacharya, D., Carroll-Steward, K., Forbes, C. T. et al. (2021b). Climate education in secondary science: Comparison of model-based and non-model-based investigations of Earth’s climate. International Journal of Science Education, 43(13), 2226–2249. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.1958022

Bhattacharya, D., Chandler, M., Carroll-Steward, K., Forbes, C. T. et al. (2020). Using climate models to learn about global climate change: Investigating the phenomenon of increasing surface air temperatures using a global climate modeling approach. The Science Teacher, 88(1), 58–66. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27048205

Bofferding, L., & Kloser, M. (2015). Middle and high school students’ conceptions of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Environmental Education Research, 21(2), 275–294. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2014.888401CrossRef

Breslyn, W., Drewes, A. McGinnis, J.R., Hestness, E., Mouza, C. et al. (2017). Development of an empirically-based conditional learning progression for climate change. Science Education International, 28(3), 214–223. https://doi.org/10.33828/sei.v28.i3.5

Brown, J. S. N., Furtak, E. M., Timms, N., Nagashima, S. O., Wilson, M. et al. (2010a). The evidence-based reasoning framework: Assessing scientific reasoning. Educational Assessment, 15(3–4), 123–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2010.530551

Brown, J. S. N., Nagashima, S. O., Fu, A., Timms, M., Wilson, M. et al. (2010b). A framework for analyzing scientific reasoning in assessments. Educational Assessment, 15, 142–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2010.530562

Carroll-Steward, K., Bhattacharya, D., Chandler, M. C., Forbes, C. T. et al. (2022). Secondary science teachers’ implementation of a curricular intervention when teaching with global climate models. Journal of Geoscience Education, 70(4), 474–489. https://doi.org/10.1080/10899995.2021.1980706CrossRefADS

Carroll-Steward, K., Gosselin, D., Bhattacharya, D., Chandler, M. C., Forbes. C. T. et al. (2023a). Teachers’ use and adaptation of a model-based climate curriculum: A three-year longitudinal study. [Manuscript submitted for publication]. School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska Lincoln.

Carroll-Steward, K., Gosselin, D., Chandler, M. C., Forbes, C. T. et al. (2023b). Student outcomes of teaching about socio-scientific issues in secondary science classrooms: Applications of EzGCM. Journal of Science Education and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-023-10068-7

Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155–159. https://doi.org/10.1037//0033-2909.112.1.155CrossRefPubMed

Covitt, B. A., Parker, J. M., Kohn, C., Lee, M., Lin, Q., Anderson, C. W. et al. (2021). Understanding and responding to challenges students face when engaging in carbon cycle pool-and-flux reasoning. The Journal of Environmental Education, 52(2), 98–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.2020.1847882CrossRef

Dawson, V. (2015). Western Australian high school students’ understandings about the socioscientific issue of climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 37(7), 1024–1043 https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2015.1015181

Dawson, V., & Carson, K. (2020). Introducing argumentation about climate change socioscientific issues in a disadvantaged school. Research in Science Education, 50, 863–883. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-018-9715-xCrossRefADS

Drewes, A., Henderson, J., Mouza, C. et al. (2018). Professional development design considerations in climate change education: Teacher enactment and student learning. International Journal of Science Education, 40(1), 67–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2017.1397798CrossRefADS

Eggert, S., Nitsch, A., Boone, W. J., Nuekles, M., Bogeholz, S. et al. (2017). Supporting students’ learning and socio scientific reasoning about climate change–The effect of computer-based concept mapping scaffolds. Research in Science Education, 47, 137–159. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-015-9493-7CrossRefADS

Forbes, C. T., Chandler, M. C., Blake, J., Bhattacharya, D., Carroll-Steward, K., Johnson, V., DeGrand, T., Mason, W., Murrow, B. et al. (2020). Fostering climate literacy with global climate models in secondary science classrooms: Insights from a collaborative partnership. In J. Henderson & A. Drewes (Eds.), Teaching Climate Change in the United States (pp. 29–43). Routledge.CrossRef

Furtak, E. M., Hardy, I., Beinbrech, C., Shavelson, R. J., Shemwell, J. T. et al. (2010). A framework for analyzing evidence-based reasoning in science classroom discourse. Educational Assessment, 15, 175–196. https://doi.org/10.1080/10627197.2010.530553CrossRef

Gold, A. U., Kirk, K., Morrison, D., Lynds, S., Sullivan, S. B., Grachev, A., Persson, O. et al. (2015). Arctic climate connections curriculum: A model for bringing authentic data into the classroom. Journal of Geoscience Education, 63(3), 185–197. https://doi.org/10.5408/14-030.1CrossRefADS

Hestness, E., McGinnis, J. R., Breslyn, W. et al. (2016). Examining the relationship between middle school students’ sociocultural participation and their ideas about climate change. Environmental Education Research, 25(6), 912–924. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2016.1266303CrossRef

Holthuis, N., Lotan, R., Saltzman, J., Mastrandrea, M., Wild, A. et al. (2014). Supporting and understanding students’ epistemological discourse about climate change. Journal of Geoscience Education, 62(3), 374–387. https://doi.org/10.5408/13-036.1CrossRefADS

Klosterman, M. L., & Sadler, T. D. (2010). Multi-level assessment of scientific content knowledge gains associated with socioscientific issues-based instruction. International Journal of Science Education, 32(8), 1017–1043. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500690902894512CrossRefADS

Markauskaite, L., Kelly, N., Jacobson, M. J. et al. (2020). Model-based knowing: how do students ground their understanding about climate systems in agent-based computer models? Research in Science Education, 50, 53–77. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-017-9680-9

Monroe, M. C., Plate, R. R., Oxarart, A., Bowers, A., Chaves, W. A. et al. (2017). Identifying effective climate change education strategies: A systematic review of the research. Environmental Education Research, 25, 791–781. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2017.1360842CrossRef

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2022). Common core of data. https://nces.ed.gov/

NGSS Lead States. (2013). Next generation science standards: For states, by states. National Academies Press.

Niebert, K., & Gropengiesser, H. (2013). Understanding and communicating climate change in metaphors. Environmental Education Research, 19(3), 282–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2012.690855CrossRef

Pallant, A., & Lee, H.-S. (2015). Constructing scientific arguments using evidence from dynamic computational climate models. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 24, 378–395. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-014-9499-3CrossRefADS

Pallant, A., Lee, H., Pryputniewicz, S. et al. (2012). Modeling Earth’s climate: Students learn how adjusting variables in a dynamic model affects the entire system. The Science Teacher, 79(7), 38–42. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43557571

Park, J., Yoon, H.-G., Kim, M., Jho, H. et al. (2021). The nature of scientific evidence and its implications for teaching science. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 20(5), 840–856. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/21.20.840

Peel, A., Sadler, T.D., Kinslow, A. T., Zangori, L., Friedrichsen, P. et al. (2017). Climate change as an issue for socio-scientific issues teaching and learning. In D. P. Shepardson, A. Roychoudhury & A. S. Hirsch (Eds.), Teaching and learning about climate change: A framework for educators (154–165). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315629841

Sadler, T. D. (2009). Situated learning in science education: Socio-scientific issues as contexts for practice. Studies in Science Education, 45, 1–42. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057260802681839CrossRefADS

Tasquier, G., Levrini, O., Dillon, J. et al. (2016). Exploring students’ epistemological knowledge of models and modelling in science: Results from a teaching/learning experience on climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 38(4), 539–563. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2016.1148828CrossRefADS

Zangori, L., Peel, A., Kinslow, A., Friedrichsen, P., Sadler, T. D. et al. (2017). Student development of model-based reasoning about carbon cycling and climate change in a socio-scientific issues unit. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 54(10), 1249–1273. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21404CrossRefADS

Title: Supporting Secondary Students’ Understanding of Earth’s Climate System and Global Climate Change Using EzGCM: A Cross-Sectional Study
Authors: Silvia-Jessica Mostacedo-Marasovic
Amanda A. Olsen
Cory T. Forbes
Publication date: 09-08-2023
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Published in: Journal of Science Education and Technology / Issue 2/2024
Print ISSN: 1059-0145
Electronic ISSN: 1573-1839
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-023-10067-8

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Technik"

Other articles of this Issue 2/2024

Examining How Students Code with Socioscientific Data to Tell Stories About Climate Change

Using Extended Reality Technology in Traditional and Place-Based Environments to Study Climate Change

Employing a Groundwater Contamination Learning Experience to Build Proficiency in Computational Modeling for Socioscientific Literacy

Socio-Scientific Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Comparing In-person and Virtual Science Learning Using Model-Evidence Link Diagrams

Transforming Issues-Based Science Education with Innovative Technologies

Student Outcomes of Teaching About Socio-scientific Issues in Secondary Science Classrooms: Applications of EzGCM

Premium Partners