Graduate Thesis Or Dissertation
 

Evaluating Middle School Climate Curricula Using Best Practices and The Next Generation Science Standards

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https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/ww72bk547

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  • Climate change remains controversial and misunderstood, despite the consensus among climate scientists that recent climate change is anthropogenic. Many American adults do not agree with or do not understand this scientific consensus, suggesting a disconnect in science communication or a distrust in science. This disconnect may begin in formal education in middle school, when most Americans are introduced to climate science in middle school classrooms, and teachers have reported the need for more supportive climate curriculum. There is a gap in research related to understanding either issue. For this study, a checklist of the climate-related dimensions supporting the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and best practices for middle school climate curriculum were developed to be frameworks of analysis for curriculum evaluation. This evaluation investigated the extent to which these NGSS dimensions and best practices are addressed by this sample of climate curricula. Based on a purposive sample of six curricula, the evaluation determined few of these curricula addressed NGSS dimensions relating to data collection, systems modeling and thinking, roles of water, Earth’s processes, and different scales of climate change. The least addressed best practices were student engagement and the human dimensions of climate change. These findings identified potential gaps in middle school climate curricula, which may indicate a need for curricula to better address these gaps.
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