Exploring Curriculum Connections for Climate Change Education in B.C. Secondary Schools
Finding entry points for high school teachers
Project Details
My action project focused on researching climate change resources and mapping them to curriculum that already exists for B.C
Project Description
My goal for the project was to identify entry points for teachers hoping to incorporate climate change concepts or case studies that were B.C.-specific into their teaching practice. Most of my project involved conducting interviews with other educators and professionals as well as evaluating already-existing resources. I spent most of my time reading articles/scholarly work that was associated with developing climate change literacy.
Through my project, I was able to gain a greater understanding of how resources can be used by a variety of educators to support ocean and climate change literacy in a high school context. Through my project, I was able to share my learning with other educators and highlighted how they can use already-existing resources in their classrooms to help engage their students on these issues.
What was your biggest challenge?
One of my biggest challenges was with defining the scope of my project. I initially had a plan that was much more ambitious than I think was reasonable and feasible for the time of this project. I had to scale back what I hoped to do and ended up focusing my efforts on evaluating climate change resources that could be implemented this year in my practice as a high school teacher. I found that every person that I talked to had resources that they suggested I check out. As a result, I spent much more time sifting through resources than I thought I would. I was thankful that I had the support of my coach who was able to help guide me and change my project focus along the way.
What was your most valuable takeaway?
One of the biggest takeaways from my action project was the value of a well-scoped project. I had a very ambitious plan and timeline for my project when I started out. As I started to talk to people and get feedback on my plans, I was exposed to many more resources that I could use in my work. This meant that I spent much more time than anticipated on researching, rather than creating a final product (I had initially hoped to create a website).
I think that the volume of resources being developed to support teachers shows that there is a concerted effort being made towards advancing climate change conversations in schools. Although there is much more work to be done, I feel that this is a very positive step forwards!
