plex nature of climate-ocean-land interactions. The workshops are designed to help students understand the interplay of biological, geologi- cal, physical, chemical, economic, and ‘human dimension’ factors and their effect on the cli- mate (NOAA, 2009). Workshop topics include scientific uncertainty, weather and climate, and the impacts of climate change (sea level rise, human disease and vector biology, and extreme weather). In the second half of the day, we focus on providing students with skills in using video and other media to communicate sci- entific information, and on working in school teams to develop a community plan of action. The plans of action focus on how students can more broadly share what they have learned with their faculty mentors. In the ensuing months back at school,
students work on their plans of action and on developing their community education and outreach projects. Students work either in class or in an after-school club to implement their action plans. During this time, teachers email questions and ideas to university faculty. In the final workshop, Knowledge to
Program Outline
Our first step was to create a planning team of educational, scientific, and logistical professionals who would oversee the program and curriculum development for the Summit. The team was lead by education professionals from the New Jersey Department of 4-H1 Youth Development at Rutgers University. 4-H county and state faculty focus on creating positive educational experiences for youth, geared towards building leadership skills. The scientist members of the planning team were from the Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences at Rutgers, a world-class oceanographic research center. These research scientists focused on science con- tent and on facilitating scientist participation in the project. Lastly, to assist with recruiting and registering school teams, we engaged an independent logistics coordinator. The planning team chose to create a hands-on expe-
riential program that culminated in a community service project. Learning that is experiential and engaging sets the stage for rewarding habits, accumulation of knowledge, and confident application of skills (Eccles and Gootman, 2002). We chose to focus the program towards grades 8-11 (ages 13-17) ; research has shown that students at these ages have the cognitive ability to engage in the interdisciplinary connections required to comprehend climate change sci- ence (Roseman and De Boer, 2007). Having the program on university campus afforded students the opportunity to feel like they were part of a college learning experience. In the first workshop of the CEC Summit, Climate
Change 101, students meet with Rutgers University faculty to enhance their understanding of climate and environmental science. This full-day program is offered in mid-January during the school day. In 45 minute workshops, faculty guide students through hands-on lessons that focus on the com-
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Action, conducted in the spring (May-June), students learn about ongoing environmental initiatives at Rutgers University—this includes
tours of the university solar farm and information on green purchasing and recycling programs. School teams then pres- ent the results of their Action Plans through group presen- tations and educational videos they produce. The student teams are recognized for their achievements and communi- cation success within their communities. Student teams have exceeded our expectations with their projects. Examples of 2009 and 2010 projects include:
• Behavior and Policy Changes in Schools and Com- munities: Several of our collaborating schools focused on implementing behavioral and policy changes in their schools and communities. They led school-wide cam- paigns like “Ban the Bottle” to reduce the consumption of wasteful plastic water bottles by distributing reusable ones. One of our schools, Bergen Academies, was high- lighted in the Nickelodeon program Our Thirsty World. And one underserved and underrepresented middle school group from Camden, NJ worked with local Coop- erative Extension Specialists to install a rain garden and conducted education programs to help their community understand the importance of water consumption and conservation.
• Environmental Education “Teach In” Events: Many of our schools, including home school groups, have developed programs with nature centers, community centers and after-school program providers to raise cli- mate change awareness and promote behavior change in students. Some groups concentrated on dispelling mis- conceptions about weather and climate by providing information on how rainfall patterns are predicted to change in the Northeast with a changing climate. Yet another group of high school students developed a
GREEN TEACHER 93
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