A DAVID SINGTON/SIMON LAMB FILM THIN ICE THE INSIDE STORY OF CLIMATE SCIENCE A context for teaching and learning about climate science and related issues in the New Zealand Science Curriculum COMPILED BY DOUG SHEPPARD, TERRY BURRELL AND SHANE DELANEY ONSLOW COLLEGE, WELLINGTON Capital thinking. Globally minded. THIN ICE – THE INSIDE STORY OF CLIMATE SCIENCE A CONTEXT FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE NEW ZEALAND SCIENCE CURRICULUM TEACHERS’ GUIDE – AUGUST, 2015 COMPILED BY DOUG SHEPPARD, TERRY BURRELL AND SHANE DELANEY - ONSLOW COLLEGE, JOHNSONVILLE, WELLINGTON 1. INTRODUCTION The Vision Statement in the New Zealand Curriculum describes This Guide is intended to stimulate discussion and exploration Why use climate change and Thin Ice in your programme? young people who are “connected to the land and environment, within each school, rather than to deliver a “ready to use” • Rich and vitally relevant context for 21st Century youth members of communities and International citizens . actively unit. Some starter questions are provided to assist teachers in involved participants in a range of life contexts . contributors developing their own authentic learning programmes, making • Global issue – range of views so opportunities for using to the [environmental] well-being of New Zealand . and use of Thin Ice – the Inside Story of Climate Science and short Social inquiry informed decision makers.” videos (see http://thiniceclimate.org/free-resources) and • Examining evidence / data analysis and critical thinking are http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum tapping into other resources (relevant research projects, key NOS aims community initiatives, whānau expertise) that are available Now that we’ve stopped arguing about whether climate change locally. NCEA assessment opportunities are suggested for • Develops students scientific literacy is really happening, the big questions we are left with include: senior units. • Students get the chance to engage with scientists and “What can be done about it?” An example of an earlier collaboration between Onslow College real science and the Thin Ice Film Project, reflecting the approach anticipated “How can schools play a role in this?” • Need to generate hope and action competence rather than for this guide, can be found at: apathy or despair which tends to lead to paralysis http://www.nzscienceteacher.co.nz/teacher-education-in- Three teachers at Onslow College in Wellington have science/secondary/examining-a-changing-world-teaching- collaborated to compile this Teachers’ Guide to support teaching climate-science-in-new-zealand/#.Vz0ox2OgNEd climate science in the classroom. This resource exemplifies several teaching units and explores the potential cross-curricular links between Science and the Social Sciences curricula. 2 Cover image: View east from an ice cliff across McMurdo Sound to Mt Erebus volcano on Ross Island 70 km away. Photographer: Brent Alloway (1981). 2. JUNIOR SCIENCES EXPLORING CROSS-CURRICULAR LINKS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND SOCIAL STUDIES Teachers from both science and social sciences undertook an In Science, a broader study was undertaken, beginning with • Recognise the importance of multiple variables in exercise to explore how they might strengthen cross-curricular the basic chemistry required for understanding Climate and complex systems links between junior social studies and science. Beginning with Ocean chemistry. A lot of work happened around the Nature • Use basic chemistry vocabulary, symbols, and conventions a ‘topic’ list of current science and social studies units, they of Science – how scientists work and analyse data to generate identified places where the key concepts overlap to some extent. evidence, how data is collected and processed from a range of • Develop competence in basic chemistry facts including Next they mapped the Curriculum Achievement Objectives sources to explore a single idea. Links were made to biological atomic structure, elements, compounds and mixtures at Level 5 for both the Sciences and Social Sciences Learning and geochemical Carbon-cycling and modelling was explored • Use their visual and numerical literacy to evaluate evidence Areas (appended). The overlaps are extremely obvious at this –both physical modelling of atmosphere layers and predictive and argument in popular and scientific media level! When students get the chance to explore the same big modelling of climate systems. Students attended a workshop idea from both a science and society perspective they achieve at Te Papa where they were able to meet and interact with real • Explore a socio-scientific issue, gather relevant scientific far richer learning that is also more likely to result in informed scientists who had worked in Antarctica on climate-related information, draw evidence-based conclusions and take action around issues such as climate change and sustainability. research. During a session on Ice core and snow layer evidence action where appropriate Thin Ice, which asks the provocative question “can we trust the relating to past temperatures/carbon dioxide levels, students • Investigate the interdependence of living things in an scientists or are they pedalling a lie?”, was incorporated into a tried on Antarctic clothing. They handled Antarctic deep sea ecosystem (Living World) Science/Social studies unit for a Year 10 class to make use of organisms and Antarctic seabird specimens, and heard about the links. research into the circa-polar migrations. • Investigate the composition, structure, and features of the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere In Social Studies this class explored and discussed such ideas as: As well as the Thin Ice resources, a wealth of relevant material (Earth Systems-Planet Earth & beyond) available via NIWA, Science Learning Hub, etc was used in the • Antarctica as the final frontier/land mass to be inhabited science programme to scaffold students to a deep understanding • Investigate how heat from the Sun, the Earth, and human by humans on the causes and implications of climate change, especially for activities is distributed around Earth by the geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere (Interacting systems-PEB) • Who is responsible for administering the continent? New Zealanders. • Explore patterns associated with physical phenomena such • What rights various nations had there? Using climate change as the context, students covered a wide range of the basic concepts typically covered at as light and heat (Physical World) • The ethics/likelihood of mining etc in the future Curriculum Level 4: • Investigate the chemical and physical properties of different • Environmental impacts of scientists/others living there • Understand that scientists collect evidence and interpret groups of substances, eg acids, bases and fuels (Chemical World) The focus of their social inquiry was decision-making and how it via logical argument to develop scientific theories that happened, as well as its implications. • Scientists use models to understand and to communicate The lesson outline for a possible science unit follows: their ideas 3 LESSON SEQUENCE FOR A POSSIBLE YEAR 10 CLIMATE CHANGE UNIT: Watch Thin Ice video** Familiarity with Chemical language Flame tests to explore evidence for Review of elements/compounds/ and symbols differences between elements mixtures - link to representations at What do we need to know to really particle level. understand this climate science? Establish existing knowledge from Yr 9 Relating evidence to atomic structure – electron levels and Air as a mixture of elements and compounds What are particles made of? Brainstorm, Begin and end with Continuum Activity spectral emissions (details What’s a molecule? modelling, video… (exploring (Students place themselves along a unimportant but NOS ideas vital) Week 1 Week continuum from strongly agree to representations and mental models) Model making - Molymods strongly disagree in response to Elemental bingo a question: e.g. Can we trust the scientists?) Writing exercise using 3 levels of writing frames What’s the nature of atmosphere? Analysing atmospheric makeup Natural Greenhouse effect on Earth Extension of Atmospheric ideas Video clip - Atmospheric fall – Graphing – units used %/ppm Explore the Goldilocks zone Climate versus weather Felix Baumgartner Pie graphing of normal a Why is it so important for life on Earth? Albedo effect https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtvDA0W34I atmospheric composition Week 2 Week What are the greenhouse gases? What about the Ozone layer? Collect information on layers of Compare with Mars’ and Venus’ Model molecules Sources of various greenhouse gases? atmosphere and model it (include scale) atmosphere? Enhanced Greenhouse effect Students communicate their Interconnected processes: Role of carbon and combustion in understanding of the Enhanced climate change Carbon cycle - compare various Students search for best animation/ Greenhouse Effect and resulting climate representations - bio/geochemical Explore combustion and incomplete explanation on line for this effect and change using either dance, song, combustion in simple practicals with explain it to one another art, etc. Carbon chemistry and alkane fuels Bunsen burners Week 3 Week Molymods again – model combustion Explore other carbon fuels: Explore chemical language - simple Alcohol, biogas words equations then symbol equations Causes of enhanced Greenhouse effect Likely impacts of climate change for Evaluation of various actions to Reflection (and assessment?) on learning New Zealand Analyse significance