Climate Change Educational Partnership (CCEP)

Principal Investigator: Rachelle Hollander, Center for Engineering, Ethics, and Society (CEES), National Academy of Engineering (NAE), Washington, DC 20001

Project Goals

To develop a national network to enhance education on the issues of climate change and engineered systems, including issues of governance, sustainability, justice, trust and public engagement.

This national effort will be directed toward: 

• undergraduate engineering education
• community colleges
• K-12 formal education (emphasizing middle and high school)
• informal education in science centers, involving children and adults. 

 

National Partners

Arizona State University
Colorado School of Mines
Museum of Science, Boston
National Academy of Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
Phoenix Union High School District
University of Virginia

 

Key Personnel

Co-PIs
Deborah Johnson - University of Virginia, Charlottesville
Juan Lucena - Colorado School of Mines
Clark Miller - Arizona State University
Paul Fontaine - Museum of Science, Boston

Consultant
Richard Duschl - Pennsylvania State University

Outreach
Deborah Gonzalez - Arizona State University

Evaluator
Elizabeth Cady - National Academy of Engineering

Additional Partners
Phoenix High School District

Project Activities

• Focus on network activation and expansion, and partner education and outreach for Phase II.
• An initial meeting hosted at ASU set broad project parameters.
• Monthly teleconferences of key personnel have identified external advisory board (EAB) candidates and established evaluation plans. Project issues and team efforts will continue to be reviewed and revised as appropriate.
• Set the agendas and choose potential participants for two workshops. The first workshop focuses on the technical and normative dimensions of the issues; the second concentrates on the educational dimensions.
• Develop inventories of climate education materials that integrate technical and normative education.
• Design test-beds for implementing and assessing these materials and approaches.

Priorities

• Develop searchable inventories of suitable materials that address curricular and informational needs as well as appropriate learning strategies in formal and informal environments.
• Identify additional experts and suitable local partners.
• Target audiences by grade level or area of interest.
• Establish priorities and mechanisms for implementation efforts in Phase II.

Major Outcomes

• Two workshops are scheduled in 2011:
  • June 7–8: “Climate, Society, and Technology,” Irvine, CA
  • October 18–19: “Education, Climate, Society, and Technology,” Washington DC
• Five leaders in education, engineering and science have agreed to be members of the external advisory board.
• Developing a supplemental proposal with additional partners to get key efforts in community colleges underway.
• A review of relevant literature, local evidence and news items indicates that issues of engineering and climate change are constantly being addressed; systematic attention to them, and to their normative dimensions, is for the most part lacking.
• Establishing teams at the partnering institutions to identify and develop “best practices” for:
  • undergraduate engineering education
  • formal and informal K–12 learning environments
  • case studies to illustrate key issues, such as planning for the future of the Panama Canal

For more information, read the abstract on the NAE website.

Supported by the National Science Foundation (Award #1043289)