(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2019)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2018)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2017)
(2016)
(2016)
Special Issue - (2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2016)
(2015)
(2015)
Special Issue - (2015)
(2015)
(2015)
(2015)
(2012)
(2012)
(2012)
Special Issue - (2012)
pp. 717-736 | DOI: 10.12973/ijese.2015.262a | Article Number: ijese.2015.027
Published Online: September 09, 2015
Abstract
Climate change is not local; it is global. This means that many environmental issues related to climate change are not geographically limited and hence concern humans in more than one location. There is a growing body of research indicating that today’s increased climate change is caused by human activities and our modern lifestyle. Consequently, climate change awareness and attention from the entire world’s population needs to be a global priority and we need to work collaboratively to attain a sustainable future. A powerful tool in this process is to develop an understanding of climate change through education. Recognizing this, climate change has been included in many science curricula as a part of science education in schools. However, teaching such a complex and global topic as climate change is not easy. The research in this paper has been driven by this challenge. In this paper, we will present our online science module called Global Climate Exchange, designed with inquiry activities for international peer collaboration to teach climate change. In this study, we engaged 157 students from four countries (Canada, China, Sweden, and Norway) to collaborate in Global Climate Exchange. To explore the opportunities that international peer collaboration in Global Climate Exchange gives, we have analyzed how students develop their explanations about climate change issues over time. Our analysis showed that the students increased the proportion of relevant scientific concepts in relation to the total number of words in their explanations and that they improved the quality of links between concepts over a six-week period. The analysis also revealed that the students explained more perspectives relating to climate change issues over time. The outcomes indicate that international peer collaboration, if successfully supported, can be an effective approach to climate change education
Keywords: climate change education, international peer collaboration, inquiry-based science teaching
References
Anderson, R. D. (2002). Reforming science teaching: what research says about inquiry. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 13(1), 1-12.
Begon, M., Harper, J., & Townsend, C. (1996). Ecology: individuals, populations, and communities: Wiley-Blackwell.
Bell, T., Urhahne, D., Schanze, S., & Ploetzner, R. (2010). Collaborative inquiry learning: models, tools, and challenges.International Journal of Science Education, 32(3), 349-377.
Biggs, J. B. (1979). Individual differences in study processes and the quality of learning outcomes. Higher Education, 8(4), 381-394.
Biggs, J. B., & Collis, K. F. (1982). Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The Solo Taxonomy: Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome: Academic Press.
Biggs, J. B., & Tang, C. S. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university: Open university press Buckingham.
Boulton-Lewis, G. (1995). The SOLO taxonomy as a means of shaping and assessing learning in higher education. Higher Education Research & Development, 14(2), 143-154.
Brabrand, C., & Dahl, B. (2009). Using the SOLO taxonomy to analyze competence progression of university science curricula. Higher Education, 58(4), 531-549.
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How people learn: National Academy Press Washington, DC.
Campbell, N., Reece, J., & Mitchell, L. (1999). Biology. 5th: New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc.
Carlsson, B. (2002). Ecological understanding 2: transformation-a key to ecological understanding. International Journal of Science Education, 24(7), 701-715.
Chan, C., Tsui, M., Chan, M., & Hong, J. (2002). Applying the structure of the observed learning outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy on student's learning outcomes: An empirical study. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 27(6), 511-527.
Council, N. R. (2005). How Students Learn: History, Mathematics, and Science in the Classroom. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.
Daniel, B., Stanisstreet, M., & Boyes, E. (2004). How can we best reduce global warming? School students ideas and misconceptions. International journal of environmental studies, 61(2), 211-222.
Dillenbourg, P. (1999). What do you mean by collaborative learning? In P. Dillenbourg (Ed.), Collaborative-learning: Cognitive and Computational Approaches (pp. 1-19). Oxford: Elsevier.
Donovan, S., & Bransford, J. (2005). How students learn: History in the classroom. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.
Dove, J. (1996). Student teacher understanding of the greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion and acid rain.Environmental Education Research, 2(1), 89-100.
Driver, R., Asoko, H., Leach, J., Mortimer, E., & Scott, P. (1994). Constructing Scientific Knowledge in the Classroom.Educational Researcher, 23(7), 5-12.
Duit, R., & Treagust, D. F. (1998). Learning in Science - From Behaviourism Towards Social Constructivism and Beyond. In B. Fraser & K. Tobin (Eds.), International handbook of science education (pp. 3-26).
Duit, R., & Treagust, D. F. (2003). Conceptual change: a powerful framework for improving science teaching and learning.International Journal of Science Education, 25(6), 671-688.
Ekborg, M. (2003). How student teachers use scientific conceptions to discuss a complex environmental issue. Journal of Biological Education, 37(3), 126-132.
Ekborg, M., & Areskoug, M. (2006). How student teachers' understanding of the greenhouse effect develops during a teacher education programme. Nordic Studies in Science Education, 5(5), 17-29.
Fawcett, L. M., & Garton, A. F. (2005). The effect of peer collaboration on children's problem solving ability. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 75(2), 157-169.
Gerard, L. F., Spitulnik, M., & Linn, M. C. (2010). Teacher use of evidence to customize inquiry science instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(9), 1037-1063.
Gerard, L. F., Tate, E., Chiu, J., Corliss, S., & Linn, M. C. (2009). Collaboration and knowledge integration. Paper presented at the International conference on Computer supported collaborative learning.
Goldring, H., & Osborne, J. (1994). Students' difficulties with energy and related concepts. Physics Education, 29, 26.
Gowda, M. V. R., Fox, J. C., & Magelky, R. D. (1997). Students' understanding of climate change: Insights for scientists and educators. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society Boston MA, 78(10), 2232-2240.
Green, D. (1997). Explaining and envisaging an ecological phenomenon. British Journal of Psychology, 88(2), 199-217.
Grotzer, T. A. (2003). Learning to understand the forms of causality implicit in scientifically accepted explanations. Studies in Science Education, 39(1), 1-74.
Grotzer, T. A., & Basca, B. B. (2003). Helping students to grasp the underlying causal structures when learning about ecosystems: How does it impact understanding. Journal of Biological Education, 38(1), 16-29.
Grotzer, T. A., Kamarainen, A. M., Tutwiler, M. S., Metcalf, S., & Dede, C. (2013). Learning to Reason about Ecosystems Dynamics over Time: The Challenges of an Event-Based Causal Focus. BioScience, 63(4), 288-296.
Hakkarainen, K. (2003a). Emergence of progressive-inquiry culture in computer-supported collaborative learning. Learning Environments Research, 6(2), 199-220.
Hakkarainen, K. (2003b). Progressive inquiry in a computer-supported biology class. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 40(10), 1072-1088.
Helldén, G. (2012). Studies of the development of students' understanding of ecological phenomena. In D. Jorde & J. Dillon (Eds.), Science Education Research and Practice in Europe: Retrospective and Prospective. The Netherlands: Sense Publishers
Hmelo-Silver, C., & Pfeffer, M. (2004). Comparing expert and novice understanding of a complex system from the perspective of structures, behaviors, and functions. Cognitive Science, 28(1), 127-138.
Hoadley, C. M. (2000). Teaching science through online, peer discussions: SpeakEasy in the Knowledge Integration Environment. International Journal of Science Education, 22(8), 839-857.
Hoadley, C. M. (2004). Fostering productive collaboration offline and online: Learning from each other. In M. C. Linn, E. A. Davis, & P. L. Bell (Eds.), Internet environments for science education (pp. 145-174). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Hodges, L., & Harvey, L. (2003). Evaluation of student learning in organic chemistry using the SOLO taxonomy. Journal of Chemical Education, 80(7), 785.
Howe, C., Tolmie, A., Greer, K., & Mackenzie, M. (1995). Peer collaboration and conceptual growth in physics: Task influences on children's understanding of heating and cooling. Cognition and Instruction, 13(4), 483-503.
IPCC. (2007). Summary for Policymakers. In Climate change 2007: the physical science basis. In S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (Ed.), Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
IPCC. (2013). Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. In T. Stocker, Q. Dahe, & G. Plattner (Eds.), Working Group I Contribution to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for Policymakers (IPCC, 2013).
Kinchin, I. M., Hay, D. B., & Adams, A. (2000). How a qualitative approach to concept map analysis can be used to aid learning by illustrating patterns of conceptual development. Educational Research, 42(1), 43-57.
Korsager, M., Slotta, J. D., & Jorde, D. (2014). Global Climate Exchange: Peer collaboration in a “Global classroom”. Nordic Studies in Science Education, 1(1), 105-120.
Krajcik, J., Slotta, J. D., McNeill, K. L., & Reiser, B. J. (2008). Designing learning environments to support students’ integrated understanding. Designing coherent science education: Implications for curriculum, instruction, and policy, 39-64.
Kunnskapsdepartementet. (2012). Kunnskap for en felles framtid. Revidert strategi for utdanning for bærekraftig utvikling 2012-2015. Oslo: Retrieved from http://www.regjeringen.no/upload/KD/Vedlegg/UH/Rapporter_og_planer/Strategi_for_UBU.pdf.
Lake, D. (1999). Helping students to go SOLO: teaching critical numeracy in the biological sciences. Journal of Biological Education, 33, 191-198.
Leach, J., Driver, R., Scott, P., & Wood-Robinson, C. (1995). Children's ideas about ecology 1: theoretical background, design and methodology. International Journal of Science Education, 17(6), 721-732.
Leach, J., Driver, R., Scott, P., & Wood-Robinson, C. (1996a). Children's ideas about ecology 2: ideas found in children aged 5-16 about the cycling of matter. International Journal of Science Education, 18(1), 19-34.
Leach, J., Driver, R., Scott, P., & Wood-Robinson, C. (1996b). Children's ideas about ecology 3: Ideas found in children aged 5-16 about the interdependency of organisms. International Journal of Science Education, 18(2), 129-141.
Lee, H. S., Linn, M. C., Varma, K., & Liu, O. L. (2010). How do technology‐enhanced inquiry science units impact classroom learning? Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(1), 71-90.
Leung, C. (2000). Assessment for learning: using SOLO taxonomy to measure design performance of design & technology students. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 10(2), 149-161.
Levins, L. (1992). Students' understanding of concepts related to evaporation. Research in science education, 22(1), 263-272.
Minner, D. D., Levy, A. J., & Century, J. (2010). Inquiry based science instruction - what is it and does it matter? Results from a research synthesis years 1984 to 2002. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(4), 474-496.
Mork, S., & Jorde, D. (2004). We know they love computers, but do they learn science? Using information technology for teaching about a socio-scientific controversy. Themes in Education, 5(1), 69–100.
Moser, S. C., & Dilling, L. (2004). Making climate hot. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 46(10), 32-46.
Myers, T. A., Maibach, E. W., Roser-Renouf, C., Akerlof, K., & Leiserowitz, A. A. (2013). The relationship between personal experience and belief in the reality of global warming. Nature Climate Change, 3(4), 343-347.
NASA. (2012). Global Climate Change. Retrieved 06.10, 2012, from http://climate.nasa.gov/
Palmer, J. (1998). Environmental education in the 21st century: Theory, practice, progress and promise: Psychology Press.
Papadimitriou, V. (2004). Prospective primary teachers' understanding of climate change, greenhouse effect, and ozone layer depletion. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 13(2), 299-307.
Perkins, D. N., & Grotzer, T. A. (2000). Models and Moves: Focusing on Dimensions of Causal Complexity To Achieve Deeper Scientific Understanding. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans.
Perkins, D. N., & Grotzer, T. A. (2005). Dimensions of causal understanding: The role of complex causal models in students' understanding of science. Studies in Science Education, 41(1), 117-165.
Peters, V. L., & Slotta, J. D. (2010). Scaffolding knowledge communities in the classroom: New opportunities in the Web 2.0 era. Designs for Learning Environments of the Future, 205-232.
Rebich, S., & Gautier, C. (2005). Concept mapping to reveal prior knowledge and conceptual change in a mock summit course on global climate change. Journal of geoscience education, 53(4), 355.
Rojas-Drummond, S., & Mercer, N. (2003). Scaffolding the development of effective collaboration and learning.International Journal of Educational Research, 39(1–2), 99-111.
Rye, J. A., & Rubba, P. A. (2002). Scoring concept maps: An expert map‐based scheme weighted for relationships. School Science and Mathematics, 102(1), 33-44.
Rye, J. A., Rubba, P. A., & Wiesenmayer, R. L. (1997). An investigation of middle school students’ alternative conceptions of global warming. International Journal of Science Education, 19(5), 527-551.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1993a). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 265-283.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1993b). Technologies for knowledge-building discourse. Communications of the ACM, 36(5), 41.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2003). Knowledge building environments: Extending the limits of the possible in education and knowledge work. Encyclopedia of distributed learning, 269-272.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2006). Knowledge building: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 97-115.
Shepardson, D. P., Roychoudhury, A., Hirsch, A., Niyogi, D., & Top, S. M. (2013). When the atmosphere warms it rains and ice melts: seventh grade students’ conceptions of a climate system. Environmental Education Research(ahead-of-print), 1-21.
Slotta, J. D. (2009). A forum for international peer exchange: Consequences and conversations Paper presented at the the 13th Biennial Conference for the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Slotta, J. D., & Jorde, D. (2010). Towards a design framework for international peer discusssions: Taking advantage of disparate perspectives on socio-scientific issues. Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, 5(3), 161–184.
Slotta, J. D., Jorde, D., & Holmes, J. (2005). Learning from our peers in international exchanges: When is worth doing, and how can we help it succeed? Paper presented at the Proceedings of the Fifth International ESERA Conference on Contributions of Research to Enhancing Students’ Interest in Learning Science.
Slotta, J. D., & Linn, M. C. (2009). WISE science: Web-based inquiry in the classroom: Teachers College Press.
Slotta, J. D., & Najafi, H. (2010). Knowledge Communities in the Classroom. In P. Peterson, E. Baker, & B. McGaw (Eds.),International Encyclopedia of Education (Vol. 8, pp. 189-196). Oxford: Elsevier.
Stahl, G., Koschmann, T., & Suthers, D. (2006). Computer-supported collaborative learning: Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Steffen, W., Rockström, J., Kubiszewski, I., & Costanza, R. (2013). 10. Planetary boundaries: using early warning signals for sustainable global governance1. Globalisation, Economic Transition and the Environment: Forging a Path to Sustainable Development, 259.
Tao, P. K. (1999). Conceptual change in science through collaborative learning at the computer. International Journal of Science Education, 21(1), 39-57.