Climate change is among the most difficult but important topics to teach young people. It involves complex science and data, and it can be really sad, given the bleak picture it paints of Earth’s future.
So how do teachers get students to engage more in lessons about climate change? Another effective method is to make lessons into a game.
As a professor of educational psychology, I conducted research that found high school students were more interested and learned more about climate change when it was presented as a game.
In the study, 248 high school students across the US were randomly assigned to read a text about climate science or play a number guessing game — that is, a game where they guess 12 numerical facts about climate change. I found that the math game improved high school students’ understanding, interest in science and willingness to take action to help solve climate change.
For example, one question asked: “What is the change in the percentage of sea ice cover since the 1960s?”
After students submit an estimate, a window appears showing the actual value—“40% decline” in the snow cover question. Gold stars appear to indicate their accuracy, as well as a brief description of the actual value. The answers also list actions people can take to solve the problem and links to sources of information.
I found that students who played the game had a better understanding than those who did not that there is a scientific consensus about human-caused climate change. Students who played the game also thought the activity was more interesting and reported less boredom. This increase in positive emotions and motivation was linked to a reduced sense of pessimism about climate change and an improved willingness to take action on climate change.
Why is it important
Climate change is a difficult topic for high school students to study. Not only is the science not difficult to understand intellectually, but it can be psychologically difficult for them to accept and deal with the looming threat of climate change.
Adding to the problem, the 2020 report suggests that 20 US states are not addressing these challenges in their regional science standards, as it was found that they did not adequately address the scientific climate consensus: that climate change is real, very bad, caused by humans, but there is hope for change . The findings of my research provide some principles for addressing this curriculum gap.
What other research is being done?
Researchers are actively trying to find ways to promote accurate climate change education that helps students understand the causes and explore solutions to future challenges.
Another promising approach emphasized in this study, in my previous research and that of other researchers, is to present a number of surprising numbers of climate change to students after measuring them. However, there are a few other methods that work as well. For example, one study found success by dissecting complex ways to evaluate evidence, while another study involved students taking pictures of their local environment to demonstrate climate science and think about possible solutions.
What is still unknown
One big question that remains is how to encourage teachers to implement effective climate change education in their classrooms. Evidence suggests that teachers sometimes feel pressured to teach “both sides” of the climate change continuum, even though one side has more evidence to support it. Such inconsistent messages can reduce the urgency required and confuse students in the process. I think it’s worth investigating some of the challenges and rewards teachers experience when implementing a clear and consistent climate curriculum in their classrooms.
A Research Brief is a short summary of an interesting academic work.
Ian Thacker is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the first article.
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