Stories have the power to connect, inspire, and drive change. In this interactive workshop, educators across grade levels and content areas in science, social studies, and English language arts will explore diverse storytelling formats, how to craft compelling climate narratives, and practice classroom activities that encourage students to cultivate their own climate stories. Participants will leave with practical tools, lesson ideas, and strategies to integrate storytelling into their teaching—fostering empathy, critical thinking, and action.
This workshop will be led by Dr. James Damico and Dr. Mark Baildon. Dr. James Damico, is a former middle school teacher from New Jersey and Professor of Literacy, Culture & Language Education at Indiana University, Bloomington. Since 2008 he has been teaching and researching about global climate change and exploring ways to challenge climate denial and advance ecological justice. This includes writing and performing songs as he finishes a new album to be released in spring 2025. His most recent book is titled, How to Confront Climate Denial: Literacy, Social Studies, and Climate Change published by Teachers College Press. Dr, Mark Baildon is a Visiting Associate Professor in Curriculum & Instruction in Indiana University’s School of Education. He has taught social studies in the U.S., Israel, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan, and he was a professor in Singapore’s National Institute of Education and United Arab Emirates University’s College of Education. His research focuses on inquiry- and issues-based social studies education, global citizenship education, and international and comparative education, and he is co-author of How to Confront Climate Denial: Literacy, Social Studies, and Climate Change.
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Saturday, December 7: Geoengineering
This workshop presented a climate engineering teaching module co-designed by Indiana University atmospheric scientists and high school educators for the Educating for Environmental Change (EfEC) program. The module consisted of five complete lessons, including engineering activities that encouraged creative technological designs that can be used to slow global warming: including in-class experimentation demonstrating the potential cooling effect resulting from brightening marine clouds. The hands-on activities were supplemented with cutting-edge climate engineering research and how it may limit the negative impacts of climate change. Each lesson was aligned with Indiana state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.
This workshop was led by Dr. Ben Kravitz and Dr. Paul Goddard from IU’s Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences.
Teaching Resources
Saturday, November 16: AI is for the Birds
In this workshop, participating teachers looked under the hood at how artificial intelligence (AI) works and learn about how AI is being used for good in science – including how it can be used to detect changes in bird populations. The workshop’s ambitious agenda included hands-on lessons pertaining to AI planning, computer vision, machine learning, and AI ethics. Teachers were also provided with micro-devices that they programmed and “trained” to recognize different bird species. This workshop was open to all elementary, middle, and high school teachers who are interested in teaching AI to students using scientific contexts.
This workshop was facilitated by Dr. J. Adam Scribner, Director of STEM Education Initiatives, IU School of Education, and Andrew Woodard, STEAM and Computer Science Specialist, MCCSC.
Saturday, September 21: Teaching Tomorrow’s Ecology: Fostering Student Innovation in Biodiversity Solutions
How can we help our students build climate hope through science and engineering design? This inclusive, hands- and minds-on lessons used our understanding of the mechanisms that have shaped past ecological communities to make sense of the present, anticipate the future, and motivate students to design solutions to our most vexing ecological challenges. These lessons featured guided inquiry into biogeography followed by small-scale, standards-aligned projects that are easily customizable for different ecological communities. We then used free, readily-available templates and frameworks to help make these lessons your own. This workshop was facilitated by Dr. Armin Moczek, Professor of Biology at IU and Dr. Kirstin Milks, AP Biology Teacher at Bloomington High School South.
Saturday, August 17: Workshop for Elementary Educators
This workshop, led by IU science and science education faculty, provided elementary teachers with hands-on lessons and age-appropriate activities for engaging students in environmental science.
Saturday, April 20: Hillslopes, Rivers, and Bedrock: Teaching Environmental Change in the Field
Environmental change takes place over many time scales—from the seconds or hours in a landslide or flood to the millions of years it takes to form rock strata or shape Earth’s landscape. In this day-long workshop, participants were introduced to field-based geoscience inquiry, examining the processes that shape hillslopes, river channels, and shape the bedrock strata on which they form. Conducted at IU’s Griffy Woods Research & Teaching Preserve, the workshop examined the dynamic processes that shape our planet—and effective ways to get your students involved in field-based inquiry.
About the facilitators: Dr. Brian Yanites is Associate Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Shrock Professor of Surficial and Sedimentary Geology at IU. He and his students study how climate, tectonics, and rock type influence the processes and landforms that shape the Earth's surface including the interaction of rivers, landslides, and bedrock on Earth’s landscape. Dr. Doug Edmonds is Associate Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Boyce Chair in Geological Sciences. His research focuses on the processes of sediment deposition, including field observations and modeling of rivers and river deltas.
Saturday, February 17: Science, Critical Thinking, and Disinformation: Integrating Media Literacy into Instruction
How can we engage our students in developing the habits of thinking needed for our hypermediated, “post-truth” world – while addressing our core science content and standards? Award-winning teacher and media literacy trainer, Chris Sperry, led this interactive workshop that gave educators the pedagogy, models, and practical resources for integrating curriculum driven, inquiry-based media analysis into the secondary science curriculum. We focused on climate change and other potentially polarizing topics using an approach that teachers well-reasoned discernment of the science and metacognition about student’s own confirmation biases.
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About the Facilitator: Chris Sperry is the Director of Curriculum and Staff Development for Project Look Sharp, a media literacy initiative at Ithaca College that he co- founded in 1996. He has over 40 years of experience as a 6-12 teacher and instructional coach. He is the co-author and producer of over 500 media literacy lessons that integrate media decoding and critical thinking into the curriculum including over 100 for secondary science. He is co-author with Cyndy Scheibe of the book Teaching Students to Decode the World: Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum, ACSD Jan 2022.
Saturday, December 9, 2023: Geoengineering
This workshop presented a climate engineering teaching module co-designed by Indiana University atmospheric scientists and high school educators for the Educating for Environmental Change (EfEC) program. This module consisted of five complete lessons, including engineering activities that encouraged creative technological designs that can be used to slow global warming: including in-class experimentation demonstrating the potential cooling effect resulting from brightening marine clouds. The hands-on activities were supplemented with knowledge about current climate engineering research and how it may help limit the negative impacts of climate change. Each lesson aligned with Indiana state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Environmental Resilience Institute.
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Saturday, October 21, 2023: Teaching About Extreme Weather in Indiana
This workshop for middle- and high-school science teachers was about some of the types of extreme weather we experience here in Indiana. We focused on how these phenomena develop and move, and how they impact our daily lives. Topics included tornadoes; winter weather; and if time permits, also heavy rainfall / flash flooding and heat waves. We demonstrated and shared some hands-on activities teachers can do with their students, and also provided time for teachers to work on adapting those activities for their own classrooms.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Environmental Resilience Institute.
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Saturday, September 30, 2023: Birds, Biodiversity, and Environmental Change
This Workshop was for the Birds! We invited teachers to spend the day learning about birds and their connections to biodiversity, migration, conservation, and climate change. We spent the morning studying birds up close through mist-netting of some of our resident bird species. We observed and participated in bird banding and data collection while learning about bird plumages, breeding characteristics, and other data that can be observed with a bird in hand. The workshop included mini-lectures on bird identification, evolution, migration, flight and nesting. In the afternoon learned how to design and carry out a research project using data from an international bird banding database accessible through the internet. We also explored two free apps for bird listing and identification and introduced activities that look at climate change from the perspective of birds, allowing students to synthesize knowledge of birds and climate.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Environmental Resilience Institute.
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Saturday August 26, 2023: Workshop for Elementary Teachers
This workshop, led by IU science and science education faculty, provided elementary teachers with hands-on lessons and age-appropriate activities for engaging students in environmental science.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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Saturday, April 29, 2023: Science, Critical Thinking, and Disinformation: Integrating Media Literacy into Instruction
How can we engage our students in developing the habits of thinking needed for our hypermediated, “post-truth” world – while addressing our core science content and standards? Award-winning teacher and media literacy trainer, Chris Sperry, led this interactive workshop that gave educators the pedagogy, models, and practical resources for integrating curriculum driven, inquiry-based media analysis into the secondary science curriculum. We focused on climate change and other potentially polarizing topics using an approach that teachers well-reasoned discernment of the science and metacognition about student’s own confirmation biases.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
About the Facilitator: Chris Sperry is the Director of Curriculum and Staff Development for Project Look Sharp, a media literacy initiative at Ithaca College that he co- founded in 1996. He has over 40 years experience as a 6-12 teacher and instruction coach He is the co-author and producer of over 500 media literacy lessons that integrate media decoding and critical thinking into the curriculum including over 100 for secondary science. He is co-author with Cyndy Scheibe of the book Teaching Students to Decode the World: Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum, ACSD Jan 2022.
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Saturday, April 15, 2023: Climate Change and Human Health
From extended heat waves to flooding to drought, climate change is already impacting the lives and livelihoods of Hoosiers. And climate change is increasingly a priority of health care professionals and the medical training community as people are suffering from pulmonary and heart disease as well as stress and mental health issues. This workshop focused on what we can do to mitigate those human health impacts by discussing the science behind them, the ways that local and regional planning impacts environmental and personal health, and the educational tools that can be developed to frame the key challenges.
This workshop was led by Dr. Gabriel Filippelli and was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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Saturday, April 1, 2023: A Time for Hope – Nurturing Climate Optimism Through Creativity
How can we help students and teachers build climate resilience by problem-solving for a better world?
Dr. Kirstin Milks provided exemplar lessons that harness the healing power of cutting-edge climate science by having students dream up sci-fi worlds of the future -- and how humans in those worlds can not only survive but collaborate to thrive!
This interdisciplinary workshop was designed to foster student interest in climate science, politics, economics, and culture by bringing standards-aligned science lessons and play-informed activities, plus a renewed sense of hope andpurpose, to your classroom.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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Saturday, February 11, 2023: Teaching Climate Science – and Science – Through Models
Indiana’s new science standards emphasize the use of models by students. Climate scientists use climate models and supercomputers to understand our changing climate, and to make projections about our future. But what climate models can students use?
This workshop introduced teachers to a collection of models that can be used to teach students about climate processes and how humans are causing climate change. These models can be accessed from any connected computer or smartphone, and teach students that a model does not need to be complicated to be powerful, and all models – from the simple to the complex – have strengths and limitations.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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Saturday, December 10, 2022: Climate Justice
This workshop built on the successes of previous workshops offered to EfEC teachers by incorporating social dimensions of climate change and environmental concerns. This module helped teachers explore how racial and social inequality is related to climate change, environmental harms, and the energy system.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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Saturday, October 29, 2022: Geoengineering
This workshop presented a Climate Engineering Teaching Module co-designed by Indiana University atmospheric scientists and educators for the Educating for Environmental Change (EfEC) program. This module consisted of five complete lessons, including engineering activities that encourage creative technological designs that can be used to slow global warming: including in-class experimentation demonstrating the potential cooling effect resulting from brightening marine clouds. The hands-on activities were supplemented with knowledge about current climate engineering research and how it may help limit the negative impacts of climate change. Each lesson aligned with Indiana state science standards and the Next Generation Science Standards.
This workshop was generously funded by two anonymous foundations and the support of the IU Center for Rural Engagement.
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