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Climatic Change (2011) 104:481507
DOI 10.1007/s10584-009-9786-9
Received: 29 April 2008 / Accepted: 11 November 2009 / Published online: 13 January 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009
Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate students conceptions of the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. The study was descriptive in nature and reflected a cross-age design involving the collection of qualitative data from 51 secondary students from three different schools in the Midwest, USA. These data were analyzed for content in an inductive manner to identify students conceptions. The categories that emerged from the students responses reflected different degrees of sophistication of students conceptions about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. Based on these findings we make curricular recommendations that build on the students conceptions, the IPCC Findings, the NRC (1996) science education standards, and NOAAs climate literacy framework.
1 Introduction
Climate is a component of the National Research Councils (NRC 1996) science education standards and just about every science textbook from fourth grade on addresses climate. Yet, these textbooks appear to be designed with little consideration of students conceptions and in fact may reinforce certain misconceptions. Furthermore, students conceptions may or may not fit current scientific perspectives
The work reported in this manuscript was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF), award number Geo 0606922. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.
D. P. Shepardson (B) S. Choi
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Purdue University, 100 North University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098, USA e-mail: [email protected]
D. P. Shepardson D. Niyogi U. Charusombat
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences,
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2051, USA
Students conceptions about the greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change
Daniel P. Shepardson Dev Niyogi
Soyoung Choi Umarporn Charusombat
482 Climatic Change (2011) 104:481507
because their conceptions are built on a combination of unique personal and social experiences (Driver et al. 1985). Consequently, there is a lack of what Driver et al. (1994) called curricular continuity, a sequence of experiences that build from students conceptions toward scientific understanding and ultimately scientific literacy.
Research in the area of students conceptions about geoscience phenomena is lacking (Manduca...