The goal of this project is to design meaningful and effective teaching about climate change relevant to students you are teaching or likely will teach.  You can adapt the project to an existing course, blending climate change in with other expectations, or create a new class. Chose an academic level and discipline most appropriate to your interests.

Regardless of discipline, your course needs to significanlty address social, political, and ethical dimensions of climate change. Your project should include a syllabus with titles for each class meeting or group of class meetings. Inquiry should be a feature of your curriculum project; indicate question that students will be exploring in your course. Clearly identify the anticipated grade level and course you are revising/designing.

The project should include an introduction explaining the goals of your course and how you will met those goals. In teaching about climate change the teacher must make careful choices relevant to the psychology and motivation of the students - explain the choices you are making.

The course could be a literature course or not at all a literature course. Nonetheless it does need to include at least some literature. What additional pieces might you draw in to help develop student understanding of the topic or their questions? (Might include non-fiction materials, film, images, websites, speakers, etc.) It needs to include relevant writing assignments and projects. You need to explain how your students will be assessed and graded.

As part of weekly assignments for the seminar you will design media analysis and drama projects that could be included in your course as well.

An important dimension of the course is involving your students in imagining future possibilities / educating others / joining with others / addressing issues / making a difference.  Be sure to include reading/writing/activities that make that possible, and explain your approach.

The course should cover a significant block of time, at least 8 weeks or, better, a full semster.

Projects will be published on the Climate Change Curriculum Projects page of a wiki devoted to helping teachers address climate change.  This means that your project needs to be written to address an audience of teachers who may want to use your ideas.  The page you create should be visually appealing as well as intellectually rich. You can incorporate images, video, and certainly links to relevant resources.

You project will also include a first draft of blog post for the ETCCC blog (English Teachers Concerned about Climate Change).  Your post should be aproximately 1400 words, be written in a voice that appeals to teachers, and include sound ideas and valuable practical suggestions.

You might focus your post on one or more activity, reading or writing assignment, from your course - the blog post will not try to overview or duplicate your curriculum project, but make some aspect of it available to teachers. Obviously, reading some of the existing post on the blog will give you an idea of how to write your post.  You are encourged to submit your draft to the ETCC editorial board for publication.

The blog post is due the last day of class; the teaching project is due at the time of the final exam. In place of an exam you will present your project to the class.

If relevant, you could reference relevant NCTE/IRA and Common Core Standards.

Send me an email with a self-evaluation of your curriculum project and propose a grade.

Teachers borrow other teachers work. However, as a graduate student completing a course assignment, it goes without saying that you need to be careful about citation and plagiarism. Obviously, I expect to see your own work and thinking consistent with what we are learning in this class.  If you do borrow, modify, or use any ideas, bits, or pieces from others cite your sources; in an online document your citiation should include a link to the sources, if possible.

Created by: allen.webb@wmich.edu
Revised Date: 1/18