Written report, statement and discussion questions.

his task is designed to familiarise students with the rich resources available in science education journals. It involves selecting a science teaching idea/resource/issue which can be found within a science education journal and relevant to Years 7-10 secondary school science.

Part A
Written report

The science teaching profession shares ideas and information in many ways, one of the most useful being its professional journals such as ‘The Australian Science Teachers’ Journal (now called, Teaching Science), Science Activities, The American Biology Teacher, The Physics Teacher, The Science Teacher etc.

These and many other journals are and many more are now available online. This task is designed to familiarize students with the rich resources available in science teaching journals.

The task requires you to: 1. Select a science teaching idea/resource/issue which you find within science education journals (Please note: you are restricted to finding resources from journal articles, not an internet website or a textbook).

You may use the whole journal article or just one aspect of it. The article must be relevant to Years 7-10 Secondary School Science.

2. You are to summarize the details of the teaching resource/idea into a written review. The review needs to contain the following points:
• Sufficient detail to inform your peers as to the nature and purpose of the idea/resource for the teaching and learning of Year 7-10 general science.
• The relationship between the idea/resource and the National Science Curriculum.
• Full reference details for the source of your teaching idea/resource.

500 words

Part B:
Statement and produce discussion questions

Provide an initial statement giving reasons why your resource/idea/issue is relevant/useful for science teaching and provide discussion questions for your fellow students within your discussion group.

Write up to 250 words for this initial statement including the discussion questions. You will need to refer to your two-page summary (Part A).

250 words

This task is designed to familiarise students with the rich resources available in science education journals. It involves selecting a science teaching idea/resource/issue which can be found within a science education journal and relevant to Years 7-10 secondary school science.

Part A

Written report

The science teaching profession shares ideas and information in many ways, one of the most useful being its professional journals such as ‘The Australian Science Teachers’ Journal (now called, Teaching Science), Science Activities, The American Biology Teacher, The Physics Teacher, The Science Teacher etc.

These and many other journals are and many more are now available online. This task is designed to familiarize students with the rich resources available in science teaching journals.

You may use the whole journal article or just one aspect of it. The article must be relevant to Years 7-10 Secondary School Science.

You are to summarize the details of the teaching resource/idea into a written review. The review needs to contain the following points:

Sufficient detail to inform your peers as to the nature and purpose of the idea/resource for the teaching and learning of Year 7-10 general science.
The relationship between the idea/resource and the National Science Curriculum.
Full reference details for the source of your teaching idea/resource.

500 words

Part B:

Statement and produce discussion questions

Write up to 250 words for this initial statement including the discussion questions. You will need to refer to your two-page summary (Part A).

250 words

Article begins on following page. Please note: Copyright Agency limiled (CAL) licensed coPy. Further copying and communication prohibited e~cepi on payment of ‘ee per Copy or ComrnuOicallon aoo otherwise in accordance ~th the licence from CAl 1o ACER For more inloflllalion contact CAL on (02)9394 7600 or info@copyrighl.com.au Volume 59 | Number 3 | September/October 2013 teachingscience 9 Features Introduction Global climate change and its consequences are a constant headline in popular media. However, this representation of climate change science is confusing. On January 15 2013, The Australian ran a report with the headline Sea rise ‘not linked to warming’ says report (Lloyd, 2013). On the same day, the Sydney Morning Herald ran with the headline Sea level rise ‘linked to climate change’ (Sea-level rise, 2013). This representation of climate change is perplexing, even for those with a healthy knowledge of climate change science and has the potential to misguide schoolaged children in both their conceptual knowledge of and their belief in global climate change. The Union of Concerned Scientists is a science-based organisation in the United States aiming to, “Ensure accurate coverage of climate science and help elevate the voices of scientists in the public and press” (Huertas & Adler, 2012, p.II). In 2012, they released a report (Huertas & Adler) in which they analysed News Corporation’s representation of climate change science in the media over six months. In this period, they found that 93% of Fox News Channel representations of climate change science and 81% of the Wall Street Journal’s opinion pieces were misleading. Both of these are the most popular news presenters of their kind in the United States. According to Debrett (2011), the Australian media is similar in its misrepresentations of climate change. School students notice these media misrepresentations and incorporate them into their often simplistic ideas of global warming and climate change. In primary school, students are frequently introduced to environmental issues as teachers attempt to include relevant issues into their classroom. These activities often include considerations of global warming and climate change. For example, a primary school teacher may ask their students to consider how they can reduce their energy usage in their house and thus reduce their carbon footprint. So from an early age, students are considering global warming and climate change in their classroom, as well as noticing examples in the media. However, the science of climate change does not appear in the Australian Curriculum until Year 10 (Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority [ACARA], 2013). Research shows that students with the least climate change knowledge, trust less trustworthy sources of information (Braten, Stromso and Salmeron, 2011). Students are thus conceptualising climate change for themselves often without the scientific knowledge to support their ideas. It follows then that students may enter a science classroom with preformed conceptions and opinions about climate change, some of which are incorrect. There are common alternative conceptions about global warming and climate change which occur amongst students in different countries. Research shows that students commonly merge features of the greenhouse effect with those of the ozone layer (Boon, 2009; Gautier, Deutsch & Rebich, 2006; Hansen, 2010; Kilinc, Stanisstreet & Boyes, 2008; Lambert, Lindgren & Bleicher, 2012; Punter, Ochando-Pardo & Garcia, 2011). In 2005, Hansen (2010) examined 440 15 year-old Norwegian students’ understanding and knowledge of climate change. He found that over 70% of students were confused between features of the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer. Over one quarter of students agreed with the statement The greenhouse effect is caused by ozone gas in the ozone layer. Hansen surveyed the students at three intervals corresponding to science curriculum changes and found that when students were explicitly taught about the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect, they were more confused about both processes. Students also demonstrate misunderstanding about the greenhouse effect and its processes. Many students are unaware that the greenhouse effect is necessary for life on Earth and that climate change is caused by the enhanced greenhouse effect (Boon, 2009; Gautier et al, 2006; Hansen, 2010; Lambert et al, 2012). In Hansen’s research (2010) only 75% of students agreed with the statement The greenhouse effect is necessary for life on Earth. Jakobsson and Saljo (2009) state that students’ knowledge about the greenhouse effect is not as poor as is reported in the literature. They allege that this perception is due to assessment questions being out of context and ambiguous, with a lack of distinction between the greenhouse effect and the enhanced greenhouse effect. Students often merge environmental problems together, such as is seen with the ozone layer and the greenhouse effect. Another example is students’ This study investigated 438 Year 10 students (15 and 16 years old) from Western Australian schools, on their understanding of the greenhouse effect and climate change, and the sources of their information. Results showed that most students have an understanding of how the greenhouse effect works, however, many students merge the processes of the greenhouse effect with the ozone layer. Students gained climate change information from school science and geography, as well as different forms of media. Recommendations include teacher professional development and informing teachers of common alternative conceptions amongst students. By Vaille Dawson and Katherine Carson Australian secondary school students’ understanding of climate change For more information about this exciting opportunity, please send an Expression of Interest to Vic Dobos, ASTA CEO at ceo@asta.edu.au 10 teachingscience Volume 59 | Number 3 | September/October 2013 confusion between pollution and greenhouse gases (Punter et al, 2011; Shepardson, Niyogi, Choi & Charumsombat, 2009). This is not unusual given that images of industrial chimneys are often used to illustrate greenhouse gas emissions. “Although children are aware of the consequences of global environmental problems and a range of pollutants which cause them, their thinking is over-generalised. Children tend to imagine that all pollutants contribute to all environmental problems,” (Batterham, Stannisstreet & Boyes, 1996, p.37). Students are often unaware that household energy use contributes to greenhouse gases and therefore climate change (Kilinc et al, 2008; Punter et al, 2011). In Australia, this is of great importance as Australia is one of the world’s worst carbon emitters, ranking fifth in 2012 based on carbon dioxide output per person (Carbon Neutral, 2012). Research shows both pre-service and in-service teachers maintain similar alternative conceptions about climate change science as their students (Dawson, 2012; Boon, 2010; Gautier et al, 2006; Lambert et al, 2012). Boon (2010) found pre-service teachers’ conceptual understanding of the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer similar to secondary students, including those with science and environmental studies as their major teaching area. Even in-service teachers hold alternative conceptions about climate change science, with one in five secondary school science teachers from a sample of thirty-nine, believing that The greenhouse effect protects us against UV radiation from the sun (Dawson, 2012). Boon (2009) compared 389 13 and 15 year-old Australian students in 2007 with 351 UK students in 1991. Boon assumed that with more scientific data available and more focus on climate change in the curriculum, that students in 2007 would understand more about the greenhouse effect, climate change and the ozone layer. However, the UK students from 1991 had statistically better knowledge on the impact of the greenhouse effect on the climate and the function of the ozone layer than the Australian students in 2007. Boon theorised that Australian students may have gained their information from elsewhere, before being formally taught climate change science in the classroom. Given the views presented by the media regarding climate change science (Brown, 2012; Debrett, 2011; Huertas & Adler, 2012) this may well be the case. Such media portrayal of climate change scepticism may have resulted in disinterest in the topic. Results from a recent survey of over 5000 Australians suggest that people who don’t believe in climate change or believe it is naturally caused, simply don’t care about the issue (Leviston & Walker, 2011). Students who misunderstand both climate change science and the consequences of personal choices, are less likely to make pro-environmental decisions (Boon, 2009; Mason & Santi, 1998; McNeill & Vaughn, 2010; Sternang & Lundholm, 2011). In a survey of 1000 students from Australia, Hong Kong and the United States on their views of good citizenship, Australian students scored lower than the other two countries on the importance of environmental actions. Only 74% of Australian students stated they were important, as compared to 84% of US students and 83% of Hong Kong students (Kennedy, Hahn & Lee, 2008). This indifference could be due to a lack of conceptual understanding. McNeill and Vaughn (2010) found that as students’ understanding of climate change improved, so did their pro-environmental choices. The lack of student understanding and perhaps disinterest in the topic of climate change is a concern for us all. In the science classroom sit not only our future scientists, but our future global citizens, each and every one of which is responsible for the Earth’s environment. Global climate change is a societal issue that needs a social response more than a technological one and science education is at the core of this change (Sharma, 2012). It is the role of science teachers to promote scientific understanding of climate change and the consequences of personal actions and thus become part of the solution. These realisations prompted a study that aimed to examine Year 10 Western Australian students’ views (15-16 years-old) about the importance of environmental topics and to identify what students know about climate change. The research questions were: 1. How important are environmental topics to Year 10 students? 2. What are Year 10 students’ understandings of the greenhouse effect and climate change? 3. What sources do students use to learn about climate change? Research Method The research questions were addressed using a questionnaire developed by the researchers and designed for use by Year 10 students. A thorough literature search yielded no suitable questionnaire, however, several sources were used in its development, as described below. Development of Questionnaire The questionnaire comprised four parts: Demographic data (Part A); Importance of environmental topics (Part B); Understanding of the greenhouse effect and climate change (Part C); and Information about climate change (Part D). Part A simply requested students’ gender and school. Part B listed ten topics (in alphabetical order) related to the environment: biodiversity, climate change, energy conservation, environmental sustainability, greenhouse effect, pollution, population control, recycling, renewable energy sources and water conservation. Students then marked on a visual scale, the topic’s personal level of importance from 1 (unimportant) to 5 (very important). Part C explored students’ understanding of the science of the greenhouse effect and climate change. Six statements were presented to the students who then had to mark whether the statement was True, False or I don’t know. These statements were similar to those used by Hansen (2010) when investigating Norwegian secondary students’ climate change understanding. They were designed to examine common alternative conceptions held by students about climate change science. Part D investigated where students obtained information about climate change and also asked them how trustworthy they believed these sources to be. Students were given a choice of sources of information, asked if they had learned from it and circled Yes or No. They then circled either 1 (not trustworthy), 2 (sometimes trustworthy) or 3 (trustworthy) for their belief in the trustworthiness of the source. This question was added to Version 2 of the questionnaire so was answered by only 285 students. In 2010, Version 1 of the questionnaire was trialled with 153 students. This included a question about students’ attitudes to environmental issues which was later removed and replaced with the question on students’ source of information on climate change. Construct validity (Creswell, 2008) was established by having two academics with an earth and environmental science background and an environmental education consultant review the questionnaire. One of the teachingscience 11 Features Volume 59 | Number 3 | September/October 2013 academics and the environmental education consultant were previously science teachers. Content validity was established by asking ten adolescents and three science teachers to trial the questionnaire. All responses were coded and then frequency counts calculated using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Sample All of the 438 students who completed the questionnaire were in Year 10, and aged 15 and 16 years old. Year 10 students were chosen, because this is the last compulsory year of science in Western Australian secondary schools. The students came from six schools located in Perth, Western Australia. A total of 202 students were enrolled in four Independent schools, 127 students in one government school and 109 students in one Catholic school. Of these students, just over half were female (57%, 249) and under half were male (43%, 188). Results Importance of Environmental Topics Students were asked to mark on a visual analogue (Oppenheim, 2001) a number from 1 (unimportant) to 5 (very important) for ten environmental topics. Students’ marks were measured to the nearest 0.5 on the scale. Table 1 shows the item means and standard deviation (in descending order) of students’ perceptions of the topics. The difference between each environmental topic is minimal, with only 0.86 difference between the highest and the lowest rated topics. This demonstrates that overall, students placed some importance on each of these ten topics. The highest rated topics were water conservation and pollution, and the lowest rated topics were population control and biodiversity. Climate change was ranked sixth in the list of environmental topics. Students’ understanding of the greenhouse effect and climate change Students were given six statements about the greenhouse effect and asked to circle True, False or I Don’t Know. These statements were designed to assess students’ understanding of common alternative conceptions. Table 2 lists the statements and shows the percentage of students who answered correctly. The correct answer is shown in column two. The results indicate that most students have an understanding of how the greenhouse effect works, ENVIRONMENTAL TOPIC MEAN ± SD (N=438) Water conservation 4.26 ± .93 Pollution 4.17 ± .88 Renewable energy sources 4.07 ± .94 Environmental sustainability 3.95 ± .95 Energy conservation 3.90 ± 1.02 Climate change 3.89 ± 0.97 Recycling 3.86 ± 0.93 Greenhouse effect 3.68 ± 1.03 Population control 3.53 ± 1.10 Biodiversity 3.40 ± 1.08 Table 1: Importance of environmental topics. with 85% of students recognising that the statement, The greenhouse effect makes the temperature decrease is false. A total of 92% of students also understood that, Increased burning of coal, gas and oil increases the greenhouse effect. However, most students did not understand the contribution to the greenhouse effect of different greenhouse gases, with only 11% recognising that, The greenhouse effect is caused mainly by carbon dioxide gas (CO2) was not true. Only half of the students (53%) correctly responded that, The greenhouse effect is necessary for life on the Earth. This shows that some students may not understand the difference between the enhanced greenhouse effect and the greenhouse effect. The results also demonstrate students’ confusion between the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer. One third of students (34%) agreed that The greenhouse effect protects us against UV radiation from the sun and almost half (48%) agreed that, The greenhouse effect is caused mainly by ozone gas (O3) in the ozone layer. Sources of information about climate change Students were provided with a list of possible sources of information about climate change and asked to indicate where they had learned about climate change. Further, students were asked to rate the trustworthiness of the source by circling 1 (not trustworthy), 2 (sometimes trustworthy) or 3 (trustworthy). Students were able to choose more than one source of information. Table 3 shows the percentage of students who gained information about climate change from a particular source and their perceived trustworthiness of that source. The results showed that the TV was the most frequent source of information about climate change for students, with other media sources being the Internet and print media third and fifth. School science and geography were the second and fourth most common sources of climate change information. Additional school subjects (not science or geography) were the least frequent sources of climate change information. Other sources included radio, university lecture, books and youth group. Table 2: Students’ understanding of the greenhouse effect and climate change. STATEMENT CORRECT ANSWER PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WITH CORRECT ANSWER (N=438) The greenhouse effect protects us against UV radiation from the sun. No 66 The greenhouse effect makes the temperature decrease. No 85 The greenhouse effect is caused mainly by carbon dioxide gas (CO2). No 11 Increased burning of coal, gas, and oil increases the greenhouse effect. Yes 92 The greenhouse effect is caused mainly by ozone gas (O3) in the ozone layer. No 52 The greenhouse effect is necessary for life on the Earth. Yes 53 12 teachingscience Volume 59 | Number 3 | September/October 2013 School science and geography were the most trusted sources of climate change information. Friends and other school subjects were the least trusted sources. It would seem that students do not trust climate change information in school coming from teachers other than science and geography teachers. The three different media sources (TV, Internet and print) all received means just above 2 (sometimes trustworthy). Discussion The aim of this study was to examine students’ perceptions of the importance of environmental topics and to determine Year 10 students’ understandings of the greenhouse effect and climate change. When asked to rate ten environmental topics on a scale of 1 (unimportant) to 5 (important) the students’ choices linked strongly to local contextual factors. Water conservation was the highest rated topic and this may be related to the local Western Australian natural and political environment. With a growing population and decreasing rainfall (Climate Commission, 2012), the conservation of water is an important local environmental issue. A media campaign to educate the public about conserving water, as well as controversy surrounding the construction of two desalination plants in the last seven years (Water Corporation, n.d.) maintains water conservation as a relevant local issue. Renewable energy sources, as the third most important perceived environmental topic, can also be related to local context. In Western Australia, there had been controversy surrounding the withdrawal of a government rebate scheme for homeowners who installed solar panels, because it had been too popular (King, 2011). Pollution was the second most important environmental topic and perhaps again due to media coverage. The Australian Federal government introduced a ‘Carbon Tax’ in 2012 amidst much controversy, placing a price on each tonne of carbon dioxide emitted by large industrial companies (Australian Government, 2013). A Table 3: Sources or information and trustworthiness about climate change. SOURCE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO LEARNED FROM THIS SOURCE (N=285) TRUSTWORTHINESS OF SOURCE MEAN ± SD TV (e.g. documentaries, news) 38 2.38 ± 0.54 At school in science 34 2.63 ± 0.61 Internet (e.g. Wikipedia) 34 2.04 ± 0.44 At school in geography 33 2.71 ± 0.52 Print media (e.g. newspapers, magazines) 31 2.16 ± 0.55 Family 27 2.06 ± 0.65 Friends 15 1.77 ± 0.56 Outside school science (e.g. science centres) 13 2.35 ± 0.72 At school in other subjects 5 1.92 ± 0.76 Other 2 1.88 ± 0.93 common merging of ideas amongst students is that of pollution and greenhouse gases and this is reinforced with media representation of the Carbon Tax. On the Australian Government’s own website explaining the tax, it states, “Putting a price on carbon is the most environmentally effective and cheapest way to cut pollution” (Clean Energy Future, 2013). Population control and biodiversity were the two environmental topics with the lowest importance. This is concerning given population growth is a worldwide issue (United Nations: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2012). Indifference regarding biodiversity is also of concern because in the South West of Western Australia there is an area so rich in biodiversity it has been included in the top 25 worldwide biodiversity hotspots by Conservation International (Myers, Mittermeier, Mittermeier, Fonseca and Kent, 2000). It seemed that most students have an understanding of how the greenhouse effect works, however, there was confusion about the contribution to the greenhouse effect of different greenhouse gases. Only one in ten students recognised that the greenhouse effect is not caused mainly by carbon dioxide. This confusion may relate to students’ lack of understanding of greenhouse gases which are influenced by humans, such as carbon dioxide and those that are natural, such as water vapour, the main contributor to the greenhouse effect (Raupach and Fraser, 2012). Almost half of the students did not know that the greenhouse effect is necessary for life on Earth. This may indicate confusion between the enhanced greenhouse effect and the greenhouse effect and could have been contributed to by the negative associations of the greenhouse effect with climate change by the media. Students’ confusion between the processes of the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer was clearly demonstrated. One third of students stated that the greenhouse effect protected us from UV radiation and almost one half stated that the greenhouse effect is caused mainly by ozone gas in the ozone layer. Previous research shows this to be a common alternative conception amongst students (Boon, 2009; Hansen, 2010; Lambert, et al, 2012; Wallin and Andersson, 2000). Given the similarities in the concepts of both processes it is not surprising. The greenhouse effect is often referred to as a ‘blanket’ of gases surrounding and protecting the Earth, which is precisely what the ozone layer does, except the greenhouse effect helps keep the Earth warm and the ozone layer protects the Earth from UV radiation. School science and geography have a combined mean of 2.67 regarding trustworthiness of the source, which is just below usually trustworthy. With a mean of 1.92 for other school subjects’ trustworthiness, it would also seem that students are sceptical of climate change information presented by non-science and non-geography teachers. This is heartening that students trust the climate change information received at school through their science and geography school teachers, as teachers can then communicate to students the importance of climate change. In relation to sources of climate change information, school science and geography were the second and third most common sources, as well as the most trustworthy. The other three of the top five sources were media (TV, Internet and print). If these three media sources are combined, students rate the trustworthiness of the media as 2.20, slightly above sometimes trustworthy. This shows students trust the media to a certain extent, which is concerning given many do not have the scientific understanding to evaluate teachingscience 13 Features Volume 59 | Number 3 | September/October 2013 these sources. In 2012, the Union of Concerned Scientists in the United States investigated News Corps representation of climate change in popular media over a six month period. They found that 93% of Fox News Channel’s and 81% of the Wall Street Journal’s opinion section’s representations of climate science were misleading (Huertas and Adler, 2012). Students need to be sceptical of popular media and the findings do not support this. Conclusion In conclusion, students are aware of climate change as one of many important environmental issues facing the world, however, place it sixth in a list of ten environmental topics. Local contextual factors appear to influence students’ perceptions of the importance of these topics, with water conservation, pollution and renewable energy sources as the top three topics of importance. Students have a variable understanding of climate change and the greenhouse effect, with only half the students aware that the greenhouse effect is necessary to sustain life on Earth. Many students merge the greenhouse effect with the ozone layer, with one half of students stating that ozone is the main gas responsible for the greenhouse effect and one third of students stating that the greenhouse effect protects us from UV radiation from the sun. Students learn about climate change from school science and geography and the media, placing more trust in what they learn at school than the media. The introduction of the Australian Curriculum which is to be implemented in all Australian schools by 2014 (ACARA, 2012), provides an opportunity for effective teaching of climate change science. In the Australian Curriculum (2013), Sustainability is one of the three cross-curriculum priorities and shows the importance placed on sustainability by the Federal Government. Climate change is a major influence on sustainability and its science needs to be understood for students to consider the full impacts of any decision made when considering future sustainability. Sustainability first appears in the Year 7 curriculum (ACARA 2013) under Science as a Human Endeavour and reappears in Years 8 and 9, however, the science of climate change may not be taught until Year 10. It is conceivable that students are being asked to consider situations involving climate change, before they have been taught the scientific concepts. Students are also being exposed to the science of climate change in the media on a regular basis. Professional development of pre-service and inservice science teachers can provide opportunities for teachers to understand not only the science of climate change, but also the confusion which exists amongst students about the greenhouse effect and climate change. The teaching of climate change and in particular the greenhouse effect is a multi-dimensional and complex issue to address in the classroom. However, it is this messiness that ideally demonstrates the complexity of science in the real world (Shepardson et al, 2009). It also makes climate change ideal for multidisciplinary teaching including but not exclusive to politics, economics, earth science, technology and English. Boyes, Chambers and Stanisstreet (1995) consider the confusion between the greenhouse effect and the ozone layer occurs because of a lack of practical activities. Yet scientific concepts such as transmission, reflection, absorption and emission of electromagnetic radiation can be demonstrated with relative ease in the classroom (Papeorgiou & Tsiropoulou, 2004). A simple demonstration of the greenhouse effect, in particular the effects of carbon dioxide on heating has been developed by Keating (2007) using everyday objects such as two litre soft drink bottles, carbonated soft drink, thermometers and the sun. As well as practical demonstrations, there is a plethora of real data and evidence available showing climate change in a demonstrable way (Bureau of Meterology, 2013; NASA, n.d.; SPICE, 2013). This can be used in student investigations to promote scientific literacy. It is acknowledged that climate change science is multidisciplinary, complex and difficult, but with some consideration, students should leave school equipped with an understanding of the enhanced greenhouse effect and how this contributes to climate change. This knowledge not only allows students to participate in the dialogue of climate change but empowers students to make personal choices and decisions to alter their behaviours. Students in the classroom are the future citizens of the world, and it is in their power to mitigate the consequences of climate change, benefitting not only themselves, but the Earth itself. References Australian Curriculum and Assessment Reporting Authority [ACARA] (2012). Australian Curriculum Implementation Survey 2012. Retrieved 18 March, 2013 from http://www.acara.edu.au/ verve/_resources/Summary_of_implementation_plans_-_updated_ August_2012.pdf ACARA. (2013). Australian Curriculum: Science. Retrieved 18 March, 2013 from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/ Science/Curriculum/F-10 Batterham, D., Stanisstreet, M. & Boyes, E. (1996). Kids, cars and conservation: Children’s ideas about the environmental impact of motor vehicles. International Journal of Science Education, 18(3), 347-354. Boon, H. (2009). Climate change? When? Where? The Australian Educational Researcher, 36(3), 43-66. Boon, H. (2010). Climate change? Who knows? A comparison of secondary students and pre-service teachers. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35(1), 104-120. Boyes, E., Chambers, W. & Stanisstreet, M. (1995). Trainee primary teachers’ ideas about the ozone layer. Environmental Education Research, 1(2), 133-145. Braten, I., Stromso, H. & Salmeron, L. (2011). Trust and mistrust when students read multiple information sources about climate change. Learning and Instruction, 21, 180-192. Brown, M.J.I. (2012, November 27). Straw man science: Keeping climate simple. The Conversation. Retrieved 10 April, 2013 from http://theconversation.com/straw-man-science-keeping-climatesimple-10782 Bureau of Meteorology. (2013). Western Australian weather. Retrieved 6 June, 2013 from http://www.bom.gov.au/wa/?ref=hdr Carbon Neutral. (2012). Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Retrieved 10 April, 2013 from http://www.carbonneutral.com.au/ climate-change/australian-emissions.html Clean Energy Future: Australian Government. (2013). Carbon price. Retrieved 27/02/13 from http://www.cleanenergyfuture.gov.au/ clean-energy-future/carbon-price/ Climate Commission: Australian Government. (2012). The critical decade: Extreme weather. Retrieved 10 April, 2013 from http:// climatecommission.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/Extreme-ReportKey-Facts.pdf Creswell, J.W. (2008). Educational Research: Planning, conducting and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Australia: Pearson Education. Dawson, V.M. (2012). Science teachers’ perspectives about climate change. Teaching Science, 58(3), 7-12. 14 teachingscience Volume 59 | Number 3 | September/October 2013 Debrett, M. (2011). Reporting on climate change: An Australian perspective. The International Journal of Science in Society, 2(2), 149-160. Gautier, C., Deutsch, K. & Rebich, S. (2006). Misconceptions about the greenhouse effect. Journal of Geoscience Education, 54(3), 386-395. Hansen, P.J.K. (2010). Knowledge about the greenhouse effect and the effects of the ozone layer among Norwegian pupils finishing compulsory education in 1989, 1993, and 2005 – What now? International Journal of Science Education, 32(3), 397-419. Huertas, A. & Adler, D. (2012). Is News Corp. failing science? Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists. Jakobsson, A., Makitalo, A. & Saljo, R. (2009). Conceptions of knowledge in research on students understanding of the greenhouse effect: Methodological positions and their consequences for representations of knowing. Science Education, 93(6), 978-995. Keating, C. (2007). A simple experiment to demonstrate the effects of greenhouse gases. The Physics Teacher, 45, 376-378. Kennedy, K., Hahn, C. & Lee, W. (2008). Constructing citizenship: Comparing the views of students in Australia, Hong Kong, and the United States. Comparative Education Review, 52(1), p53-91. Kilinc, A., Stanisstreet, M. & Boyes, E. (2008). Turkish students’ ideas about global warming. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 3(2), 89-97. King, R. (2011, December 29). Solar tariff scheme blows out by $46 million. WA Today. Retrieved 27/02/13 from http://www.watoday. com.au/wa-news/solar-tariff-scheme–blows-out-by-46-million- 20111228-1pcp6.html Klosterman, M.L. and Sadler, T.D. (2010). Multi-level assessment of scientific contentknowledge gains associated with socioscientific issues-based instruction. International Journal of Science Education, 32(8), 1017—1043. Lambert, J.L., Lindgren, J. & Bleicher, R. (2012). Assessing elementary science methods students’ understanding about global climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 34(8), 1167-1187. Leviston, Z. & Walker, I.A. (2011). Baseline survey of Australian attitudes to climate change: Preliminary report. Social & Behavioural Sciences Research Group CSIRO: Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship. Lloyd, G. (2013, January, 15). Sea rise ‘not linked to warming’, says report. The Australian. Retrieved 26 February, 2013 from http:// www.theaustralian.com.au Mason, L. & Santi, M. (1998). Discussing the greenhouse effect: Children’s collaborative discourse reasoning and conceptual change. Environmental Education Research, 4(1), 67-85. Mcneill, K. & Vaughn, M. (2010). Urban high school students’ critical science agency: Conceptual understandings and environmental actions around climate change. Research in Science Education, 42, 373-344. Myers, N., Mittermeier, R.A., Mittermeier, C.G., da Fonseca, G.A.B. and Kent, J. (2000, February 24). Biodiversity hotspot for conservation priorities. Nature, 403. NASA. (n.d.). Global climate change: Vital signs of the planet. Retrieved 5 June, 2013 from http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence Oppenheim, A. (2001). Questionnaire design, interviewing and attitude measurement. UK: Continuum International Publishing Group. Papageorgiou, G., & Tsiropoulou, S. (2004). The impact of experiments on students’ knowledge and explanation of significant aspects of the greenhouse effect. Journal of Science Education, 5(1), 28–33. Punter, P., Ochando-Pardo, M. & Garcia, J. Spanish secondary school students’ notions on the causes and consequences of climate change. International Journal of Science Education, 33(3), 447-464. Raupach, M. & Fraser, P. (2011). Climate and Greenhouse Gases in Climate Change: Science and solutions for Australia. In H. Cleugh, M. Stafford Smith, M. Battaglia & P. Graham (Eds.) Climate change: Science and solutions for Australia (pp.15-34). Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing. Sea level rise linked to climate change. (2013, January 15). Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 February, 2013 from http://www.smh. com.au Sharma, A. (2012). Global climate change: What has science education got to do with it? Science and Education, 21(1), 33-53. Shephardson, D., Niyogi, D., Choi, S. & Charusombat, U. (2009). Seventh grade students’ conceptions of global warming and climate change. Environmental Education Research, 15(5), 549-570. SPICE. (2013). SPICE. Retrieved 5 June, 2013 from http://spice. wa.edu.au/ Sternang, L. & Lundholm, C. (2011). Climate change and morality: Students’ perspectives on the individual and society. International Journal of Science Education, 33(8), 1131-1148. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2012. World population prospects, the 2010 revision. Retrieved 6 June, 2013 from http://esa.un.org/wpp/ Wallin, A. & Andersson, B. (2000). Students’ understanding of the greenhouse effect, the societal consequences of reducing CO2 emissions and the problem of ozone layer depletion. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37(10), 1096-1111. Water Corporation. (n.d.). Desalination in Western Australia. Retrieved 27 February, 2013 from http://www.watercorporation. com.au/d/desalination.cfm About the Authors: Vaille Dawson is Dean of Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University. Her key research areas are argumentation, decision-making and socioscientific issues in secondary science education. Katherine Carson is a Research Associate at the Science and Mathematics Education Centre at Curtin University. She has a special interest in educating students about important environmental issues. The Australian Science Teachers Association is on Twitter! FOLLOW US AT @ASTA_ONLINE AND THE HASHTAG #OZSCIED

Is this the question you were looking for? If so, place your order here to get started!

Written report, statement and discussion questions.

Written report, statement and discussion questions.

Share this:

Like this: