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Research Problem: Climate change is one of the most important environmental, social, and economic issues of our time. The documented impacts of climate change are extensive. Climate change education can help students link this global issue to students’ everyday lives, foster a climate-literate public, and serve as motivation for action. Yet prior to instructional interventions, the first step in promoting conceptual change is to describe expert and novice conceptions or mental models of the topic (Treagust and Duit 2009). Published studies about students’ climate change knowledge primarily stem from the earth and atmospheric sciences, and focus on students’ knowledge of the mechanisms causing global warming and of the abiotic systems important to climate change. Limited research has documented undergraduate students’ knowledge about the biotic impacts of climate change. Our goal was to describe student/novice and instructor/expert conceptual knowledge of the biotic impacts of climate change. Research Design: We conducted interviews with 30 undergraduates and 10 instructors who are students or teaching in Introductory Biology or Ecology classes. Our semi-structured interview protocol probed participants’ conceptions of the mechanisms, outcomes and levels of impact that climate change has on the biological world. Participants were taken from varying institutions across the US (Baccalaureate, Master’s, and Doctoral). Analyses: Following transcription of all interviews, we used thematic coding analysis to describe novice and expert conceptions of the biotic impacts to climate change. We also compared across interview populations to describe how novice and expert conceptions compare. Contribution: Our findings contribute understanding of biology student and expert knowledge of the biotic impacts of climate change and contribute more broadly to the field of climate science where research on understanding of the biotic impacts of climate change is minimal. Our work will represent a novel perspective because most climate education research at the university-level has focused on earth and atmospheric science students. Further, this work is the first step in a larger project that aims to develop valid and reliable concept inventory related to biotic impacts of climate change – an instrument sorely needed to properly address improvements to climate change education.
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The Needs, Challenges, and Priorities for Advancing Global Flood Research
ABSTRACT In recent years, numerous flood events have caused loss of life, widespread disruption, and damage across the globe. These devastating impacts highlight the importance of a better understanding of flood generating processes, their impacts, and their variability under climate and landscape changes. Here, we argue that the ability to better model flooding is underpinned by the grand challenge of understanding flood generation mechanisms and potential impacts. To address this challenge, the World Meteorological Organization‐Global Energy and Water Exchanges (GEWEX) Hydrometeorology Panel (GHP) aims to establish a Global Flood Crosscutting project to propagate flood modeling and research knowledge across regions and to synthesize results at the global scale. This paper outlines a framework for understanding the dynamics and impacts of runoff generation processes and a rationale for the role of a Global Flood Crosscutting project to address these challenges. Within this Global Flood Crosscutting project, we will establish a common terminology and methods to enable the global research community to exchange knowledge and experiences, and to design experiments toward developing actionable recommendations for more effective flood management practices and policies for improved resilience. This harmonization of rich perspectives across disciplines will foster the co‐production of knowledge primed to advance flood research, particularly in the current period of heightened climate variability and rapid change. It will create a new transdisciplinary paradigm for flood science, wherein different dimensions of mechanistic understanding and processes are rigorously considered alongside socioeconomic impacts, early warning communications, and longer‐term adaptation to alleviate flood risks in society.
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- PAR ID:
- 10608978
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- WIREs Water
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2049-1948
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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