University of Maine Climate Change Workshop
Climate Change Teaching Tools • Virtual Event
Professional Development: July 12–13
Graduate Course*: July 5–22
Maine educators are interested in learning more about climate change and, in particular, how they can bring this important subject area into their classrooms in meaningful ways for students.
The University of Maine’s Climate Change Institute is proud to host its first annual summer workshop for educators. The event will feature renowned experts in climate change from our institute, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, the Maine Department of Education, and panelists from the Maine Changemakers Network.
Participants will engage in interactive workshops that address specific topic areas, and how to implement content in your classroom. This year’s two-day virtual event will occur on July 12 and 13, 2022. Candidates can participate in a graduate course for credits or professional development for CEUs.
For more information, contact Raphael Okutoro at um.summerprograms@maine.edu or 207.581.4750.
*Graduate participants must attend the two-day online workshop on July 12 and 13.
Keynote Speakers
Faculty
Workshop 1: Exploring Climate-Driven Change in Our Local Ecosystems: Supporting Data-Rich and Locally Relevant Learning
Workshop Description: GMRI’s education team designs learning experiences focused on engaging middle school students from Maine and New Hampshire in data-rich explorations of climate-driven change in our local ecosystems. Our LabVenture program which brings Maine’s 5th and 6th graders to our lab in Portland explores the impacts of climate change on the ranges of lobster and black sea bass in the Gulf of Maine. In this two-hour session, we will dig into this story and expand that story to consider other species whose ranges may be shifting because of climate change. We will dig into rich sources of data that help us understand what is happening. However, in many cases, we do not have all the data we need. We will present opportunities to engage in community science efforts that contribute critical data to help build our understanding of how climate change is changing the ranges of the species that live in the ecosystems around us.
Workshop 2: Everything you ever wanted to know about Electric Vehicles
Workshop 3: Bringing Climate Change into the K-12 Classroom: PreK-12 Climate Education Learning Progression with MOOSE
Workshop Description: Reductions in anthropogenic greenhouse emissions are necessary to minimize the deleterious impacts of anthropogenic climate change. Because transportation accounts for a large fraction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, a promising mitigation approach to minimize emissions is a transition from internal combustion engines (ICE) to battery electric vehicles (EVs). But as with any new technology, there is a vast knowledge gap in public awareness regarding EVs. To address this gap, this workshop, with material aligned to the Maine Science and Engineering Standards for Middle and High School will discuss the basics of EV use and compare the impacts and costs of ICE and EV transportation, explore trends in EV adoption, and show educators how to use real-world data to assess questions regarding EV operation and environmental impact.
Workshop Description: The Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education (MOOSE) platform has leveraged the expertise of Maine educators to create a free resource for online, asynchronous learning. The platform already contains over 300 project-based, interdisciplinary, student-driven modules spanning all grades from PreK-12 and now houses topic-specific Learning Progressions, including Climate Education. This session will walk participants through the MOOSE platform and what it has to offer, highlighting the Climate Education Learning Progression and other climate-related modules. We will also provide support time to explore the modules on your own and help you plan how you can bring them back to your school or classroom.
Workshop 4: Incorporating Nutritional Risk into Planetary Health Frameworks
Workshop Description: This workshop engages with climate change educators in order to consider the concept of nutritional risk, and the potential value it can bring to classroom discussions on planetary health. This working group will develop strategies to teach students to look for the complex relationships between food, changing environments, and health. Through learning to incorporate complex nutritional risks into planetary health frameworks, climate change educators can increase their tools for communicating climate knowledge.
Event Registration
Graduate Credit
- Course Description: INT 500: University of Maine Climate Workshop – Climate Change Teaching Tools: Designed for educators, course objectives include enhancing knowledge and skills on different aspects of climate change. Course themes may include skill-building in teaching and communicating climate science content to diverse learners, integrating climate data into educational modules, and local impacts of climate change. This course largely involves a period of online, asynchronous study and assignments. Attendance at a two-day synchronous, online workshop is required on July 12-13.
- Course Credit: 3 Credits
- Costs: $550 per credit ($1,650) (Please direct Purchase Orders to um.summerprograms@maine.edu if paying by PO or mail to: University of Maine, Division of Lifelong Learning, Attn. Barbara Cochran, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Orono, ME 04469).
- How to Enroll:
- Step 1: First complete the Google Registration Form
- Step 2: Enroll in the INT 500 as a degree student or complete the application for non-degree. The course runs from July 5 to July 22 online.
- DEGREE STUDENTS can enroll in the INT 500 course at umaine.edu/portal
- NON-DEGREE STUDENTS must complete a non-degree application in order to enroll in the course. The non-degree application fee will be waived by entering this code: UMSUMNDAP22. To apply so that you may enroll in the course, click here.
- Registration Deadline: June 30, 2022
Professional Development
- Contact Hours and/or CEUs: 12 Contact Hours or 1.2 CEUs
- Costs: $199 (Credit Card is recommended, but if paying by Purchase Order please direct PO to um.summerprograms@maine.edu or mail to: University of Maine, Division of Lifelong Learning, Attn. Barbara Cochran, 5713 Chadbourne Hall, Orono, ME 04469).
- How to Register: Click on the registration button below to complete the Google Registration Form if you’re only signing up for the two-day program.
- Registration Deadline: July 8, 2022