CCEP-I: MADE-CLEAR: Maryland Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment, and Research

University System Of Maryland, Adelphi

Investigators

Abstract

An award has been made to the University System of Maryland to establish a Phase I Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) in collaboration with University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES), University of Delaware (UDEL), and the University of Maryland (UMD). The overall goal of the CCEP Phase I project is to establish a coordinated national network of regionally- or thematically-based partnerships devoted to increasing the adoption of effective, high quality educational programs and resources related to the science of climate change and its impacts. The Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment and Research (MADE-CLEAR) project is a natural outgrowth of Maryland's and Delaware's shared regional climate change and education environments. Its primary goal is to build the partnerships among these two States' research and teaching universities, public schools, federal agencies, and public and private sectors required to implement three targeted objectives: 1) to develop innovations in interdisciplinary P-20 climate change curriculum, 2) to create new pathways for teacher education and professional development leading to expertise in climate change content and pedagogy, and 3) to promote better scientific communication for public understanding using innovative community outreach strategies that employ new technologies and informal education mechanisms. The audiences targeted by this project include climate scientists, science educators, and broader community stakeholder groups. By the end of this project, the PIs expect to complete an inventory of current education and scientific resources related to climate change by identifying and cataloguing the breadth and depth of science and practice in climate change in the region. In addition to the environmental scan and inventory, the PIs will assess opportunities to enhance instruction and community engagement through the interaction of climate change scientists, educators and learning sciences scholars. Finally, the PIs expect to develop a strategic plan and build significant local learning communities around climate change in Maryland and Delaware which will serve to promote sustainability of the project into the next phase. More information on this project is available by visiting www.usmd.edu or contacting PIs Don Boesch at dboesch@umces.edu or Nancy Shapiro at nshapiro@usmd.edu.