Teaching climate science and policy to engineering students

Abstract

A new course was developed to improve engineering students' understanding of the earth science associated with global climate change, human interactions with climate, mitigation technologies and policies, and adaption strategies. The three-credit course, entitled Global Climate Change: Science, Engineering, and Policy, is highly quantitative and taught through an inquiry-based pedagogical approach. Every student is required to address questions about climate change phenomenon and investigate the historical data, related model predictions for future scenarios, and potential for mitigation and adaption. Students use multiple sources for energy and climate data (DOE, NASA, NOAA, etc.), simulation results from global climate models, and results from their own simulations utilizing climate models (EdGCM). Extensive use of MS Excel and Matlab are required for processing and analysis of the large data sets. The impacts of the course on the students were assessed with a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. Substantial quantitative gains were made in the students' climate literacy, especially in knowledge areas. Students also showed gains in their self-reported feelings that they could solve a new problem or tackle a challenge, were good at interpreting charts and graphs and manipulating databases, and were interested in pursuing a career in science or engineering that would contribute to solving global climate problems. Qualitative assessment results indicated that students felt more confident in their ability to contribute to climate change mitigation through both their personal knowledge and professional career options. © 2011 American Society for Engineering Education.