College Students' Plausibility Perceptions about Global Climate Change: Implementation of Model Evidence Link Diagram

Abstract

Human-induced climate change intensifies extreme weather events due to its profound impact on the Earth's atmospheric balance. Despite its global relevance, research on climate education predominantly focuses on K-12 levels or college science majors, leaving a significant gap in understanding how non-science majors engage with this critical issue. Addressing this gap, this study examines the impact of a scaffolding activity, the Extreme Weather Model-Evidence Link (EW-MEL) diagram activity, on non-science major college students’ perceptions of global climate change and its connection to extreme weather events. The research was conducted with 62 college students from a research university in the United States. The study employed a pre-post quasi-experimental design to examine whether students’ plausibility perceptions about climate change alter after participating in the EW-MEL activity. The findings indicated a statistically significant change in students’ plausibility perceptions after the MEL activity. Moreover, in the EW MEL activity, while more students found the scientific explanation plausible, many also found the alternative explanation plausible. This indicates that despite students’ acknowledgement of the human impact on global climate change, misunderstandings may still exist. The study highlights the need for explicitly teaching critical evaluation in higher education to enhance students’ understanding of evidence-based decision making.