Inspired by Germany: Understanding Global Climate Change to Take Local Action
Explore global climate change data and human impacts using the Bremerhaven Klimahaus as a model to engage students in asking questions and taking local action.
Take-aways:
- Climate change impacts vary by location and disproportionately affect disadvantaged populations.
- Individual actions have impacts on multiple scales from local to global.
- Empathetic, scientifically literate youth working in partnership with community members can be agents of change.
Loris Jean Chen has authored publications and contributed to curriculum development at the state and national level. She has presented at National Science Teaching Association and Association for Middle Level Education national conferences, and has twice been a GIFT teacher at the European Geoscience Union Annual Meeting in Vienna, Austria. Loris is a Level 2 Google Certified Educator, National Geographic Certified Educator, and National Geographic Certified Geo-Inquiry Trainer. She is an alumna of the Japan Fulbright Memorial Fund, Japan Fulbright Education for Sustainable Development Teacher Exchange, Toyota International Teacher Program to Costa Rica, and the Transatlantic Outreach Program STEM Study Tour to Germany. Loris is a recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, the CIBA Foundation Exemplary Middle Level Science Teaching Award, and the NMLSTA Paul Dehart Hurd Award. She retired June 2020 after 28 years teaching middle school science and is currently a science education consultant.