Teaching a climate change course and looking for great resources? Doing climate outreach and want to be more engaging? Or simply aiming to broaden your knowledge and teaching of climate change? This short course explores ways of effectively teaching the key disciplinary and interdisciplinary concepts and skills related to the science and politics of our changing climate. Structured around the recent IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, the course spans the interlinkages between climate science, climate impacts and adaptation, mitigation options, and sustainable development.

Thinking of educators as learning facilitators rather than mere suppliers of facts and figures, we will present teaching activities that use the principles of active learning to fully engage learners and get them thinking critically. Along the way, we will demonstrate ways to overcome some of the key teaching challenges, including how to explain hard-to-grasp concepts (e.g., why do we care about such seemingly small temperature changes?), bridge diverse time- and space-scales (e.g., weather vs climate, intergenerational equity), and provide an upbeat, action-oriented outlook. The course will be interactive, involving hands-on activities and opportunities to practice your climate communication skills. We will close with a group discussion about how to scope a climate change course, including a list of the key integrative ideas and skills you want learners to come away with.