{"id":3510,"date":"2020-12-28T14:11:09","date_gmt":"2020-12-28T19:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3510"},"modified":"2020-12-28T14:11:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-28T19:11:13","slug":"what-do-florida-public-school-students-learn-about-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=3510","title":{"rendered":"What do Florida public school students learn about climate change?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What do Florida public school students learn about climate change in their science classes? According to a report from the National Center for Science Education and the Texas Freedom Network Education Fund<\/a> our students may not be learning very much. The report is an analysis of how each state\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s public school science education standards address climate change. Each state was awarded a grade depending on how the science education standards incorporate various aspects of teaching about climate change. Florida earned a dismal D. Unfortunately, I believe that D was too kind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The report explains that standards \u00e2\u20ac\u0153identify the basic information and skills students are expected to master in their courses of study. These standards guide the content of statewide testing and assessment, textbooks and other instructional materials, and classroom instruction.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d You can find Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s education standards at the website https:\/\/www.cpalms.org\/Public\/<\/a>. The science standards were approved by the state board of education in 2008 and have not undergone any significant revision or updates since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What are the Florida science standards that directly address climate change or global warming? There are only five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SC.912.E.7.7: Identify, analyze, and relate the internal (Earth system) and external (astronomical) conditions that contribute to global climate change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is a standard typically included in earth\/space and environmental science courses. The focus of this standard is on the variety of things that can cause global changes in climate. Notice that the standard seems to suggest only natural, not man-made, causes be covered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SC.912.E.7.9: Cite evidence that the ocean has had a significant influence on climate change by absorbing, storing, and moving heat, carbon, and water. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This standard is typically included in marine science and environmental science courses. The focus of this standard is how oceans influence changes in climate. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say anything about human influences. The CPALMS website includes lesson resources that can be used to teach each standard. The resources for this standard include lessons on El Nino\/La Nina, ocean currents, comparison of ice melting in freshwater and saltwater, etc. There are some lesson resources that explicitly state or at least point to human influences, but not many. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SC.912.L.17.4: Describe changes in ecosystems resulting from seasonal variations, climate change and succession. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This standard is typically included in biology, marine science, and environmental science courses. The focus of this standard is how ecosystems change. Climate change is just one item on a list of ecosystem change causes and human influences are not mentioned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SC.912.L.17.8: Recognize the consequences of the losses of biodiversity due to catastrophic events, climate changes, human activity, and the introduction of invasive, non-native species. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This standard is typically included in biology, marine science, and environmental science courses. The focus of this standard is biodiversity loss, not climate change. Climate change is just one item on a list of biodiversity loss causes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

SC.912.L.17.16: Discuss the large-scale environmental impacts resulting from human activity, including waste spills, oil spills, runoff, greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and surface and groundwater pollution. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This standard is typically included in marine science and environmental science courses. The focus of this standard is broad: what human activities are doing to the environment. Greenhouse gases are just one item on a list of human activities here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are other standards that don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t directly mention climate change or global warming but can be incorporated into lessons on the topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n