Sustainable Development – Learning Log: Climate Change

 

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to a low carbon economy will help create a more successful country, with opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth” (Climate Change Scotland Act, 2009). Climate change effects every country in the world. However, Scotland has been working to fix their own issues regarding the prevention of climate change which will then enable them to help other places whose problems are larger.

Even though climate change is a topic that is always talked about globally in the news, personally, I had not realised the issue itself is so complex and detailed. The effects climate change has on many different aspects of the world is astounding:

• In agriculture, a large sum of farming land that lies at the side of deserts is unworkable due to desertification. On the other hand, in low-lying areas that are vulnerable to extreme weather, like flooding, their annual production will suffer heavily which will affect growing season in some areas.
• Regarding sea level changes, coastal and low-lying land near rivers are at risk and threatens the lives of 80 million people across the world.
• In addition, global sea level increases 1-2 mm each year; in 100 years, a rise in sea level between 9-88 cm in expected.

Politics have a large part to play in the governments aid to slow down the process of global warming;

• Some positive actions would be the preservation and protection of natural resources, areas, habitats and species. Also, to rehabilitate endangered plants and animals. To educate the public of the actions they can take to help do their part within the community.
• These actions have been effective. Different nations have been cooperative within and between each other. They have been working together to find regional solutions and have done this by drawing on evidence from science and economics. (Klein, 2015)

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/06/dont-look-away-now-the-climate-crisis-needs-you

It was interesting to learn about the different ways climate change has affected and is affecting the world constantly. The actions the government are taking are also intriguing as different parts of the world are experiencing various types of climate change. This means countries who could be facing drought are offering a helping to those countries that are experiencing torrential rain and floods. As this problem is inevitable and everyone will be affected at some stage, it is good to hear of nations working cooperatively to help one another.

 

While studying the theme of climate change, some important, relevant skills were developed. Some generic skills would be; critical thinking, inquiring, collaborative team work, research-minded and creativity. Some relevant skills which are specifically related to primary teaching would be: professionalism, motivation, intellectual independence and critical engagement with evidence. These are regarding the GTCS Professional Standards (http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/the-standard-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf). Considering the four levels of the Brookfield diagram, these skills are important, not just generically but also as future teachers, as this topic is can be very diverse and intricate. It is important to be able to think of the information critically and ask questions to find out more about the theme. It is essential to be able to work collaboratively and include everyone as different people will have different perspectives on things and listening to other ideas and thoughts can benefit your own learning. Within the module, these skills can be achieved as whenever we are on campus we can work in groups which allows us to be creative with each other and work collaboratively. I found this helped a lot, as I could listen to everyone else’s inputs which allowed me to boost my own thinking for the task at hand. These skills are very relevant as it forms a person’s characteristics and personality. It shows someone can be versatile and can adapt well to different situations. In the future, professionalism and motivation will be a huge aid to be a successful teacher. Therefore, these skills have huge relevance to how successful I will allow myself to be in the future.

 

http://teachclimatechange.org/teaching-climate-change-to-children/ 

This link provides an in depth look on how to teach children about climate change. There are 2 animated videos provided which are child friendly and easy to follow for the children. It will help the students gain a good basic knowledge of the topic, what is involved and what and who are affected.

If I think back to when I was at primary, we were not provided resources like this meaning my understanding of the topic was not as basic and primary as the learning of the children would be if they used these videos. Easy and helpful resources like these videos are always useful for children.

 

From an autobiographical perspective, the information on climate change, although some of it has been basic and well-known, has broadened my understanding of the topic and widened my knowledge on certain facts and figures which is useful for me to then project to a class of students in the future.

From a child’s perspective, learning about such a hard and intricate topic could be challenging at first but as their learning progresses, it can become interesting. By relating it to something children are interested in, for example, animals, they can be more intrigued in the topic if they are aware of all the creatures are can be affected by climate change.

In terms of peers and colleagues, they may have a better knowledge of the task and topic so can help you with resources and the actual teaching of the theme. This could be very helpful and aid you in being more successful in the delivery of the topic. It also helps put together a collaborative opinion and view of the theme so will be useful when teaching in the future.

Theory and policies say, “we have passed an historic, ground-breaking bill that sets an international example that we hope others will follow.” (Climate Change Scotland Act, 2009) I believe Scotland want to be a role model to other countries and be able to help in the global mission to prevention of global warming and the slowing down of climate change. This has proved to be effective thus far and I think Scotland and the UK can provide help for other countries in need.

 

References

Fields, G. (2018) Teaching Climate Change To Children – Teach Climate Change. Available: http://teachclimatechange.org/teaching-climate-change-to-children/ [Accessed: 7 October 2018].

Klein, N. (2015) Don’t Look Away Now, The Climate Crisis Needs You | Naomi Klein. Available: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/06/dont-look-away-now-the-climate-crisis-needs-you [Accessed: 7 October 2018].

Scottish Government (2009) Climate Change (Scotland) Act Available: http://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Environment/climatechange/scotlands-action/climatechangeact [Accessed: 23 November 2018].

Standard For Initial Teacher Education. (2006) Available: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/the-standard-for-initial-teacher-education.pdf [Accessed: 12 November 2018]

Sustainable Development (2018) Climate Change [Module Resource] [Accessed: 7 October 2018]

Sustainable Development (2018 Politics and Global Warming [Module Resource] [Accessed 7 October 2018]