EDCI 487 · Climate Change Education

Pre-class module

Complex systems unit

From Complexity to Action

Mitigation, adaptation, and informed hope.

Most climate lessons tell a simple story: one cause, a few fixes, a happy ending. In this module you'll take one of those lessons apart, line by line, and rebuild it into something truer and more useful for your students.

Minutes, module only
~31
Required readings
2
Required film
1

Unit framing question

“How does viewing climate change as a complex adaptive system reshape how we understand, teach, and respond to it?”

Earlier in this unit, you mapped climate change as a complex system with planetary limits. This module asks the next question: if there's no single cause and no single fix, what does meaningful, justice-oriented action look like, and how do we teach it without overwhelming students or selling them an easy ending?

Module overview

One lesson, four lines, four fixes

This module is built around one Grade 6 climate lesson slide (a made-up example, but typical of what you'll find in many classrooms). It has four lines. Each section takes one line, shows what it leaves out, and has you rewrite it. By the end, you'll have rewritten the whole slide.

The readings and film are linked right where you need them, so start with the module. Nothing is graded or submitted.

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

  1. LO1 · Line 1

    Explain

    Explain why simple cause-and-effect stories fall short, using a climate feedback loop.

  2. LO2 · Line 2

    Distinguish

    Distinguish mitigation from adaptation, and identify where they overlap or work against each other.

  3. LO3 · Line 3

    Recognize

    Recognize Indigenous Peoples as leaders and decision-makers in climate adaptation, not passive victims.

  4. LO4 · Line 4

    Tell apart

    Tell informed hope apart from uncritical optimism and despair in the messages we give students.

Climate Change

Grade 6 lesson slide

  1. What causes it?Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide, which traps heat and warms the planet.
  2. What can we do?Recycle, turn off the lights, and plant trees.
  3. Who is affected most?Indigenous communities and poor countries are the most vulnerable.
  4. The big messageIf everyone does their part, we can save the planet!

The lesson you'll fix

Does this slide look familiar?

You may have learned from a slide like this, or you may teach one someday. Nothing on it is false. But every line leaves something important out.

Quick gut check: which line feels most incomplete to you?

No right answer. We'll come back to your pick at the end of the module.

Your slide
  1. Line 1,
  2. Line 2,
  3. Line 3,
  4. Line 4,

How each section works

The same four steps, every time

4 sections · about 5–12 minutes each

  1. Step 1

    The line

    See the line you're fixing, and what it leaves out.

  2. Step 2

    Learn

    One big idea, explained with an example, visual, reading, or film.

  3. Step 3

    Check

    One quick activity, sometimes before you learn. Feedback on every answer.

  4. Step 4

    Fix it

    Rewrite the line in your own words, then compare with one possible version.

Make it work for you. Move between sections any time from the menu (top left). Under Display options you can turn on larger text or calm mode. Every diagram has a text version, the film has automatic captions, and you can write, sketch, or record your rewrites.

Your pre-class work for this module

  • Work through this module: four short sections, one line of the slide eachAbout 31 minutes
  • Read the RSPB article on peatlands, linked in Section 1About 10 minutes
  • Read Whitney et al. (2017) on adaptive capacity, linked in Section 2 with a reading guideFocus on the abstract, Table 3, and conclusions
  • Watch Hikila (Climate Atlas of Canada), embedded in Section 3About 30 minutes, with automatic captions

Ready to begin?

About 31 minutes for the module, plus the readings and film along the way. You can stop after any section; your progress is saved on this device.

Start module Next: From Line to Loop · 5 min