Climate Change Education Resources

Part 1- Self-assessment

Resource author/ publisher to complete:

1. Resource title
2. Type of resource (see definition*)
3. Resource location (url or similar) with any required access passwords
4.  Level/ age
5. Curriculum links
6. Give an overview of the climate content in this resource (is it a small/ medium/ major part of the resource).
7. Are references given within the resource/ teacher support materials for all climate change information used?
8. If not, what was the source for any climate change information included?
9. Are you able to update the resource based on this evaluation?
10.  What pedagogical approach is the resource based on?
11.  Have you referred to any existing research on effective climate pedagogy (please give reference if you have)?
12. Are the learning objectives, including knowledge and/ or skills, stated in the resource? If not, please list them.

Part 2 – Expert Assessment

Climate Content

1. Are the links to climate change explicit?
2. Are the references given/ sources used reputable, reliable and up to date?**
3. Has the author accurately conveyed information from the sources:
   – Are there any significant errors in the content (using latest IPCC report and similar for authoritative guidance)?
   – Are there any minor errors in the content (using latest IPCC report and similar for authoritative guidance)?
4.  Is there anything significant missing e.g. a caveat, uncertainty statement, other important/ relevant piece of information etc.?
5. Are all the terms defined and all the graphs/maps well explained?
6. Could the resource be used out of context, to mislead or to promote misconceptions?
7. Does the resource meet the required political guidance to schools***

Part 3 – Expert Assessment

Pedagogy and Curriculum Relevance

a) Climate change specific
i. Are the references given for climate pedagogy reputable and up to date?
ii. Does the resource promote student resilience through development of appropriate knowledge/ skills?
b) General

i. Is the chosen pedagogical approach appropriate and appropriately used?
ii. Clear, appropriate and beneficial/ rich learning objectives and achievable learning outcomes
iii. Appropriate pitch and progression of knowledge and skills with links to prior (and future) learning.
iv. Curriculum alignment – clearly stated and appropriate, both in terms of knowledge and skills and broader subject specific way of thinking (e.g. science capitol, thinking like a geographer etc.)
v. Material presented in an accessible and engaging way.
vi. Promotes effective learning.
vii. Supports adaptive teaching.
viii. Inclusive – is the material relevant to the lives and/ or future careers of all students?
ix. Teacher support/ guidance available – enabling the resource to be used effectively in the classroom and promoting teachers’ own content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and professional development.

* The definition used by CooperGibson research (2018), in their independent work for the Department for Education, was as follows:

• Online/printed resources: such as worksheets, lesson plan templates, videos that can be accessed via websites (either requiring membership/subscription or freely available to download).
• Digital resources: mobile applications, software packages and tools that are interactive and can be used for setting and completing tasks (e.g. on a computer/mobile device).
• Physical resources: predominantly textbooks and literary texts/library books, and revision guides.

** appropriate sources include recent IPCC reports, Carbon Brief, Global Carbon Atlas, Climate Action Tracker, NOAA, Met Office, Royal Meteorological Society/ MetLink, UKCP, WMO

*** Teaching about climate change, and the scientific facts and evidence behind this, does not constitute teaching about a political issue and schools do not need to present misinformation or unsubstantiated claims to provide balance. However, in climate education there is relevant political and scientific debate about the best ways that climate change can be addressed – there are different views and opinions, and different solutions. Debates on political and policy change need to be grounded in wider citizenship education on democracy and democratic values and topics should be handled in line with schools’ legal duties on political impartiality (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/political-impartiality-in-schools )

The Quality Control framework was developed as part of the National Climate Education Action Plan and in partnership with other organisations. 

A list of resources which have been successfully assessed against these criteria can be found here.