CCEP-II: MADE-CLEAR - Maryland-Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment, and Research

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The Maryland-Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment, and Research partnership (MADE CLEAR) is building a sustainable infrastructure for effective and relevant climate change education within a two-state region. While MADE CLEAR focuses on formal education in grades 8-12, the partnership also reaches a broad spectrum of learners by educating teachers at universities and students of all ages through additional venues such as museums, aquaria, and nature centers. Through ongoing evaluation, the partnership is continuously improving how climate change education is delivered to students in Maryland and Delaware, and the lessons learned from this partnership are helping to craft education models that can be applied in other locations across the country. MADE CLEAR is led by faculty members at core institutions in Delaware and the University System of Maryland, including the University of Delaware, Delaware State University, the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and Towson University; as well as the Maryland and Delaware Departments of Education and Maryland Public Television. MADE CLEAR is an outgrowth of the states' similar natural environments and climates, and their active approaches to education reform and climate change responsiveness. MADE CLEAR approaches specific goals and objectives through the structured engagement of educational researchers and practitioners, regional scientists and scientific institutions, and state and federal government agencies. The projects' four primary goals are: (1) infuse climate change concepts in all aspects of education by engaging the scientific community in collaboration with educators; (2) build sustainable infrastructure for climate change education through teacher education and professional development; (3) draw broader lessons about research and assessment to create climate education models that can be applied in other regions based on the local socio-cultural diversity; and (4) advance effective practice of climate change education in the Maryland-Delaware region and beyond. MADE CLEAR is supporting the development and distribution of teaching strategies, resources, and materials that integrate climate change science with classroom and out-of-school teaching and learning opportunities. The partnership is also promoting research on climate-related teaching and learning formats, ultimately helping to craft evidence-based educational approaches and instructional practices that deepen teacher knowledge and student understanding of climate science. MADE CLEAR is connecting Maryland and Delaware citizens with the world in which they live by fostering greater awareness of climate change in the local environment. The partnership empowers residents to consider the impacts of their individual and collective choices that can limit the magnitude of climate change and adapt to its consequences. Through the four overarching goals outlined above, MADE CLEAR is building an enduring capacity for climate-relevant education in Maryland and Delaware, and serves as a national model for comprehensive climate change education that is adaptable and responsive to the socio-cultural diversity of different teaching settings. The partnership is developing new models of professional development that account for climate learning progressions, contributing to a greater understanding of how evidence-based practices improve the efficacy of climate change teaching and learning practices. This project is one of six Phase II projects being funded through the Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program. The CCEP program was developed as part of the NSF Climate Change Education program, established through Congressional appropriations in FY 2009. The CCEP program is a one-time, dedicated NSF effort to establish a coordinated national network of regionally- or thematically-based partnerships devoted to increasing the adoption of effective, high quality educational programs and resources related to the science of climate change and its impacts. The CCEP portfolio encompasses a major interdisciplinary research and development effort designed to promote deeper understanding of, and engagement with, climate system science and the impacts of climate change on natural and human systems. The vision of this program is a scientifically literate society that can effectively weigh the evidence regarding global climate change as it confronts the challenges ahead, while preparing the innovative scientific and technical workforce to advance our knowledge of human-climate interactions and develop approaches for a sustainable, prosperous future. Each CCEP is required to incorporate innovative collaborations among expertise of climate scientists, learning scientists, and education practitioners in either formal or informal learning environments to research, design, and test new models and strategies for effective teaching and learning about climate science. With its focus on interdisciplinary approaches and transformative scales of impact, the CCEP program occupies a unique and complementary niche in the portfolio of Federal investments related to climate science education and workforce development.