Examining the Alignment of Student Explanations With the System Model in Climate Education Using Systems Thinking

Abstract

The climate crisis poses a major threat to sustainability, highlighting the need for climate education that develops students' systems thinking skills regarding dynamic environmental issues. For this reason, this project, funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was developed by a research university, a non-governmental organization, and a middle school partnership. As part of the project, this study investigated a ten-week after-school climate education program for 8th-grade students that aimed to improve their understanding of the climate system through simulation and policymaking. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed to assess the program's model alignment with students' explanations. The most frequently mentioned category was the economy, followed by the carbon cycle; population and the greenhouse effect were the least common. The study offers valuable insights into using a systems approach in climate education to comprehend climate complexity and dynamics by considering the importance of economy and population in understanding human-caused climate change.