An Interdisciplinary Practical Project for Preservice Science Teachers: Visualizing Climate Change Based on Systems Thinking

Abstract

Climate change (CC) marks a major global challenge for humanity, but CC education is often marginalized because of its complexities. The development of human beings and societies crucially requires the understanding of CC and its effects. We selected salt lakes, which are closely associated with CC, as teaching resources for a chemistry course. Preservice teachers accomplished interdisciplinary projects to construct diagrams of CC-related system models and design simulation experiments. This study intended to improve their systems thinking and enhance their ability to visualize complex CC-based scenarios. The proposed project is not aimed merely at college students majoring in chemistry or other scientific disciplines. It can also be suitable for high school students. The results of this study revealed that this practical project enriched the CC knowledge, promoted scientific literacy, and developed systems thinking in students. It also enhanced their confidence in explaining CC to others and bolstered their willingness to take actions.