General education skills in practice: An interdisciplinary pop-up learning community on climate change

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Department/School

Chemistry

Publication Title

Journal of College Science Teaching

Abstract

An interdisciplinary Pop-Up Learning Community (PLC) allowed students from various disciplines with different levels of content knowledge to discuss their perspectives on and beliefs about climate change. The impact of this event on students’ climate change beliefs was gauged by a survey from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. This survey, the Six Americas Super Short Survey, consists of four questions relating to climate change belief. During the event, students participated in various activities, including faculty modeling of discussions about climate change using and highlighting their disciplinary perspectives and analysis skills, communications exercises, interdisciplinary table discussions, and writing in response to a social media message. After the conclusion of the event, students submitted reflections on their experiences at the PLC, which supplemented data collected during the event. Students gained an understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of climate change discussions and applied general education skills and knowledge to spoken and written conversations about climate change.

Comments

A. F. Johnson is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Chemistry.

*M. Bautista is an EMU student.

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