About ClimaX
A Brief History
“2021 must be the year for climate action – “the make it or break it year,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the launch of WHO’s report on the State of the Global Climate 2020 which highlighted accelerating climate change indicators and worsening impacts.
“This is a frightening report. It needs to be read by all leaders and decision-makers in the world,” Mr Guterres told journalists. “This report shows that 2020 was also another unprecedented year of extreme weather and climate disasters. The cause is clear. Anthropogenic climate change -- climate disruption caused by human activities, human decisions and human folly,” he said. “It is therefore important to invest in adaptation. One of the most powerful ways to adapt is to invest in early warning services and weather observing networks and hydrological services,” he said. Traditionally, STEM subjects have been regarded by some students as slightly more abstracted from day-to-day life when compared to humanities-based subjects. However, with the growing coverage surrounding climate change, younger generations are rapidly becoming aware of the relevance STEM subjects hold in everyday life. The climate crisis has brought science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects to the fore amongst younger generations – with millions of young people marching globally, asking the world to listen to Greta Thunberg and “unite behind the science”. As a result, we are seeing young people becoming increasingly aware of climate-related issues.
About the Project
The Climax Project Partnership brings together partners from across education, research and the wider STEM sector to support the delivery of climate change-related school curricula and activities in formal and informal education settings. The project introduces exemplary explicit teaching strategies as enacted by a school STEAM teacher. Through a -lesson by lesson climate change STEAM program, data will be collected to explore explicit teaching strategies. Data from teacher interviews and class observations will also be used to identify and describe how this STEM teacher will offer students opportunities to solve real problems in their community. Examples demonstrating three stages of STEAM education: understanding context presentation, performing creative design, and experiencing emotional touch are provided. STEAM programs will be presented with realistic issues arising from the community students belong to and that explicit teaching strategy that will give students the opportunity to achieve core competencies and scientific literacy. The project will provide piloting and implications about the need for systemic teacher training and professional development for STEAM education. The project is designed for teachers and school students aged 8-16 years old.
Mission & Vision
It is the project partners mission to support educators in developing their subject knowledge and understanding, so that lessons are based on scientific evidence, and increase students’ understanding of the science and implications of climate change. The project aims to provide climate change stem courses and related opportunities for schools to engage with STEM working within climate change settings, and STEM enrichment opportunities, such as competitions and challenges.