Climate Education Pathways Project

The Climate Education Pathways project (2021–2026) developed and studied a high school climate change unit that blends core, globally-relevant climate science with locally meaningful phenomena and solutions. Twenty five teachers across the US engaged in intensive professional learning to customize a shared “base” unit to issues in their own communities, such as algal blooms, wildfire, salmon habitat, and local agriculture.

Across 2,062 students in 143 classrooms, the localized curriculum led to significantly higher climate science knowledge and stronger “foundation for change,” meaning students were better able to apply what they learned beyond the classroom and see themselves as capable of engaging in climate solutions. Teachers also showed substantial gains in climate content knowledge and confidence with NGSS-aligned, phenomenon-driven instruction, especially in making climate change locally relevant.

The report highlights this approach as a promising model for rigorous, action-oriented climate education that connects global science to local contexts while building students’ Environmental Science Agency, which encompasses understanding, a sense of expertise, and capacity for action. It concludes with recommendations and resources to support scaling this model across districts and diverse school communities.

This project is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, grant #2100808. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these materials are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF.