Teaching Guides
Teaching the basics of climate change (introductory lecture(s))
There is less and less need to try to convince students that climate change is real - the changes are visible and the statistics are there. Here is an article on how South Africans viewed the issues in 2022, compared to other countries: Climate change knowledge in South Africa on the rise - HSRC
This article from New York Times has some good argumentation for convincing "climate deniers" they are on the wrong track (if you encounter a pay wall, here is an alternative link to the article).
On this site there is a page devoted to the basics on climate change. The page includes three quite comprehensive web based presentations with detailed statistics and other facts regarding global climate change and related issues. These presentations can be used as a base for lectures, or for students to study by themselves or for group work or projects.
As there is new data coming out each year, it's also a good idea to have a look at the most recent data. This is provided by for example IPCC , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The climate system is - as the name tells us - a system, and it can be useful to have a systems approach to the discussions on climate change. On this site there is a partial concept map that shows a number of the most relevant components in the climatic system and how it affects the world in various ways. Students can also be asked to make their own system maps, based on their understanding of the processes.
This page on the site takes us from understanding the mechanisms of climate change to understanding the impacts of it. It also contains links to some important international agreements put in place to alleviate the impacts.
The final page with global resources related to climate change emphasizes the adaption and mitigation aspects, with a number of examples, international as well as African and South African. Here teachers and students can dig into inspiring cases and possibilities to do something to meet and alleviate the impacts of CC.
Methods for teaching climate change
Few syllabuses include climate change as a separate subject. If it is taught at all, it is included in the teaching of other subjects, which might not be a bad idea, as climate change affects many aspects of a professional's life and decisions, and has to be considered all the time. It is also closely related to, or an aspect of sustainability issues, and can therefore appropriately be pedagogically combined with these.
Apart from the basics of CC, climate issues are most successfully taught and learned using case or problem based methods for learning. Information is easy for the students to find using this site or internet in general.
In a forestry setting almost all decision are in some way connected to climate change, and adaptation measures have to be included in the risk analysis for each measure planned or taken. That's why there is a sub-site on this site devoted to the more practical issues of climate change, in the form of a "Good Practices" section containing check lists for issues to consider in practical forestry. The advice is based on science and tested methods to which there are links provided.
On the same sub-site there are pages containing links to South African legislation and climate statistics, in addition to the more general information in the introductory section of the site. There is also a number of links to scientific and other articles addressing climate issues and solutions related to forestry and the wood processing industry.
Finally, there is a list of interesting cases, both from a pedagogical and climate point of view. Some of them are related to student challenges conducted as a part of the EU-funded Forest 21-project.