Vaille Dawson
Western Australian High School Students’ Understandings about the Socioscientific Issue of Climate Change
University of Western Australia
climate change one significant science issues facing humanity yet teaching students climate change challenging multidisciplinary contentious debated political social media forumsstudents need equipped understanding climate change science able participate discoursethe purpose study examine western australian high school students understanding climate change greenhouse effect order identify alternative conceptions climate change science provide baseline effective teachinga questionnaire designed elicit students understanding alternative conceptions completed 438 year 10 students 1415 yearsolda 20 students interviewedresults showed students know different features climate change greenhouse effect however necessarily relationships betweenfive categories alternative conceptions identifiedthe categories 1 greenhouse effect ozone layer 2 types greenhouse gases 3 types radiation4 weather climate 5 air pollutionthese findings provide science educators basis upon develop strategies curriculum resources improve students understanding decisionmaking skills socioscientific issue climate change