Introductory energy topics include conservation thereof, power, intensity, temperature change related to heat absorption, and change of phase. Climate change offers good examples of these. Heat absorbed by Earth’s melting ice and heat absorbed vs. temperature change in the land, ocean, and atmosphere are calculated by the familiar methods. There has been much recent research yielding data that can be obtained and used by elementary physics students, who could perform similar though simplified calculations. When all the heat is added, it can be accounted for by the Earth’s energy Imbalance, which is the difference between incoming solar energy and energy radiated by the Earth. This difference drives global warming. This circumstance should help teach energy conservation, power, intensity, and climate change itself. This presentation will give simple examples and references with more detailed examples left for a poster session.

In our algebra-based first year high school physics course, we teach a two week climate change and feedback unit, that acts as a capstone unit for the year. In the first week, we review traits of systems, such as open vs closed, using examples from across the physics year. Through lab activities and homework, students learn to identify positive and negative feedback and to make flowchart diagrams. In the second week our attention turns to climate systems. We teach the  physics of climate change, including greenhouse effect, radiative forcing and Earth’s energy budget. Students learn to interpret data and  do Fermi-type calculations on earth’s energy and temperature. We explore climate feedback loops (e.g. algae growth and artic melting), discussing how negative and positive feedback act to mitigate or magnify the climate effect.

In high school physics classrooms, students often learn most effectively by engaging in the disciplinary practices of professional physicists. Computational modeling is an essential practice among physicists in today’s world, but incorporating it into physics classrooms brings many challenges. Students have unequal access to technology and different levels of experience with coding. Moreover, adding complexity to already intricate concepts could backfire. How can we use modeling to enhance, not impede, students’ understanding of physical phenomena? 

We report on a pilot study from a research-practitioner partnership in which we collaboratively designed and implemented a computational modeling unit on the physics of the greenhouse effect. Students used and modified computational models to explore factors influencing Earth’s temperature equilibrium. Pre-posttest gains and video analysis of classroom interactions reveal significant improvements in students’ understanding of the greenhouse effect and in their computational skills. We discuss the instructional elements that likely fueled these gains.