Hello all,  I am Pat Harcourt, Project Manager for MADE CLEAR, Maryland and Delaware Climate Change Education, Assessment, and Research. We welcome you to the 2018 Climate Change Academy offered in partnership with NOAA and Delaware Sea Grant.

In my career I have carried out field research on baleen whales and taught in the classroom and at a National Estuarine Research Reserve.  I have a special interest in marine science education as well as climate change education.

I started teaching about climate change in 2000, and I find the topic exciting and challenging. Public understanding about climate change has progressed greatly since the 1990s, but misinformation is still widespread and there is a tremendous need to increase public climate literacy. 

The issue of climate change is urgent and complex, and can be daunting, but it can also provide a real-life context for learners to master concepts, gain experience in science and engineering practices, and make connections across disciplines. Climate change provides a great issue for students to investigate, and provides limitless opportunities for integrating field studies and data analysis into classes and programs.

The ticking clock of climate change challenges students to take appropriate actions, which often include engineering design projects or service learning in their own school or community.

As an educator teaching about climate change, you are part of the solution. Please take an active part in this course, including the online component, so we can all benefit from the extensive experience and creative ideas you bring to the group. I look forward to working with you!

Here is a photo of my husband and me in the 2017 march for science in Washington DC