Educators ‘climatize’ their classes to prepare students for work and life on a warming planet

Beyond the Syllabus: How Educators Are 'Climatizing' Education for a Warming World

In classrooms across the nation, a quiet revolution is underway. Educators are no longer just teaching subjects; they are weaving the urgent realities of a changing climate into the very fabric of their lessons, preparing students not just for exams, but for life on a planet in flux. This shift is more than an academic exercise; it's a fundamental retooling of education to equip the next generation with the knowledge and resilience they will undoubtedly need.

The 'Climatized' Classroom: A New Paradigm

Four years ago, Holly Bailey-Hofmann, an English instructor at West Los Angeles College, embarked on a journey that would transform her teaching. She joined a pilot program designed to help professors integrate climate change and community resilience into their coursework. Initially tasked with adapting just one module, Bailey-Hofmann found the work so compelling that she ended up redesigning her entire English 101 class.

The core objective remained the same: to hone students' writing and research skills. However, the approach shifted dramatically. Now, her students delve into academic research and nonfiction essays that explore the multifaceted impacts of climate change. Topics range from the social barriers hindering climate action to the profound effects of a warming planet on mental health and cognitive abilities.

“We just want to do right by our students,” Bailey-Hofmann explained. “We want to give them the climate literacy they’re going to need later in their lives.” This sentiment underscores a growing recognition that understanding climate change is no longer a niche concern but a fundamental component of a well-rounded education.

A Statewide Initiative Takes Root

Bailey-Hofmann's innovative approach is part of a larger, coordinated effort. The pilot program she participated in was spearheaded by West Los Angeles College’s California Center for Climate Change Education. Established by the state legislature in 2022, this center aims to champion climate change education and embed sustainability practices across nine Los Angeles-area colleges.

Each year, approximately 15 faculty members at WLAC receive stipends to explore the intersections of climate change with their respective disciplines. They then redesign at least a portion of a course to reflect these insights. This initiative has since broadened its reach, now including professors from eight other colleges in the region.

The participating educators represent a diverse array of fields, from art and communication studies to biology, film production, chemistry, paralegal studies, and child development. Jo Tavares, director of the California Center for Climate Change Education, envisions a future where a comprehensive virtual library is accessible to faculty statewide, offering resources to help them understand and integrate climate change into their teaching.

Preparing Students for a Climate-Altered Future

Across the country, higher education leaders are grappling with how best to prepare students for the inevitable consequences of climate change. Experts emphasize that virtually every career path will, in some capacity, intersect with climate-related issues. Therefore, a foundational understanding of climate science and its societal implications is becoming essential for workforce readiness.

This doesn't necessarily mean mandating a dedicated "Climate Change 101" course for every student. Instead, institutions are exploring more integrated approaches. The University of California San Diego, for instance, has identified existing courses with at least 30 percent climate change-related content and now requires students to complete one such course to graduate.

Other universities are adopting similar strategies. Arizona State University mandates a sustainability-related course, while San Francisco State University requires a climate justice course. These examples highlight a growing trend towards embedding climate education within existing degree pathways, ensuring broad exposure without necessarily creating entirely new academic departments.

From English to Art: 'Climatizing' Across Disciplines

Holly Bailey-Hofmann's dedication extends beyond her initial English 101 class. She has since applied her "climatizing" approach to her English 102 course, a literature class. She replaced traditional readings with climate-related fiction, often referred to as "cli-fi." This new curriculum includes Navajo chants, essays, poetry, and novels, with some works falling under the "solar punk" genre, which explores optimistic visions of a sustainable future.

For English 103, a course traditionally focused on critical thinking and argumentative writing, she has curated nonfiction works centered on climate and environmentalism. Bailey-Hofmann acknowledges the challenge of precisely measuring student demand, as enrollment data doesn't always reveal a student's awareness of a course's climate focus. However, she points to the high level of student engagement in class discussions and the overwhelmingly positive feedback as indicators of the curriculum's resonance.

She argues that while a deep dive into climate change might seem to narrow a course's scope, professors have the freedom to center their classes around any topic. Crucially, students are already witnessing the far-reaching implications of climate change in their daily lives. "Things are getting hotter here in the Southwest, things are getting drier," Bailey-Hofmann observes. "They need to have a certain level of literacy just to be able to talk about what's happening to them."

Beyond immediate comprehension, she stresses the need for skills like flexible thinking and adaptability, essential for navigating a future where many of the emerging "green jobs" do not yet exist.

Infusing History and Culture

Felipe E. Agredano, a professor at Los Angeles Harbor College, has integrated climate themes into his Chicano studies class. He draws historical connections between Latino and Chicano communities and their deep-rooted relationship with the land, highlighting their historical efforts in land preservation. His students explore ancient agricultural innovations like the Aztec chinampas, floating islands that paved the way for modern hydroponics.

The curriculum also examines the struggles of Chicano farmworkers in the 1960s against pesticide use and delves into what Agredano terms "Chicana Latina verde"—the historical and ongoing role of women in environmental stewardship and care.

Art as a Catalyst for Climate Awareness

Terri Hughes-Oelrich, an art professor at San Diego City College, has been proactively "climatizing" her curriculum for years, even without formal program participation. She encourages her students to experiment with more environmentally friendly materials, such as bio clay instead of plastic-based polymer clay, and to create paints from natural pigments.

Her assignments often involve collecting everyday waste materials for sculptural projects, transforming discarded items into art. Hughes-Oelrich has also updated her curriculum to foster critical thinking about climate change and biodiversity loss. For instance, introductory ceramics students are tasked with researching an endangered animal native to their ancestral homelands.

They then sculpt an adapted version of the animal, designed to enhance its survival prospects, and present their creative solution and rationale to the class. This project not only encourages artistic expression but also deepens students' understanding of ecological challenges and potential adaptations.

A Growing Network of Climate Educators

Bailey-Hofmann is now actively involved in the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Climate Fellows Program. This statewide initiative brings together professors to spearhead various climate and sustainability initiatives. Her current research focuses on identifying opportunities to introduce climate change education across all 116 community colleges in California.

She is also exploring ways to streamline the transfer process for students pursuing climate- or environment-focused degrees at four-year institutions. Many professors she has spoken with who haven't yet incorporated climate content express a willingness to do so, often citing a lack of time as the primary barrier. The success of programs like the one at WLAC demonstrates that with dedicated support and resources, these barriers can be overcome.

The movement to "climatize" education is gaining momentum, driven by a clear understanding that preparing students for the future demands an engagement with the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. As more educators embrace this imperative, classrooms are becoming vital spaces for fostering the knowledge, skills, and innovative thinking needed to navigate and shape a more sustainable world.