Climate Change Curriculum
- Climate change curriculum
- PCC Pathways Curriculum
- Affective resources
- Climate justice
- Humanities
- K-12 resources
- Pedagogy
- Science
- Solutions
- Video resources
About this guide
These resources were compiled by librarian Roberta Richards as part of a professional development project, Spring 2021. Contact Roberta with questions, updates or corrections to this guide.
See also the guide Teaching Climate Change at the Community College for additional pedagogical resources.
Roberta Richards
rrichard@pcc.edu
Southeast Library 206
971-722-4962
Curriculum resources for every Academic and Career Pathway
Page under development.
Resources are being added to this page. Contact Roberta Richards if you have curriculum resources to share.
Every discipline has an essential role to play in understanding the climate crisis and creating a more sustainable future.
[T]he preoccupations of our society are starting quickly to shift—from endless expansion to strategies for survival. And in turn that should reshape the list of things we think it’s important to learn. Scientists and engineers have much work yet to do, and so do economists and business executives: every percentage increase in the efficiency of a solar panel, every percentage drop in the price of a wind turbine, betters our chances at survival. But suddenly we need everyone else too. Psychologists to understand why we’re slow to react, and political scientists to trace the power of the fossil fuel industry through our societies; theologians and historians to mine our traditions for the nuggets that let us deal with new crises; artists to offer us the images that can spur action. Look at it this way: if we are suddenly living, as the scientists insist, in the Anthropocene, then the humanities by definition are central to the task at hand.
-- Bill McKibben, in Teaching Climate Change in the Humanities, p. 269
See below examples of how the PCC 2021 Climate Action Plan and other climate solutions can connect to curriculum across the Pathways.
See also PCC's Sustainability Curriculum Resource Guide
Academic Foundations, Essentials & Gateways
Resources, examples and suggestions:
- Students in ESOL, ABE, Reading, Writing and College Success courses can use content related to the Climate Action Plan to develop reading, writing, researching, speaking and other academic skills.
- Climate misinformation can be a focus for teaching critical thinking, fact checking, and web and social media evaluation. See How to Spot - and Help Stop - Climate Misinformation
- Researching Climate Change Solutions This guide, which can be customized for specific courses and assignments, provides an example of how the Climate Action plan could be the foundation for a research project.
- DRAFT: Example of a Google form tutorial that uses the Climate Action Plan as the launch for a research project This draft Google form can be customized to provide a tutorial to support a research assignment connected to the PCC Climate Action Plan.
- "Before the Flood" documentary assignmentWriting instructor Lutgarda Cowan provides an assignment that involves watching Leonardo DiCaprio's documentary Before the Flood as the basis of a writing assignment.
- Cli-fi (Climate Fiction)PCC Library guide of climate-oriented novels and short stories. Includes short story anthologies that are free online.
Arts, Humanities, Communication, and Design
Resources, examples and suggestions:
- Arts and Humanities curriculum resources
- PHL 195 Science and the Unknown -- instructor Martha Bailey assigns a CBL project about science research connected to Learning Gardens and carbon sequestration
- COMM 111 - use the Climate Action Plan as a speech topic. Researching Climate Change Solutions
- Explore the complexities of communicating climate change
- Example of collaboration between art classes and PCC's sustainability team: Pollinator-Art-A-Palooza
- PCC's Climate Grief Interpreted Art Exhibit, arranged by ASPCC student leaders as part of the Climate Grief Committee. Climate Grief: Interpreted Art Exhibit
- Find sustainable design curriculum and resources in the library database Building Green.
Healthcare and Emergency Professions
Resources, examples and suggestions:
Human Health and the Environment
- Health instructor Rachelle Katter discusses her strategies for addressing climate change, including managing the emotional weight of the issue and helping students develop a sense of agency.
- Health Studies Advocacy Engagement AssignmentHealth Studies assignment created by Rachelle Katter. Students advocate on an environmental health issue of their choice by writing an elected representative, starting a petition, or developing a social media campaign.
- National Integrated Heat Health Information SystemFind tools and other resources for addressing the health impacts of heat at heat.gov.
Business and Entrepreneurship
Resources, examples and suggestions:
- Sustainability Research and Reflection Paper AssignmentBusiness instructor Heidi Sickert uses an assignment that requires students to read an article or watch a video related to one of Sustainability's "Big Ideas" (see below) and write a reflection
Construction, Manufacturing Technology, and Transportation
Resources, examples and suggestions:
- Building Green PCC library database - "BuildingGreen helps architects, designers and other sustainability professionals make their projects greener and healthier." Includes curriculum resources for sustainable design.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
Resources, examples and suggestions:
Environmental Studies and Resources
- Video: ESR instructor Val Brenneis describes two assignments use in ESR classes and her approach to teaching climate change. (5:44 minutes)
- Lab 2. Scientific literature: Searching, reading, and citing reliable sourcesESR 200 assignment created by Valance Brenneis.The assignment is part of an interactive session with a librarian about finding and citing reliable scientific sources, using climate change information as the focus. Word doc.
- Lab 4. IPCC AR6 2021 Climate Change Summary for Policy Makers and Potential SolutionsESR 200 assignment created by Valance Brenneis. Word doc.
- The Global Variability of Climate Change: Place-based Impacts and ResponsesESR 173 assignment created by Taryn Oakley. "During the course of this project, students will get a chance to see climate change through a global perspective. They will learn about another culture, what that culture is currently losing, and what is at stake if climate continues to change at the current pace. The student presentations will expose students to many different cultures across the globe, hopefully bringing awareness to how our actions here in this country impact people on a global scale."
- Renewable Energy LabESR 173 lab assignment from Taryn Oakley comparing different forms of renewable energy.
Public Service, Education, and Social Sciences
Resources, examples and suggestions:
- Student Eco-Social Justice WorkshopThe curriculum for a three hour workshop for student leaders includes videos and activities exploring the connections between racism and the climate crisis.
- Tracing the Roots of the Climate CrisisPCC sociology instructor Ben Cushing explores some of the root causes of the climate crisis. Each of the four chapters of this podcast will explore the roots of the climate crisis from different angles - ranging from a discussion of the consequences of the capitalist economic system, to an examination of the cultural stories that justify colonialism, genocide and slavery. Also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other major podcast sites.
Resources from PCC's Sustainability staff
Learn about the 2021 PCC Climate Action plan in this short video (6:42 minutes) created for students, produced by Briar Schoon, PCC Sustainability Manager, and Stephania Fregosi, PCC Sustainability Analyst. PCC Climate Action Plan.
A longer version of this video with additional information for faculty is also available: PCC 2021 Climate Action Plan (7:33 minutes)
- PCC Climate Plan Update - January 2020Colorful one page pdf highlighting PCC sustainability and climate projects.
- PCC 2020 Climate Action Plan Update AssignmentFive question assignment with links to resources about climate change and climate justice, designed to align with the update of Climate Action Plan. Created in 2020.
This work by PCC Library is licensed by Portland Community College under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.- Last Updated: Feb 13, 2025 3:08 PM
- URL: https://guides.pcc.edu/ClimateChangeCurriculum
- Print Page