Integrating Climate Justice into a Social Problems Course

Abstract

This guide describes climate justice-themed content designed for a Social Problems course. While the course covers many distinct “social problems,” it also shows how climate justice relates to each of these problems. Students complete several small assignments (quizzes, discussions, etc.) related to climate justice throughout the quarter. They also...

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Details

Subject Area(s):

Environmental Sociology, Introduction to Sociology/Social Problems, Teaching and Learning in Sociology

Resource Type(s):

Assignment

Class Level(s):

College 200

Class Size(s):

Any

Usage Notes

I teach this climate justice-themed Social Problems course at a two-year community college on the quarter system. I have taught it to classes ranging in size from 20-40 students and in online and face-to-face modalities. The assessment details included generally show the instructions for the online version of the course; these are easily adapted into...

Learning Goals and Assessments

Learning Goal(s):

1. Describe how climate change is a social problem.
2. Analyze how climate change intersects with other social problems, including issues of social inequality.
3. Describe and evaluate proposed climate solutions, innovations, and actions.
4. Identify, apply, and evaluate claims-making strategies related to climate change issues.
5. Differentiate individual from systems-level thinking related to climate change problems and solutions.
6. Create a claims-making project that engages with a climate-related problem and solution.

Goal Assessment(s):

1. Multiple Quizzes
2. Group Discussions
3. Final Claims-making Project
4. Class Presentation