Assessing Climate Literacy in Engineering Undergraduate Students Through Simulation-Based Learning

This full research paper assesses the climate literacy of engineering undergraduate students via simulation-based learning. Climate change is listed as one of the global challenges of the United Nations global issues humanity faces today. The impacts of climate change are global in scope. Rising sea levels and an increased risk of flooding are among the chief concerns faced by nations. This, in turn, has become a threat to global food production which can negatively impact all lives. Therefore, it is important to develop climate literacy by understanding how climate influences us and society at large and how we, in turn, influence the climate. Climate literacy has taken on renewed importance in recent years with the United Nations and numerous national governments employing coordinated efforts to bolster climate education. As such, there is an immediate need for the development of climate literacy as this would help to increase awareness of climate consciousness in society. This study focused on characterizing the climate literacy of undergraduate engineering students as given by the Global Learning VALUE rubric. The students were exposed to climate modeling and simulation exercises using the En-ROADS climate change solution simulator. Students worked in teams and reflected on ways to mitigate climate change and have a best-case scenario that aims to lower the global temperature by 2 degrees Celsius. As there is a great emphasis on integrating education for sustainable development in higher education institutions, this study specifically focuses on using simulation tools as a technological device in classrooms to inspire young engineers to combat global climate challenges. This study aims to create and increase global climate change awareness among young engineers and give them scientific tools to explore strategies for tackling the climate change problem by creating a sustainable environment. This manuscript details a mixed-methods approach guided by the following research questions: i) How can the climate literacy of engineering students be characterized using the Global Learning VALUE rubric, specifically through the use of a simulation-based learning tool? ii) What were the strategies proposed by the students to combat climate change? The results suggest that climate simulations can be valuable tools in exposing students to climate literacy while also having the ancillary benefit of introducing variables that they originally may not have considered. The analysis of the student reflections and proposals using the Global Learning VALUE rubric revealed that students demonstrated a high level of personal and social responsibility and understanding of the global system. Students also demonstrated a good understanding of global awareness. They were able to understand the problems from various perspectives and were able to apply their knowledge to propose feasible solutions to the problem.

I. Introduction

The United Nations emphasizes climate change as one of the most crucial global challenges [1]. While climate change mainly refers to the long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns, it can adversely impact our food production, access to clean water, and our health, and it can also result in heat waves which in turn lead to rising sea levels causing severe floods [2]–[4]. Since the effects of climate change are global in nature, understanding the climate's influence on us and society and our influence on climate is essential, and this is known as climate literacy [5]. Climate literacy has recently taken on renewed importance with the United Nations, and numerous national governments have coordinated efforts to bolster climate education [6]. Research shows an ever-widening gap between the general public and the scientific community regarding climate change facts [5]. Consequently, there is an urgent need for the development of climate literacy as this would help increase awareness of climate consciousness in society. Therefore, this could offer a potential solution to this global challenge. In addition, climate literacy would help raise scientifically informed and responsible decision-makers about global climate change.