Abstract
Climate change and its consequences at environmental, social and economic level will affect all of us, in particular the children of today who are the world’s citizens of tomorrow. However, the causes, consequences and mitigating measures to counteract climate change are not currently part of the regular primary or lower secondary school curriculum in the UK. With the evident lack of practical climate change-based school activities for the UK curriculum in mind, this report describes an outreach project that takes authentic up-to-date research to the classroom with the aim to provide an example to cover this topic. The project focuses on the effects of ocean acidification and the drop of ocean pH on the foraging ability of hermit crabs. Besides a detailed description of the project set-up, this report highlights scientific as well as educational outcomes. The classroom-based experimental sessions yielded a significant scientific result, showing that the hermit crabs’ ability to locate food is significantly impaired by pH conditions expected for the year 2100. Combining theoretical and practical parts, the project reached the pupils through different channels and therefore made every child take home the message in their own way, at the same time adding to their key skills in teamwork and effective communication. We could further observe a clear gain in knowledge and confidence with regards to the scientific skills obtained through this project. Professional scientists delivering the sessions alongside school teaching staff also served as positive role models to foster the children’s future aspirations for science.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Appleton K (2003) How do beginning primary school teachers cope with science? Toward an understanding of science teaching practice. Res Sci Educ 33:25
Archer L, Osborne J, DeWitt J et al (2013) ASPIRES: young people’s science and career aspirations, age 10–14. King’s College London, London
Braund M, Reiss M (2006) Towards a more authentic science curriculum: the contribution of out-of-school learning. Int J Sci Educ 28:1373–1388
CBI (2015) Tomorrow’s world—inspiring primary scientists. Brunel University, London
Chang C-H, Pascua L (2017) The state of climate change education—reflections from a selection of studies around the world. Int Res Geogr Environ Educ 26:177–179
Clements J, Hunt H (2015) Marine animal behaviour in a high CO2 ocean. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 536:259–279
Corner A, Roberts O, Chiari S et al (2015) How do young people engage with climate change? The role of knowledge, values, message framing, and trusted communicators: engaging young people with climate change. Wiley Interdiscip Rev Clim Change 6:523–534
Croasmun JT, Ostrom L (2011) Using Likert-type scales in the social sciences. J Adult Educ 40:4
de la Haye KL, Spicer JI, Widdicombe S, Briffa M (2011) Reduced sea water pH disrupts resource assessment and decision making in the hermit crab Pagurus bernhardus. Anim Behav 82:495–501
de la Haye KL, Spicer JI, Widdicombe S, Briffa M (2012) Reduced pH sea water disrupts chemo-responsive behaviour in an intertidal crustacean. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 412:134–140
Deeb A, French A, Heiss J et al (2011) Climate change starter’s guidebook: an issues guide for education planners and practitioners. UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris
Department of Education (2013a) The national curriculum in England framework document for geography program of study: key stage 3. Department of Education, London
Department of Education (2013b) The national curriculum in England—key stages 1 and 2 framework document. Department of Education, London
DeWitt J, Archer L, Osborne J (2013) Nerdy, brainy and normal: children’s and parents’ constructions of those who are highly engaged with science. Res Sci Educ 43:1455–1476
Dittmann S (1990) Mussel beds—amensalism or amelioration for intertidal fauna? Helgoländer Meeresunters 44:335–352
Dixson DL, Munday PL, Jones GP (2010) Ocean acidification disrupts the innate ability of fish to detect predator olfactory cues. Ecol Lett 13:68–75
Dodd LF, Grabowski JH, Piehler MF et al (2015) Ocean acidification impairs crab foraging behaviour. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci 282:20150333
Ellis RP, Urbina MA, Wilson RW (2017) Lessons from two high CO2 worlds—future oceans and intensive aquaculture. Glob Change Biol 23:2141–2148
Fabry VJ, Seibel BA, Feely RA, Orr JC (2008) Impacts of ocean acidification on marine fauna and ecosystem processes. ICES J Mar Sci J Cons 65:414–432
Feldman A, Pirog K (2011) Authentic science research in elementary school after-school science clubs. J Sci Educ Technol 20:494–507
Fox J, Weisberg S (2011) An R companion to applied regression, 2nd edn. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA
Groenewold S (2000) Effects on benthic scavengers of discards and damaged benthos produced by the beam-trawl fishery in the southern North Sea. ICES J Mar Sci 57:1395–1406
Harlen W, Holroyd C (1997) Primary teachers’ understanding of concepts of science: impact on confidence and teaching. Int J Sci Educ 19:93–105
Hawkins AJ, Stark LA (2016) Bringing climate change into the life science classroom: essentials, impacts on life, and addressing misconceptions. CBE Life Sci Educ 15:fe3
Henry RP, Lucu Č, Onken H, Weihrauch D (2012) Multiple functions of the crustacean gill: osmotic/ionic regulation, acid-base balance, ammonia excretion, and bioaccumulation of toxic metals. Front Physiol 3
IGBP, IOC, SCOR (2013) Ocean acidification summary for policymakers. In: Third symposium on the ocean in a high-CO2 world. International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, Stockholm, Sweden
IPCC (2014) Climate change 2014: synthesis report. Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Geneva, Switzerland
Judge S, Delgaty L, Broughton M et al (2017) Behaviour-changing ingredients in soft drinks: an experiment developed by school children in partnership with a research scientist. J Biol Educ 51:79–96
Lancaster I (1988) Pagurus bernhardus (L.)—an introduction to the natural history of hermit crabs. Field Stud 7:189–238
Munday PL, Dixson DL, Donelson JM et al (2009) Ocean acidification impairs olfactory discrimination and homing ability of a marine fish. Proc Natl Acad Sci 106:1848–1852
Munday PL, Dixson DL, McCormick MI et al (2010) Replenishment of fish populations is threatened by ocean acidification. Proc Natl Acad Sci 107:12930–12934
Nilsson GE, Dixson DL, Domenici P et al (2012) Near-future carbon dioxide levels alter fish behaviour by interfering with neurotransmitter function. Nat Clim Change 2:201–204
Pörtner HO, Langenbuch M, Reipschläger A (2004) Biological impact of elevated ocean CO2 concentrations: lessons from animal physiology and earth history. J Oceanogr 60:705–718
Prokop P, Fančovičová J (2017) The effect of hands-on activities on children’s knowledge and disgust for animals. J Biol Educ 51:305–314
Ramsay K, Kaiser MJ, Moore PG, Hughes RN (1997) Consumption of fisheries discards by benthic scavengers: utilization of energy subsidies in different marine habitats. J Anim Ecol 66:884
R Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria
Riebesell U (ed) (2012) The other CO2-problem, ocean acidification. Eight experiments for students and teachers. BIOACID/GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel
Robinson JW, Nieh JC, Goodale E (2012) Testing honey bees’ avoidance of predators. Am Biol Teach 74:452–457
Roggatz CC, Lorch M, Hardege JD, Benoit DM (2016) Ocean acidification affects marine chemical communication by changing structure and function of peptide signalling molecules. Glob Change Biol 22:3914–3926
Royal Society (2010) “State of the nation” report on 5-14, science and mathematics education. Royal Society, London
Sammet R, Dreesmann D (2017) What do secondary students really learn during investigations with living animals? Parameters for effective learning with social insects. J Biol Educ 51:26–43
Sammet R, Kutta A-M, Dreesmann D (2015) Hands-on or video-based learning with ANTicipation? A comparative approach to identifying student motivation and learning enjoyment during a lesson about ants. J Biol Educ 49:420–440
Scott GW, Goulder R, Wheeler P et al (2012) The value of fieldwork in life and environmental sciences in the context of higher education: a case study in learning about biodiversity. J Sci Educ Technol 21:11–21
Tierney AJ, Atema T (1988) Amino acid chemoreception: effects of pH on receptors and stimuli. J Chem Ecol 14:135–141
Towler L, Broadfoot P (1992) Self-assessment in the primary school. Educ Rev 44:137–151
Westgarth-Smith AR (2018) Ocean acidification needs more publicity as part of a strategy to avoid a global decline in calcifier populations. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 98:1227–1229
Woods-Townsend K, Christodoulou A, Byrne J et al (2014) Meet the scientist: the value of short interactions between scientists and secondary-aged students. In: E-book proceedings of the ESERA 2013 conference: science education research for evidence-based teaching and coherence in learning. Part 10. European Science Education Research Association, Nicosia, Cyprus, pp 1821–1832
Wu JS, Lee JJ (2015) Climate change games as tools for education and engagement. Nat Clim Change 5:413–418
Zasloff RL, Hart LA, DeArmond H (1999) Animals in elementary school education in California. J Appl Anim Welf Sci 2:347–357
Acknowledgements
The project was funded by the University of Hull and we would like to acknowledge the help of Dr. Jörg D. Hardege, who allowed us to use his laboratory and equipment during project development and for preparations prior to the experimental session. We further thank Prof. Mark Loch for his valuable input to the theory session, the assisting students throughout the project and the diligent helpers during the Hull Science Festival 2018. Special thanks to Melissa Hardege for help throughout the project sessions as well as comments to this manuscript and the staff and pupils of all participating schools; you were brilliant and a pleasure to work with.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Electronic Supplementary Material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Roggatz, C.C., Kenningham, N., Bartels-Hardege, H.D. (2019). Taking Current Climate Change Research to the Classroom—The “Will Hermit Crabs Go Hungry in Future Oceans?” Project. In: Leal Filho, W., Hemstock, S. (eds) Climate Change and the Role of Education. Climate Change Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32898-6_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32898-6_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-32897-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-32898-6
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)