Fellowship equips educators to teach climate change across subjects, seeks Hawaiʻi applicants

Elemental Excelerator and SubjectToClimate seek applicants for their second annual “Root for Innovation” professional learning course for teachers. The program aims to provide a basis for K-12 educators of all subjects to feel comfortable integrating climate change into their everyday lessons. 

Deadline to apply is April 26, 2024. The fellowship program will run from June 10 to July 19, 2024. Interested applicants can apply online at: https://elementalexcelerator.com/latest/articles/root-for-innovation. 

Selected participants of the summer fellowship receive a $3,500 stipend upon achievement of various activities involved in the program.

The program will be split into three modules: 

• A broad overview on the science of climate change and basic climate change concepts.
• An exploration of examples of how to teach climate change in the educator’s specific subject and how to incorporate environmental justice principles.
• A guide for educators through the process of developing lesson plans for their classroom that integrate climate change into the curricula that they are already teaching.

Last year, 10 Hawai’i educators participated in the hybrid program, which blended asynchronous online work with in-person trainings, and produced 31 Hawai’i-centric lesson plans that are both scientifically credible and can be integrated into existing curriculum.

“In most districts, learning about climate change is not required; especially not learning about the ways it disproportionately impacts disenfranchised communities,” said Olivia Dulany, former Root for Innovation teacher fellow. “This work is impactful because it represents an effort to increase access to education about things that we don’t traditionally teach in our nation’s public schools.”