Causal Learning in the Classroom Curriculum Modules

The Causal learning in the Classroom (CliC) modules are designed to complement existing curricula in environmental ecosystems and climate change science. They are focused on the scientific content, principles, and habits of mind. The CliC modules aim to augment students’ learning by revealing to them patterns of thinking that impact their ability to perceive, attend to, and reason about the complex causal patterns embedded in science. They bring science content together with what we know about the nature of human cognition to 1) further what students understand and 2) help students realize why some of these concepts are hard for the public to understand and attend to. It invites students to think creatively about these challenges as they develop their own knowledge and create sustainable lives in our world.

 

There are two modules in the current set:

 

Each module is based upon research that has been carried out on how people think—both in the lab and in the classroom. It is designed to build upon affordances in students’ knowledge, taking what they know from the everyday world and building deeper, more reflective understanding from it.