Before this course: Climate Science: evidence and models (course 15.6.3). You can already work out Earth's energy balance, read the main lines of climate evidence, explain proxies, attribution and models, read sensitivity ranges and IPCC likelihood words, and find your country's weather alerts. You also finished Weather & Climate Data: analysis (course 15.6.2). Now you learn to teach all of this to others.
01
The climate educator's role
In simple words
A climate educator is like a good museum guide. The guide does not tell visitors what to think about the paintings. The guide shows where each one came from, how we know, and lets people ask questions. You show the evidence, how it was measured, and where it came from.
Key facts
- A national teaching framework exists. In September 2024 the US Global Change Research Program released the third edition of the national climate literacy guide, Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change. The first version was published in 2008 and updated in 2009. The update draws on the US Fifth National Climate Assessment (November 2023) and the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021 to 2023) (NOAA, 2024).
- NOAA says this edition expands the guide to "embrace physical science as well as local and Indigenous Knowledge", along with social sciences, climate solutions and climate justice (NOAA, 2024).
- Two kinds of statements:
| Evidence statement | Values or policy question |
|---|---|
| "Mauna Loa CO₂ averaged 427.35 ppm in 2025 (NOAA)." | "Which climate policy should my town choose?" |
| "2015 to 2025 were the 11 warmest years on record (WMO, 2026)." | "How should costs be shared?" |
| Answered with data and sources | Discussed respectfully; learners reach their own views |
- Neutral does not mean "both sides of the data". Measured facts are reported as measured. Neutral means you do not push a party, a product or a personal opinion, and you let learners discuss values questions on their own.
- Know your audience: a class of 10-year-olds, a group of adult newcomers and a community meeting need different words, examples and lengths. The facts stay the same.
Step by step
- Pick one audience you might teach (a class, a club, family members, a community group).
- Write down what they already know and what they might worry about.
- Choose one big idea from course 15.6.3 (for example, the greenhouse effect).
- Write three evidence statements for it, each with a number, a year and an official source.
- Write one values question linked to it that learners could discuss, and note that you will not give your own answer.
- Turn the idea into a 3-minute explanation for your audience, using an everyday comparison.
- Check: every statement is either a sourced fact or clearly marked as a discussion question.
Watch on YouTube
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
LESSON 01The climate educator's role
Read the video script
[Host in a museum-style hallway] "A climate educator is a guide. You show the evidence and how we know it."
[Text on screen: Climate Literacy guide, 3rd edition, 2024] "In 2024, US science agencies released the third edition of a national climate literacy guide."
[Screen: two columns, evidence and values] "Keep two kinds of statements apart: facts with sources, and values questions people discuss."
[Host] "Report the data as measured. Let learners discuss the choices."
Try it now
Take one page of your notes from course 15.6.3 and colour-code it: green for sourced facts, blue for values or policy questions, red for anything with no source. Fix or remove every red item.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
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For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "Climate Educator: teach" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "The climate educator's role". What the lesson teaches: - A national teaching framework exists. In September 2024 the US Global Change Research Program released the third edition of the national climate literacy guide, Climate Literacy: Essential Principles for Understanding and Addressing Climate Change. The first version was published in 2008 and updated in 2009. The update draws on the US Fifth National Climate Assessment (November 2023) and the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (2021 to 2023) (NOAA, 2024). - NOAA says this edition expands the guide to "embrace physical science as well as local and Indigenous Knowledge", along with social sciences, climate solutions and climate justice (NOAA, 2024). - Two kinds of statements: - Evidence statement - Values or policy question - "Mauna Loa CO₂ averaged 427.35 ppm in 2025 (NOAA)." - "Which climate policy should my town choose?" - "2015 to 2025 were the 11 warmest years on record (WMO, 2026)." - "How should costs be shared?" - Answered with data and sources - Discussed respectfully; learners reach their own views The exercise I'm working on: Take one page of your notes from course 15.6.3 and colour-code it: green for sourced facts, blue for values or policy questions, red for anything with no source. Fix or remove every red item. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "The climate educator's role" from the course "Climate Educator: teach". Here's what the lesson says: A climate educator is like a good museum guide. The guide does not tell visitors what to think about the paintings. The guide shows where each one came from, how we know, and lets people ask questions. You show the evidence, how it was measured, and where it came from. The activity: Take one page of your notes from course 15.6.3 and colour-code it: green for sourced facts, blue for values or policy questions, red for anything with no source. Fix or remove every red item. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- NOAA, Federal science agencies update the nation's climate literacy guide (24 September 2024): www.noaa.gov/news-release/federal-science-agencies-update-nations-clim
- NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa CO₂ annual mean data: gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_annmean_mlo.txt
- WMO, Earth's climate swings increasingly out of balance (23 March 2026): wmo.int/news/media-centre/earths-climate-swings-increasingly-out-of-ba
My notes
Saved on this device
02
Teach with real data: the carbon dioxide record
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03
Find and repair common misconceptions
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04
Teach learners to spot misleading techniques
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05
Teach the latest state of the climate, with its uncertainty
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06
Teach weather and heat safety
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07
Lead a lesson and review another educator
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Final project
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Quiz
What is the difference between an evidence statement and a values question?
An evidence statement is a measured fact with a source; a values question is about choices people discuss and decide for themselves.
When was the third edition of the US climate literacy guide released?
In September 2024.
What was the Mauna Loa CO₂ annual mean in 2025?
427.35 ppm (NOAA).
About how fast did CO₂ rise per year from 2015 to 2025, compared with the 1960s?
About 2.63 ppm per year, compared with about 0.88 ppm per year from 1960 to 1970.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is short-term local conditions; climate is the long-term average over many years.
Why does melting sea ice barely change sea level, while melting land ice raises it?
Sea ice already floats in the ocean; land ice adds new water to the ocean.
Is the ozone hole the main cause of global warming?
No. NASA says its role is small; extra UV cannot explain the surface warming.
What are the two parts of inoculation against misinformation?
A warning that misleading arguments may come, and an explanation of the flawed technique.
What is the "fake experts" technique?
Using people presented as experts who are not experts in the field to make a claim look supported.
What does 1.43 ± 0.13 °C mean?
A best estimate of 1.43 °C, with a range of about 1.30 to 1.56 °C.
Where does most of Earth's excess energy go?
Into the ocean (about 91%).
Where should learners get weather alerts?
From their country's official national weather service and official phone alerts.
EX
Final exam
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CE
Certificate
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