The Worry & Hope study at the University of Hawaii revealed a pervasive emotional climate of fear, anger, sadness, shame and hope about climate change. College faculty already knew this, and are, themselves, feeling anxiety, grief, and additional stress that accompanies a sense of urgency and responsibility to teach and engage with students about climate change across all academic subject areas.

During the past few months, a series of workshops were offered for faculty to address their own emotions so that we can create and hold space in our classrooms for students to integrate and process hard realities about climate change impacts. If not here, where? If not us, who? A short overview of research on climate change education and pedagogies will be followed by experiential workshop going through 4 activities that you can then use in your classroom.  The activities are based on recent research as well as ecotherapy, ecopsychology, and the Active Hope work of Joanna Macy.

We invite you to one more summer meeting in this learning community for Teaching Climate Change Affectively to discuss: “So What, Now what?” about what these sessions have meant, how we move through stages of grief with climate change, and how you are bringing this work into your fall semester. After leading a brief activity, the bulk of the session will be breakout and full group discussion to prepare for Fall semester and how AASHE might support this work going forward. Anyone with a resource or idea to share can contact Krista for a short spot on the agenda.

Krista Hiser is the Director of the University of Hawaii System Center for Sustainability Across the Curriculum (an AASHE Regional Center). She is also a longtime Professor of writing and teaches climate change communication, project-based sustainability capstone, and climate fiction.

Register today Deadline is August 5. Contact Krista Hiser with questions.

University of Hawaiʻi is one of the regional AASHE Centers for Sustainability Across the Curriculum. Centers host workshops and other professional development opportunities throughout the year. If you aren’t able to attend this event, please consider attending one of the other upcoming events organized by a Center.