This article offers a concise account of the known science underpinning the greenhouse effect and global warming. The greenhouse effect is described at different levels of sophistication. It explains how greenhouse gases work and their relative contribution to warming. Climate models are introduced, as are climate sensitivity, feedback mechanisms…

This article responds to the DfE sustainability and climate change education draft strategy that was introduced in November 2021 during COP26. It outlines the approach of one working group to considering what meaningful implementation of such a strategy means for teachers and learners in schools. The authors suggest a number of areas that should…

Schools have a vital role to play in helping young people understand and engage with the pressing issues of our time. More effective and engaging climate education can help prepare them to play their part in combatting climate change. Practical science activities, such as those promoted in the CREST Awards hydrology resources described here, can…

What do we really mean by sustainability and why is biodiversity so important? What is nature-connectedness and how can it be developed? By exploring these questions, the need for education within this context becomes ever more apparent. This article takes you on a journey of sustainability, exploring the term from a variety of standpoints. It…

This article challenges the notion that entropy is something to be avoided. A line of argument is presented that is accessible to those not having specialist knowledge and that offers a new perspective to those more familiar with the concept. It shows that temperature is better understood by addressing entropy. Entropy change diagrams are…

This article describes how a homework task on climate change is being developed as part of a larger project on sustainability issues -- Urban Science. The ultimate aim of this European project is to improve the teaching of scientific enquiry so that students develop the competences to actively contribute to creating sustainable cities, to…

In a project to determine the UK distribution of a conservation-status beetle "Elater ferrugineus", 300 volunteers were recruited and supplied with traps containing a female pheromone that is an effective attractant for adult males. The occurrence and distribution of the insect were extended from previously estimated values and shown to…

Students make and test a seemingly impossible material made from ice and sawdust that had been developed for possible emergency use during the Second World War. It was open to the students to be creative with their methods of testing the viability of such a material. The thought of making a battleship from ice that would gradually melt seems…

Socio-scientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL) engages learners with local and global issues in which science and technology are interwoven, aiming to empower them to become active agents of change for their local communities. Within the PARRISE project, we worked with pre-service teachers on prioritising an "it matters" approach to…

Meteorology is an important branch of science that offers exciting career opportunities and yet is not usually included in school curricula. The availability of multi-rotor model aircraft (drones) offers an exciting opportunity to bring meteorology into school science.

The purpose of this research was to investigate an efficient method to assess year 8 (age 13-14) students' conceptual understanding of heat and temperature concepts. Two different types of instruments were used in this study: Type 1, consisting of multiple-choice items with open-ended justifications; and Type 2, consisting of two-tier…

This article describes and evaluates an activity within the process of socio-scientific inquiry-based learning (SSIBL). 'Mobility, Traffic and Renewable Energies' is a project drawing on an inquiry approach in schools in the province of Carinthia in Austria, involving a range of scientific and educational support agencies. This activity was…

The fundamentals of climate change are well established: greenhouse gases warm the planet; their concentrations in the atmosphere are increasing; Earth has warmed, and is going to continue warming with a range of impacts. This article summarises the contents of a recent publication issued by the UK's Royal Society and the US National Academy of…

We propose an inquiry-based science activity centred on the effects of climate change on ocean ecosystems. This activity can be used to improve acquisition of knowledge on the effects of climate change and to promote inquiry skills, such as researching, reading and selecting relevant information, identifying a problem, focusing on a research…

Enquiry learning and teaching about the nature of science (NoS) is a key element of science education. We have designed an experimental setting for students aged 12-14 years to exercise enquiry-learning skills and to introduce students to the NoS aspects of creativity and imagination. It also illustrates the impact of carbon dioxide on the growth…