Date of Award
12-2025
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Agricultural Education
Committee Chair/Advisor
K. Dale Layfield
Committee Member
Joseph L. Donaldson
Committee Member
Christopher J. Eck
Committee Member
Michael T. Plumblee
Committee Member
Qiong Su
Abstract
Weather and climate science topics in K-12 education are more important now than ever due to extreme weather and climate events happening worldwide. Most U.S. science teachers included climate science in their courses, but they may not have a sufficient background in the topic which can hinder their efforts, or there is no explicit curriculum for the teacher to utilize. Research indicates that there is a need for innovation in the curriculum to help prepare children to become the next generation of leaders and address complex problems, such as issues related to weather and climate science. There are a few states within the U.S. with custom weather and climate science curricula, however South Carolina is not one of them. South Carolina K-12 standards present many learning opportunities about weather and climate science, but do not point to a specific curriculum or materials to guide educators. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and assess the effectiveness of a weather and climate sciences curriculum pilot for South Carolina educators, both formal and non-formal. The curriculum pilot also aims to enhance K-12 students’ understanding, engagement, and retention of key concepts related to weather and climate science.
This study used an embedded case study with mixed methods design to analyze the curriculum pilot’s implementation by site, educator within that site, and the student participants utilizing the curriculum. Pre- and post-tests with 23 questions were administered to students of the participating pilot groups (n = 6). Educators (teachers and 4-H Agents) (n = 5) taught five researcher-provided lesson plans on weather and climate science-related topics between the pre- and post-tests. Data were analyzed by individual groups due to the variations of institution, grade level, and formal versus non-formal instruction. Quantitative analysis revealed that the curriculum pilot did not lead to statistically significant improvement in student test scores in all groups, but mean scores did increase in some, leading to some learned value. Educator feedback indicated students were engaged and excited about the material and actively participated in the included activities.
Participating educators (teachers and 4-H Agents; n = 5) completed pre-tests prior to teaching Lesson One to assess their content knowledge of weather and climate science. After teaching each lesson, the educator was asked to make a recording using a provided set of questions to reflect on their impression of the lesson and activity that day. Four qualitative themes emerged: (1) the importance of user experience, (2) the organization and customization of curriculum pilot implementation, (3) behavioral shifts of the weather and climate science curriculum pilot, and (4) overall impression of the weather and climate science curriculum pilot.
Based on the educator feedback, the Pedagogical Design Capacity can be supported in this study due to the comments made by several educators about how they adapted the curriculum pilot materials to fit their personal teaching needs, as well as their students’ needs. Educators also added information based on personal experiences to add relevant content to the materials where relevance may be missing. Due to time restraints, some educators modified the activities to still allow for some form of them to happen, so students did not miss out on anything. Educators also stated that due to the number of hands-on activities and parts of lessons, students were engaged and were able to grasp concepts more easily, leading to knowledge gain, which supports the Experiential Learning Theory.
Recommended Citation
Hood, Emily B., "A Mixed Methods Study of the Weather and Climate Science Curriculum Pilot in South Carolina K-12 Schools, 4-H, and Agricultural Education Programs" (2025). All Dissertations. 4107.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4107