Abstract
Among the many challenges to effective climate change communication is the extreme polarization engendered by differences in individuals’ ideologies and worldviews. Because of such ideological conflict, and particularly in the USA, most people rarely talk about climate change with each other, and when they do, they may have trouble with perspective taking and empathy. Student-centered teaching activities that use role-play are one potential avenue through which environmental educators can help students develop the skills and confidence necessary to have productive conversations about climate change. The goal of the learning activity described in this chapter is to help students recognize the various challenges of climate change conversations and to experience them through imaginative role-play. To achieve this goal, students consider how others might view climate change—based on ideological positions, worldviews, religious beliefs, professions, life stories, etc.—and then “play” characters whose perspectives on climate change may be different from their own. By viscerally experiencing the challenges of having such conversations, students should become better able to assess and overcome the barriers to effective communication about complex, controversial environmental issues such as climate change. After completing this activity, students should be able to (1) reflect on their own worldviews and perspectives about climate change, (2) investigate a particular perspective on climate change that may differ from their own, (3) explain why communication about climate change can be challenging, (4) identify strategies for having positive and productive climate change conversations, and (5) consider why having conversations about climate change can be important for addressing the ideological barriers to effective climate change communication.
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Siperstein, S. (2016). Engaging in Climate Change Conversations: A Role-Playing Exercise to Cultivate Effective Communication. In: Byrne, L. (eds) Learner-Centered Teaching Activities for Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28543-6_39
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28543-6_39
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