Inspiring Student Leadership Development to Address Mitigation

and Adaptation:“Edventure” Learning Through

PaddleSportCynthia L. Tomovic, Ph.D.

Professor, STEM Education and Professional Studies, Darden College of EducationOld Dominion University, Norfolk, VA

ctomovic@odu.edu

 

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What Does the Public Think about Climate

Change?• About 65% of Americans believe that climate change is

happening and that it is human caused - stable over last 5 years; only 13% have very strong views on occurrence and 13% have very strong views that it is not

• Who do they expect to take action? – The business community, government, ordinary Americans – but question their level of commitment

• What do they want to see done? – Clean energy, clean air & water, better health

Yale Project on Climate Change Communications and George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications (2015). Climate Change in the American Mind.

Social Science Driven Process Model of Communicating Sea

Level Rise

How do we excite our children and young adults about the challenges and

opportunities of adaptation and mitigation related to climate change and sea

level rise?

Encourage STEM disciplines in context!

National Science Foundation

Adventure Engineering (1999) – design centered, inquiry based approach to improve middle school (grades 5 – 9) science and mathematics education by developing and offering fun, effective, team-oriented project-based activities.

Tell them stories and give them real-world

problems to solve!

“Story telling (that enforce a belief system) and scenario planning are tools

for ordering our perceptions about alternative future environments in which today’s decisions might be played out.”

National Academy of Engineering (2004). The Engineer of 2020.Harari, Yuval N. (2015). Sapiens: A brief history of humankind.

Challenge?Encouraging Children to

Think about the Application of STEM in Adapating and Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change and Sea

Level Rise

British Canoe Union Partnership with Public

Education Paddle-Sport: System of

Learning

David W. Train

Former British Canoe Coach

Paddle-Sport ProgramSystem of Activities

David. W. Train

• Children’s stories and accompanying stuffed animals

• Bell and Liberty Bell Boating • Paddle for Life• Main Festivals for Earth

Children’s Books“Gran Marr, Walter, Winnie”

The Secret of the Silent Bell and Special Cell: A Vision for Great Europe (1999), David Train. • Gran Mar – flying tortoise• Walter – tortoise• Winnie – hare

Gran Mar discovers on her flights how sick mother earth is and invites Walter and Winnie to help her to communicate and educate the people on earth about what they can do to change their behavior to save her.

Bell Boat School on the Water

Liberty Bell Boat Build Out – Proto Type

Liberty Bell Boat Build Out

Liberty Bell BoatEarth Day

Liberty Bell BoatBuild Out

Liberty Bell Boat

Liberty Bell BoatMaiden Voyage

CommunityVersity Partnership:Leadership and

Team Development in Support of Mitigation and Adaptation

Sword and a Shield

“How can we turn a sword and a shield, symbols of conflict, into a symbol of cooperation?”

“Paddle for Life”

• Symbolic for cooperation

• ….so we can “pull together”

Leadership Qualities

• Friendship• Common sense• Effort• Responsibility• Cooperation• Organization• Courage• Initiative• Patience

• Curiosity• Problem solving• Perseverance• Caring• Integrity• Flexibility• Sense of humor• Resourcefulness

Paddle for Life 3rd Graders

Paddle for Life3rd Graders

College Students

College Students

Main Festivals for Earth

• Means to draw public attention to issues of sustainability

• Built around Bell Boats and Liberty Bell Boats, Paddle for Life, in safely designed water games and regattas, and voyages

Main Festival for Earth

Main Festival for Earth

Progress to Date in U.K.

• Over 400 Bell Boats distributed• Proto-typed “Liberty Bell Boat”• Over 100 regattas and Paddle for Life events held

annually via Main Academy Global; over 5,000 participants involved

• School teachers, environmentalists, British Canoe Union involved in curriculum development

• Relays down major rivers in Germany, England• Bell Boats being sent to India, China, US, Pakistan

National and International Figure

Heads• Most British MPs signed Trophy Paddle for Life• President, Wal-Mart Europe• Mayor, Beijing• President Purdue University, Martin Jischke• Governor of Minnesota, Tim Pawlenty• Will Steger , Polar Explorer and Mountaineer• Minnesota and Indiana U.S. Senators Franken, Klobuchar, Lugar• Lord Nicholas Stern, Stern Review – 700 page report on effect of

climate change and global warming on world economy• Jose Manuel Duras Barroso, President, European Commission ; former

Prime Minister, Portugal• Tony Blair, former Prime Minister, England• David Cameron, Prime Minister, England• Wawng Anshun, Mayor of Beijing, China• President Dailia Grybauskaite, Lithuania

“Paddle for Life”Archbishop of Canterbury

and David Train

“Paddle for Life”Lord Nicholas Stern and David

Train

“Paddle for Life”Tony Blair and David

Train

“Paddle for Life”Liz Lynne, Jose Barroso, President of

European Commission and David Train

“Paddle for Life”David Cameron and David

Train

Progress to Date in U.S.• Liberty Bell Boat

– 4 boats constructed: 3 with community leaders and teens-at-risk, 1 as university freshmen engineering project

• Paddle for Life – Elementary school: over 120 kindergartners and 25 American teachers– Middle school: over 1000 children, third and fifth graders, 14 American teachers– Teens at Risk – working with juvenile court system– University: 180 college students

• Main Festivals for Earth– 20 festivals in Indiana and Minnesota

Major purpose of activities is to inform and excite participant interest in STEM disciplines, and about importance of leadership and team development in creating personal commitment and community action required to address local and global environmental challenges.

• International Figure Heads• Will Steger, Polar Explorer• Al Franken and Amy Klobuchar, US Senators – Minnesota• Tim Pawlenty and Mark Dayton, Governors of Minnesota• Richard Lugar, Senator of Indiana

“Paddle for Life”Dick Lugar, U.S. Senator

Indiana

“Paddle for Life” Minnesota ReggataWill Steger – Polar

Explorer/Mountaineer

“Paddle for Life”Al Franken, U.S. Senator

Minnesota

“Paddle for Life”Amy Klobuchar, U.S.

SenatorMinnesota

Future Events• Develop curriculum with input of U.S. teachers• Map activities and learning outcomes to national/state

mathematics and science standards, ITEEA technology literacy standards

• Add CAD• Add Modeling and Simulation component• Conduct more workshops, collect and analyze data,

disseminate results• Work with interested foundations and agencies; MARI• Conduct Main Festivals for Earth, regattas, relays with

public officials – President Obama and family on the Potomac River

British Partnership• Environment Agency• British Canoe Union• Teachers interested in using water

sport to meet curriculum needs

BRAINSTORMING Hampton Roads

Partnerships

• Who would be interested? Stakeholders

• How to proceed? • Process?

SAVING THE BLUE PLANET

WITH A “PADDLE FOR LIFE”CommuniVersity Partnership