Educating Those Most At-Risk and Hardest to Reach

The Pacific Islands are globally regarded as a barometer and first line of impact for climate change. Yet, because of infrastructural challenges, such as lack of electricity, connectivity, or access to modern, relevant educational information, Pacific Islanders who shoulder some of the most adverse effects of climate change are least equipped with the knowledge and adaptation practices to address the devastating impact on their communities.

This GCSO-funded project will enable Pacific Island-focused climate change information to be created and curated into an offline, portable, solar-powered library (the SolarSPELL). GCSO collaborators will carry out train-the-trainer teacher-training in Fiji, and conduct in-field impact evaluation, assessing both information on the library and behavior change by educators. This library and the training and impact evaluation model will have immediate applicability across the Pacific Islands and beyond.

In one year of GCSO funding, this project will:

• Create hands-on, action-oriented, climate-change focused lesson plans for teachers and incorporate them into the SolarSPELL digital library
• Curate existing best-practice climate-change content and incorporate it into the SolarSPELL digital library
• Conduct train-the-trainer style teacher-training with local teachers and Peace Corps volunteers in Fiji
• Conduct measurement and evaluation of climate change comprehension and teachers’ confidence to educate on these topics
• Analyze these findings, disseminate results, utilizing findings to continuously improve SolarSPELL digital library contents & training

GCSO Participants:
Arizona State University

1. Laura Hosman, School for the Future of Innovation in Society
2. Bruce Baikie, School for the Future of Innovation in Society

Kamehameha Schools

1. Shawn Kanaiaupuni, Director of Public Education Support

Leuphana University

1. Erin Redmond, Research Associate

Tecnológico de Monterrey

1. Marcela Georgina Gomez Zermeño, School of Humanities and Education
2. Lorena Aleman de la Garza, School of Humanities and Education

University of Guam

1. Mary Jane Miller, School of Education

Implementing Partners:

• Ministry of Education, Heritage, and the Arts, Fiji
• United States Peace Corps, Fiji