Teaching about climate change in the maths classroom

Two authors talk about their new resources and suggest tips for addressing social issues through maths

There’s undoubtedly plenty of maths in climate change science. But how can teachers bring some of this real-life data into the classroom, allowing students to see maths as a tool to help interpret the world? Is this a maths teacher’s responsibility, or should they stick to more abstract maths? What is the best way to manage discussion on social (and potentially emotive) issues?

MEI and the Royal Meteorological Society have recently published four resources to support teachers in raising issues of climate science through maths lessons. They cover Trees for Net Zero, Trees and Carbon Capture, Extreme Weather, and EVolution of Vehicle Sales.

Alistair and Tom, two of the resource authors, talk about what they considered in creating the resources and how they hope teachers might use them with students in Key Stage 3 or Core Maths classes. 

Show notes

Taking part in the discussion:

• Alistair Bissell, AMSP Level 3 Maths Professional Development Coordinator
• Tom Rainbow, AMSP National Coordinator for Core Maths Professional Development
• Gwen Tresidder, NCETM Communications Manager.

Episode chapters

• 00:00 Introducing the speakers
• 01:22 Overview of the resources
• 02:52 What are maths teachers’ responsibilities for addressing social and political issues?
• 05:18 What are the benefits of addressing such issues?
• 06:45 How did you choose which aspects of climate change to focus on?
• 08:30 What will students learn?
• 14:10 Managing emotive issues and differences of opinion in the classroom
• 18:17 Maintaining balance
• 21:58 Digging into the maths.

Useful links

Alistair tweets as @comparagrams, Tom tweets as @CoreMathsTom – they would welcome feedback from teachers and students on use of these resources.

The Maths and Climate Change resources can be found on MEI's website.