Presented at the Science Forum of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, Arlington, VA. 3 June 1998

International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics

Iowa State University

Ames, IA 50011

Tel: 515-294-9871

gstakle@iastate.edu

We have developed and field tested for four years a 1-semester university course on global change issues for seniors and graduate students. Objectives of the course are:

* To demonstrate the interconnectedness of the earth’s environmental system and to explore the scientific evidence for changes in the global environment

* To instill in students the value of peer-reviewed literature on global-change issues

* To engage students, by means of the Internet, in dialog among themselves, with outside experts (scientists and policy-makers), and with students from other countries on the scientific, economic, social, political, and ethical implications of these global changes

The world-wide web site (http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/gcp/gcp.html) provides all course materials. The course is divided into three blocks entitled as follows:

Block 1: Climate and Agents of Global Change

Block 2: Models and Measurements of Global Change

Block 3: Biosphere and Human Component of Global Change

Each block consists of 15 learning modules (lectures) following a uniform format that allows alternative learning modules to be substituted to meet particular needs of an individual class or instructor.

Each learning module consists of Pre-class Preparation, Class-time Activities, and Post-Class Activities. The Pre-class materials include objectives of this particular learning module, a learning unit (transcript of a lecture from previous year), a learning unit quiz, and additional required reading. Before coming to class, students are expected to read the learning unit and take the quiz over this material. The quiz, which is automatically and instantaneously graded with results returned to the student, is made unavailable after the class starts.

The Class-time Activities consist of a "Problem to Ponder" which serves as a discussion starter, and a summary of class-time discussion, which is entered on the web by a small team of students shortly after the (50 minute) class-time has ended.

Post-Class Activities include a structured electronic dialog on the learning module topic, a list of recommended reading materials, and a list of references.

Students are required to submit at least 5 entries in the electronic dialog per block. Entries can be questions, comments, continuation of class discussion, additional outside information relevant to the topic, or responses to other student comments. To get full credit, each student must elicit at least 2 comments from other students for each block. Each block also has a general discussion topic and discussion of an ethical issue relating to the block.

The issues discussed in the course and the intensity of dialog, both written and oral, are designed to actively engage students in exploring the science and human dimensions of global change. It is hoped that by engaging students from several countries, international perspectives will be an integral part of dialog within the course. A further hope is that future scientists and policy makers who come together as students in this course will develop acquaintances and friendships that will ultimately lead to better international understanding and agreement as these course alumni move into positions of national responsibility.

A survey of the most recent class revealed that most students are likely to access the course even after they graduate from the university. This suggests that such a course can be used as an authoritative source of global change information for alumni who move into private or public employment in environmental areas. From this and our other experiences with the course, we conclude that such course is a valuable experience for policy makers and their science advisors, particularly those from countries lacking access to the latest global change research results.

To explore more intense use of the course internationally, we are engaging in translation of course materials to Spanish and Portuguese. In collaborative discussions with IAI and the Global Environmental Facility, we have tentative plans to have a team of Latin American scientists and educators engage in translating major sections of the course for multi-lingual delivery in 1999.

During Spring semester 1998 (when the course was taught) it was getting about 135,000 hits per month. During Fall 1997 when it was not taught it was getting about 115,000 per month. It has received 1.19 million hits from over 95,000 sites representing approximately 100 countries in the last 11.5 months. Last January, for example, it received a maximum of 9,197 hits in one day and was accessed from about 70 countries.

Acknowledgment is made to Michael Taber, ISU graduate research assistant and Doug Fils, IITAP Computer Systems Administrator for their extensive contributions to the course. The International Institute of Theoretical and Applied Physics (IITAP) is jointly funded by Iowa State University and UNESCO and has mission to foster collaborations with scientists and educators from developing countries for the purpose of building local scientific infrastructure. The Environmental and Earth Science division of IITAP further seeks collaborations that will provide developing country scientists with the tools and knowledge to implement sustainable environmental practices.