A Climate Adaptation Exercise

 Lesson Plan:

Objective: To introduce adult learners in a course about Climate Adaptation, Morality, and Justice: Starting Where Your At using Google Maps to help them create a road trip to become a tourist in their own state as well as a way to emotionally connect them to the natural world available to them.

The creation of the map will create a foundation of care in students for future class discussions surrounding the new climate morality. Considering, grappling with, or answering questions like:

- How do we balance the different mentalities around climate change and our responsibility or values within that larger discussion?

- What is the balance of caring for our natural world while also being a unavoidable (for now) participant in its continued disruption and destruction?

- How have our perceptions shifted? How can they continue to shift to achieve the kind of sustainability that will allow us adaptability?

The stops on the map below illustrate how students will plan a road trip (or bike, or walking, or bus) trip around their state. The map will also serve as a reflective pre and post summative assessment. The original assignment being to plan a trip before in class discussion and work around their Personal Climate Adaptation Commitments (a final paper statement submission) and then plan a trip at the end of the courses and see if/how the trip they plan changes, with opportunities to critically reflect on why they have made the changes they did applying the reflections and readings and assignments done over the duration of the course.

Students will also use the Edit Notes feature in the Google Maps atmosphere to critically reflect on the changes they make to their original planned trip. Or justification for why they are not changing a destination on their map by applying in-class discussions, assigned readings, and climate related interviews.