Using a systems thinking approach for a climate change education training program in teacher education

One of the biggest problems threatening our present and future is the climate crisis. Since human activities are causing global climate change, it is important to educate citizens about climate change, its causes, consequences and solutions. Science teachers undoubtedly play a key role in teaching environmental issues. However, several studies have shown that there are gaps in science teachers' understanding of climate change and that more research is needed in this area. Therefore, in this study, we designed and implemented a climate change training program using a systems thinking approach to provide a structured framework for climate change education for pre-service science teachers with 123 participants. The introduction of climate change case studies and systems thinking tools used in the training helped participants recognize unintended consequences in complex climate systems and improved their ability to identify underlying patterns and systemic structures. The most significant impact of this iteratively refined environmental education program is that it encourages the use of systems thinking tools with practical applications in future environmental education professional development programs.