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University of Florida

Understanding Global Climate Change


UF Faculty: Jessica-Jean Stonecipher
Department: University Writing Program
College: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Partner Faculty: Lorena Michele Brennan Bourdon
Department: Language Department (DEL)
Partner Institution: Western Institute of Technology and Higher Studies – (ITESO)
Title: Understanding Global Climate Change: Attitudes and Solutions
Project Description:

The virtual exchange between ITESO University in Guadalajara, Mexico and the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida will create intercultural awareness and knowledge exchanges about climate change in Mexico and the United States. 

Students will share popular news stories and attitudes related to climate change from their respective homes. They will also share proposed and enacted policies and solutions from their communities. After sharing realities and resources, students will compare and contrast different experiences of climate change and approaches to address it within the two countries. 

Student collaboration will be facilitated by a synchronous Zoom session and two asynchronous activities using Zoom Whiteboard. Students will also complete individual reflections at the end of the exchange.
Learning Outcomes:
  • Students will learn about global climate change from another perspective and country.
  • Students will be able to analyze popular attitudes and policy solutions from both countries.
  • Openness to interact with culturally different others and learn from them and their experiences. 
  • Shows interest in different global approaches to global climate change.
  • Students will communicate virtually with students in another country and from another culture about issues of global importance.
  • Students will share and compare personal experiences and professional knowledge about subject area. 
Participating Countries: Mexico
Number of Participants: 24 Students
Discipline: Global Health
UF Course Code & Name: ENC 2305 - Global Medical Narratives
Project Duration: 3 weeks in exchange, 1 week in reflection
Activity Type(s): Student-to-Student Dialogue
Time allotted to each activity:
  • Synchronous Activities: 1 hour (1x time)
  • Asynchronous Activities: 1 hours/week
  • Local group activities: 1 hours/week
Technology Tools:
  • Zoom Whiteboard
  • Zoom meetings
Sequence of Activities:
  • Icebreaker:

Use Zoom Whiteboard to have students post pictures of their day-to-day life – in the city where they live. Then put students in small breakout rooms to discuss the photos they shared. Students will have clear guidelines to complete the first breakout room discussion. 10 minutes After students come back, one person from each group will share some commonalities and differences among the group. 10-15 minutes.

  • Engagement Activity:

Finding and sharing one popular local news source related to climate change. Students will each post one source and then reply to one shared question (everyone answers) on their original post. Then, students will each contribute two questions or comments on another student’s original post (from their VE partner country).

  • Collaboration Activity:

Finding and sharing one proposed or passed policy related to climate change (any of the specific issues highlighted in the earlier discussion boards). Students will each post one source and then summarize the policy in 1-2 sentences. Then, students will read through the posts from their VE Partners and vote on the policies they think are most impactful. Professors will post and share the top policies from each country with their
classes. Each class will use the information and exchange to write a compare and contrast essay with sources in their respective classes.

  • Reflection Activity:
Students will reflect in a discussion format.