Global Climate Change Curriculum for 5-7 year olds

  • Date: July 1 - August 15, 2024
  • Location: CCE Tompkins and CCE Oneida Counties
  • Student Intern: Jiaya Guo
  • Faculty sponsor: Gary Evans, Human Centered Design, Psychology
  • Field-based mentors/supervisors: Rachel Bortin, Primitive Pursuits Camp and Richelle Singer, CCE Oneida County
  • Stipend: $6,000
A male walks a group of children toward a school bus

This internship is a translational research project on what young children understand about climate change and how they feel about it. We will engage in a combination of data analysis and interpretation as a team with our community partners who are early childhood educators with experience in environmental education. We will also rely on our community partners to direct our analyses along lines of inquiry they are interested in. We will then develop and tryout curriculum for 5-7 year olds. We plan on a highly iterative process from research to practice, from practice to research, piloting and evaluation of curriculum, and then revisions based on work with this age group in camp settings at both locations.

Roles and responsibilities 

The intern will be directly involved in qualitative data coding and interpretation of a two year project interviewing 5-7 yer olds across the US about climate change. The data are based on interviews and are in hand (no new data collection). As ideas emerge, the intern will organize meetings with both of our community partners to share and interpret our emerging findings as well as organize on site pilot testing of curriculum with camp children.

Qualifications and previous coursework

This opportunity is available to students in Cornell University's College of Human Ecology.

  • Human development and interest in the development of children's environmental attitudes and ecological behaviors
  • Interviewing experience with young children

Learning outcomes 

Following the completion of this internship, the student will have in depth experience with:

  • Translational research; qualitative methods and interpretation; environmental education curriculum development
  • Knowledge and experience working with CCE professionals in the field