Creating a Family of Educators Committed to Justice-Centered Climate Change Pedagogy

Teaching the scientific, historical, and social facets of global climate change, its causes, and inequitable impacts presents a challenge to most K–12 teachers. In this article we describe the design and implementation of a yearlong professional learning program created to support urban, public K–12 teachers in the creation and enactment of Justice-Centered Climate Change Pedagogy (JCCCP) while developing a long-term teacher learning community. The program, "Oakland Teachers Advancing Climate Action" (OTACA) is now in its fourth iteration in a major West Coast city. Here, we present the conceptual framework of JCCCP used to design the program; our approach to the professional development framework for supporting teachers in their collective development of JCCCP; and examples of JCCCP and our professional learning program in practice, along with commentary on the strengths and challenges of our design as well as its transferability across contexts. This article can serve as a guide for researchers and practitioners who want to support teachers as they develop teaching practices focused on addressing climate (in)justice in their classrooms.