A thoughtful exercise for students and climate leaders
The En-ROADS guided assignment challenges participants to use the En-ROADS simulator to create a scenario that successfully addresses climate change while considering implications across the economy, environment, and society. The En-ROADS assignment is most commonly used in classrooms, ranging from middle school to graduate level students. It can also be adapted as an exercise for non-academic settings. Often, the assignment is given following the En-ROADS workshop or Climate Action Simulation game experience.
“I used the long version of your guided assignment in my senior-level Climate Dynamics class this past semester, and it was very successful. The students were able to keep warming below 2°C, but all did it in different ways. And one student, on his final, wrote, ‘One of the most valuable interfaces over the course of the semester was the climate interaction En-ROADS which highlighted the many different possible effects on climate change and their magnitudes, whether good or bad.’ “
– Dr. Alan Robock
Rutgers Professor and En-ROADS user
We offer two versions of the assignment – you may modify the assignment for your needs. Looking to offer the Guided Assignment in a language other than English? Explore this worksheet to see translated versions of the assignment as well as other En-ROADS materials.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Learn about the climate system and solutions.
- Develop a personal vision for solving climate change that is grounded.
- Think creatively about how to solve climate change while balancing economic, equity and other societal issues.
EDUCATOR STEPS:
Here are our recommended steps to accompany your use of the assignment. You may adapt these steps to suit your needs.
If you run into any questions along the way, be sure to visit the Climate Interactive Support Desk .
Educator Preparation
-
(If you are new to En-ROADS) Spend some time learning about En-ROADS, so you can feel comfortable leading it for your
students. We recommend that you review some of the modules and quizzes in our Mastering En-ROADS
series. A few good places to start:
- Module #2: Introduction to Mastering En-ROADS
- Module #5: En-ROADS Simulator Dynamics
- Choose the short or long assignment. Modify the assignment for your classroom if necessary.
- Prepare your lesson plan and determine your grading rubric.
Student Preparation
Determine what kind of background you want to give your students before they can feel prepared to complete the En-ROADS assignment.
Give an overview to En-ROADS:
- Demo the En-ROADS simulator or have your students watch our introductory video .
- Walk through sample actions in the simulator, and show how to look at the different graphs. You can follow the “Test Actions in En-ROADS” instructional points found in the En-ROADS Workshop Facilitator’s Guide (pages 10- 12).
- If students have access to computers, give them the link to the En-ROADS simulator and ask them to start experimenting.
- You can point your students or participants to this starting page , which includes all the resources they need to complete the Guided Assignment
- Describe the goals of the assignment.
Optional & recommended if you have the time:
- Lead the Climate Action Simulation (a role-playing UN summit game) or the En-ROADS Climate Workshop for your students before giving this assignment. These are two options for a fun, interactive event which you can facilitate for your students in a classroom session. The role-playing game is especially helpful for students to develop a better understanding of the many stakeholder interests which have to be negotiated while forming a global plan that addresses climate change.
- Teach a lesson on a background topic such as climate science, sustainability, energy economics, or international politics. Teachers who use this assignment often teach a course topic in a related field of science, economics, or government.
Give the Assignment
- For the long version, it is typical to give at least one week for students to complete the assignment.
- The assignment could be done in a group or individually.
- You could ask students to make a video to present their results (check out this example!) .
- Provide support for students if they have questions about the assignment.
Follow the Assignment with Additional Activities
- After doing the assignment, have your students present their scenarios to each other. They can have a discussion about their different approaches and questions.
- You may choose to organize a more formal presentation or competition in which teams present their proposal. Here is a video of a student competition at Stanford University.
Share with our team!Share your favorite student samples, photos, videos, or stories. Share your feedback and ideas. We love to hear from educators about your positive experiences or ideas for improvement. If you tweet your picture, use #EnROADS!
Please Register your Event
Please register your event each time you use the assignment for a class! It takes just two minutes and it helps us a lot. Registering your event allows us to gather feedback on our tools and track who is using them around the world. Registrations also help us continue to demonstrate our value to funders so we can keep providing these tools for free.
FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:
En-ROADS User Guide:
Learn about the En-ROADS sliders and key system dynamics
Climate Interactive Support Desk
: Search our Support & Community Forums for more topics. You can also email us with your question by submitting a new
support ticket.