Climate change

Sociology

Pedagogy

Digital storytelling

Social science

Environmental education

Science education

Movie theater

Biology

Agency (philosophy)

Visual arts

Ecology

Curriculum

Action research

Filmmaking

Transformative learning

Environmental Education Research

The Green Ninja Film Academy (GENIE) is an interdisciplinary curriculum development project that examines the efficacy of combining climate science concepts and practices with digital storytelling for middle school youth. We present findings from iterative enactments of this design-based research project in 2017 (N = 296) and 2018 (N = 539). On average, youth increased scores on assessments of science content and practices while demonstrating competencies in filmmaking and science explanations. Further, an inverse correlation was seen between initial identification with the environment and change in environmental identification throughout the unit. Results suggest that integration of creative filmmaking into a climate science curriculum aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards can increase engagement and science proficiency particularly for youth who initially show less engagement in environmental science.

Youth science expertise, environmental identity, and agency in climate action filmmaking