2025-2026 SPIRaL Scholars

2025-2026 SPIRaL Cohort

The Research: Climate Conversations

The 2025-26 SPIRaL cohort expanded upon Project Information Literacy’s Climate Study (2024) to examine how students highly engaged in climate change activities and courses used information to talk with others about climate change.

Findings from this year-long study identified 4 key themes related to using information to discuss climate change that address various spaces student have these conversations: the Academic approach–where talking is easier due to encountering likeminded peers who are also passionate about climate change and focusing on learning from the experts; the Personal approach–where climate change conversations quickly become personal and are tied to one’s sense of identity; the Interpersonal approach–where open discussions with friends and family are challenging, as attention and efforts focus on preserving relationships; and the Societal approach–where students recognize the complexity of addressing climate change, and discussions are often focused on the systemic changes needed over individual or communal action.