Speaker Series 13
Recording
The thirteenth DevSCA Speaker Series presentation was live-streamed in April 2026. The live stream recording is embedded above.
Abstracts
Making an impact through teaching: Lessons from two climate action projects in undergraduate classes
How can academics, as concerned citizens and scholars, advocate for climate action while leveraging our unique strengths and community connections? As educators, we can create opportunities for students to learn about climate change and engage in real-world actions. Bringing climate action into the classroom has tremendous untapped potential. Embedding climate projects into classes can promote learning and spur real change, as students strengthen their understanding while designing and carrying out their own projects to address the climate crisis. Educators are now beginning to explore ways of incorporating these opportunities into their classes. This session will showcase two examples from undergraduate psychology classes. In the first example, we will hear about an individual behavioral change project in a senior-level environmental psychology class. And in the second example, we will hear about a collective action project for a general education class that paired students with local climate organizations. The discussion will highlight challenges, successes, and takeaways from these projects, raise questions about young people's involvement in climate action, and spark ideas for what audience members can try out in their own classes.
Speakers
Ron Friedman
Ron Friedman is Professor of Psychology and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the University at Albany, State University of New York. His research is mostly focused on the psychology of music, including recent projects on the origins of chord and scale preferences and on “transfer” effects of music training on working memory. Outside of his academic activities, he has participated in environmental advocacy, focusing on issues such as fossil fuel divestment, recycling of single-use beverage containers, and regulation of hydrofracking.
Pauline Brouër
Pauline Brouër is a PhD student at the University of California, San Diego. She earned her MSc in Clinical Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology at the University of Münster, Germany. Working with Dr. Adam Aron, her research focuses on the psychological factors that motivate individuals to take collective action in response to the climate and social crisis. She is particularly interested in the role of emotions as a driver of collective action and in developing new methods to study climate action in real-world settings.