Sandra Chang-Kredl, PhD

Sandra Chang-Kredl joined the Department of Education in 2012, after completing her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction at McGill University. Dr. Chang-Kredl’s research program intersects the areas of teacher education, curriculum studies, media literacy, children’s popular culture, and early childhood education. She has been awarded funding from FRQSC (Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture) and SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) to examine issues related to teacher identity, including cultural representations of childhood and childcare, and teachers' uses of memory to construct beliefs about childhood. She examines children’s media experiences from a cultural studies perspective and the impact of technological changes on children’s symbolic and social play. As collaborator and co-investigator in two Public Safety Canada grants, she evaluates curricular strategies to support non-discriminatory practices online. Her professional experience as a certified teacher and administrator in early years education informs her research, teaching and pre-service field supervision in the department.

Education

Ph.D. Curriculum & Instruction, Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University.
M.A. Education (Child Study), Concordia University.
B.Ed. Elementary Education, McGill University.

Courses taught

Undergraduate courses:
EDUC 295 Internship I: Pre-Kindergarten Teaching
EDUC 296 Pre-Kindergarten Teaching Seminar
EDUC 302 Administration in Childhood Settings
EDUC 374 Child Studies Field Experience
EDUC 395 Internship III: Kindergarten Teaching
EDUC 396 Kindergarten Teaching Seminar
EDUC 411 Toys, Media and Children’s Popular Culture

Graduate courses:
CHST 606 Qualitative Methods of Inquiry
CHST 620 Theories of Play
CHST 624 Curriculum Models in Childhood Settings
CHST 640 Special Topics: Images and Constructions of Childhood

Other courses

Undergraduate courses taught at McGill:
EDEC 203 Communication in Education
EDEC 262 Media and Technology in Education, Elementary
EDEC 325 Children’s Literature
EDEC 402 Media and Technology in Education, Secondary

Visit the CSIM lab website

Graduate student opportunities

I am looking for graduate students interested in learning about global warming and climate modelling, and exploring the role of greenhouse gas cycles in the context of recent and future climate change. Potential students should have good quantitative skills, and some knowledge of computer programming would be an asset. Possible research projects include:

• Estimating the climate response to cumulative greenhouse gas emissions
• Predicting allowable emissions for global climate change policy targets
• Assessing climate impacts as a function of global mean temperature change
• Assessing national contributions to and responsibility for global warming

Current Climate Lab student projects

• Seth Wynes (Postdoc): Public understanding of climate change and other global risks
• Jen Gobby (Postdoc): Understanding social drivers of systemic change 
• Mi Lin (Postdoc): Towards science-based biodiversity pathways for Canada
• Claude-Michel Nzotungicimpaye (Postdoc): Climate impacts resulting from cumulative emissions
• Daniel Horen Greenford (PhD student): Fossil fuel supply and responsibility for climate change
• Travis Moore (PhD student): Historical and projected future changes in weather extremes
• Maida Hadziosmanovic (PhD student): Corporate contributions to and responsibility for historical climate change
• Étienne Guertin (PhD student): Modelling coupled climate-economic systems
• Mitchell Dickau (PhD student): Effect of non-CO2 emissions on the remaining carbon budget
• Yisa Ginath Yuh (PhD student): Climate and land-use impacts on great apes in the Congo basin
• Miles Barette Duckworth (MSc student): Effect of gravel roads on carbon sequestration via enhanced weathering
• Donny Seto (RA and Lab Manager): Cities, fossil fuel reserves and climate change

Full publication list available here:

Google Scholar profile

Selected Publications

• Zickfeld, K., Azevedo, D., Mathesius, S. and Matthews, H. D. (2021) Asymmetry in the climate-carbon cycle response to positive and negative CO₂ emissions. Nature Climate Change, 11, 613-617.

• Matthews, H. D, Tokarska, K. B., Rogelj, J., Forster, P., Haustein, K., Smith, C. J., MacDougall, A. H., Mengis, N., Sippel, S. and Knutti, R. (2021) An integrated approach to quantifying uncertainties in the remaining carbon budget. Communications Earth and Environment, 2, 1-11.

• Matthews, H. D., Tokarska, K. B., Nicholls, Z. R. J., Rogelj, J., Canadell, J. G., Friedlingstein, P., Frölicher, T. L., Forster, P. M., Gillett, N. P., Ilyina, T., Jackson, R. B., Jones, C. D., Koven, C., Knutti, R., MacDougall, A. H., Meinshausen, M., Mengis, N., Séférian, R., and Zickfeld, K. (2020) Opportunities and challenges in using carbon budgets to guide climate policy. Nature Geoscience, 13, 769-779.

• Mengis, N., Keller, D. P., MacDougall, A., Eby, M., Wright, N., Meissner, K. J., Oschlies, A., Schmittner, A., Matthews, H. D. and Zickfeld, K. Evaluation of the University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model version 2.10 (UVic ESCM 2.10). Geoscientific Model Development, 13, 4183-4204.

• Stewart, B. M., Turner, S. E. and Matthews, H. D. (2020) Global warming impacts on potential future ranges of non-human primate species. Climatic Change, 162, 2301-2318.

• Mengis, N. and Matthews. H. D. (2020) Non-CO₂ forcing changes will likely decrease the remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C. npg Climate and Atmospheric Science, 3, 19.

• Horen Greenford, D., Crownshaw, T., Lesk, C., Stadler, K. and Matthews, H. D. (2020) Shifting economic activity to service sectors will not reduce global environmental impacts. Environmental Research Letters, 15, 064019.

• Dickau, M., Guertin, É, Seto, D. and Matthews, H. D. (2020) Projections of declining outdoor skating availability in Montreal due to global warming. Environmental Research Communications, 2, 051001.

• Mattauch, L., Matthews, H. D., Millar, R., Solomon, S. and Venmans, F. (2020) Steering the climate system: using inertia to lower the cost of policy: Comment, American Economic Review, 110, 1231-1237.

• Tokarska, K. B., Schleussner, C.-F., Rogelj, J., Stolpe, M., Matthews, H. D., Pfleiferer, P. and Gillett, N. P. (2019) Recommended temperature metrics for carbon budget estimates, model evaluation and climate policy, Nature Geoscience, 12, 964-971.

• Chavaillaz, Y., Roy, P., Partanen, A.-I., Da Silva, L., Bresson, É, Mengis, N., Chaumont, D. and Matthews, H. D. (2019) Exposure to excessive heat and impacts on labour productivity linked to cumulative CO₂ emissions. Scientific Reports, 9, 13711.

• Matthews, H. D., Zickfeld, K., Knutti, R. and Allen, M. R. (2018) Focus on cumulative emissions, global carbon budgets and the implications for climate mitigation targets. Environmental Research Letters, 13, 010201.

• Millar, R. J., Fuglestvedt, J. S., Grubb, M., Rogelj, J., Skeie, R. B., Friedlingstein, P., Forster, P. M., Frame, D., Matthews, H. D. and Allen, M. R. (2017) Emissions budgets and pathways consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C. Nature Geoscience, 10, 741-747

• Leduc, M., Matthews, H. D. and De Elia, R. (2016) Regional estimates of the Transient Climate Response to cumulative CO₂ Emissions. Nature Climate Change, 6, 474-478.

• Matthews, H. D. (2016) Quantifying historical carbon and climate debts. Nature Climate Change, 6, 60-64.

• Gignac, R. and Matthews, H. D. (2015) Allocating a 2°C cumulative carbon budget to countries. Environmental Research Letters, 10, 075004.

• Matthews, H. D., Graham, T., Keverian, S., Smith, T., Seto, D. and Lamontagne, C. (2014) National contributions to observed global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 9, 014010.

• Gillett, N. P., Arora, V. K., Matthews, H. D. and Allen, M. R. (2013) Constraining the ratio of global warming to cumulative CO₂ emissions using CMIP5 simulations. Journal of Climate, 26, 6844-6858.

• Matthews, H. D. and Solomon, S. (2013) Irreversible does not mean unavoidable. Science, 340, 438-439. 

• Matthews, H. D. and Zickfeld, K. (2012) Climate response to zeroed emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols. Nature Climate Change, 2, 338—341.

• Damyanov, N, Matthews, H. D. and Mysak, L. (2012) Observed changes in the outdoor skating season in Canada. Environmental Research Letters, 7, 014028.

• Matthews, H. D. and Weaver, A. J. (2010) Committed climate warming. Nature Geoscience, 3, 142-143. 

• Davis, S. J., Caldeira, K. and Matthews, H. D. (2010) Future CO₂ emissions and climate change from existing energy infrastructure. Science, 329, 1330-1333. 

• Matthews, H. D., Gillett, N., Stott, P. and Zickfeld, K. (2009) The proportionality of global warming to cumulative carbon emissions. Nature, 459, 829-832. 

• Matthews, H. D. and Turner S. E. (2009) Of mongooses and mitigation: Ecological analogues to geoengineering. Environmental Research Letters, 4, 045105.

• Zickfeld, K., Eby, M., Matthews, H. D. and Weaver, A. J. (2009) Setting cumulative emissions targets to reduce the risk of dangerous climate change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A., 106, 16129-16134.

• Matthews, H. D. and Caldeira, K. (2008) Stabilizing climate requires near-zero emissions. Geophysical Research Letters, L04705.

• Matthews, H. D. and Caldeira, K. (2007) Transient climate-carbon simulations of planetary geoengineering. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., 104, 9949-9954.

• Friedlingstein, P. et al. (2006) Climate-carbon cycle feedback analysis, results from the C⁴MIP model intercomparison. Journal of Climate, 19, 3337-3353. (Matthews, H. D., co-author) 

• Matthews, H. D. (2005) Decrease of emissions required to stabilize atmospheric CO₂ due to positive carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L21707.

• Matthews, H. D., Eby, M., Weaver, A. J. and Hawkins, B. J. (2005) Primary productivity control of simulated carbon cycle-climate feedbacks. Geophysical Research Letters, 32, L14708.

• Matthews, H. D., Weaver, A. J. and Meissner, K. J. (2005) Terrestrial carbon cycle dynamics under recent and future climate change. Journal of Climate, 18, 1609-1628.

• Matthews, H. D., Weaver, A. J., Meissner, K. J., Gillett, N. P. and Eby, M. (2004) Natural and anthropogenic climate change: Incorporating historical land cover change, vegetation dynamics and the global carbon cycle. Climate Dynamics, 22, 461-479.

The LEADS (Leadership in Environmental and Digital Innovation for Sustainability) program is a new NSERC-CREATE funded graduate training program that seeks to train graduate students at the interface of the fields of sustainability science and digital technologies. Our goal is to provide students with the skills, knowledge and experience needed to mobilize the transformative power of digital innovation towards the challenge of meeting the world’s climate and other sustainability goals.

Student Opportunities

Information about openings for graduate students can be found on the LEADS program website.