An in-class case study is presented for use in a liberal arts core extreme weather course, designed to foster science literacy, appreciation, and critical thinking skills in nonscience majors. Students are ultimately shown the critical importance of the physical sciences in their daily lives and encouraged to consider STEM (science, technology,…

Uses air temperature profiles--a topic taught in beginning meteorology courses--to illustrate the ease of restructuring the teaching/learning environment as a problem-solving mode. Students access real-time information through Accu-Weather's interactive database. Students use the data to answer the question, "What happens to air temperatures…

Describes a study in which paradoxes about seasons, hemispheres, and altitude were used to teach concepts in climatology. The misconceptions commonly held about the earth-sun distance relationship were used as an instructional strategy with an experimental group, which outgained the control group on an achievement test. (TW)