In the context of introductory courses in physical geography and meteorology, it is common around February 2 for curiosity to arise among students regarding the veracity of "Groundhog Day" predictions. Historically, most instructors' immediate response to such inquiries has been a definitive "NO," emphasizing the impossibility…

This article presents a semester-long, interdisciplinary project-based learning (PBL) suitable for secondary and postsecondary students enrolled in a second-semester (i.e., intermediate) meteorology course. This case-study approach builds on the research question "What atmospheric conditions lead to tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radios (NWRs) can be used by education agencies before, during, and after an emergency. The information collected through the NWR may be used to determine which annexes (whether functional or threat- or hazard-specific) should be activated. Furthermore, NWRs may be used to receive…

The Fundamentals in Meteorology Inventory (FMI) concept inventory exam was recently developed to gauge understanding of fundamental meteorological concepts among introductory meteorology students. The exam was iteratively tested and refined over several years using a small sample of students. With a goal of evaluating the reliability and validity…

Hurricanes pose significant risk to life and property to communities adjacent to the tropical cyclone basins of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. In the United States, there are significant public misconceptions about hurricane hazards such as wind and storm surge, despite timely and accurate forecasts and warnings. However, appropriate…

The African Data Initiative started as a crowd-sourced campaign to improve the teaching of statistics in African universities. The analysis of climate data provides one suitable context to illustrate ideas that lead to a radical new form of teaching. The problem within the context comes first, the technicalities are largely reduced -- mathematics…

This paper describes a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) about air pollution and the findings resulting from its implementation by pre-service elementary teachers (PET) currently undergraduate students of the Department of Primary Education in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece. The TLS focused on the relation of air…

A survey with nine meteorological charts, maps, and images from a 2015 significant weather event was administered to meteorologists (N = 93) to identify which spatial thinking skills they report using with each chart, map, and image. Results reveal high reported use of mental animation (74.6%), disembedding (72.4%), and perspective taking (71.6%)…

Students in introductory college science courses often have a simplified understanding of the scientific method. To introduce students to the complexity of the scientific process and the value of empirical observations, I implemented a semester-long assignment that required introductory-level college science students to build and calibrate weather…

The online learning environment can add substantial advantages to learning such as continuous access to material and the ability to foster learning through additional visual supplemental materials, but it can also add further challenges that may not be as evident when teaching traditional, face-to-face courses. An individual's place affiliation…

A differential scanning calorimeter was used to study homogeneous nucleation of ice from micron-sized aqueous ammonium sulfate aerosol particles. It is important to understand the conditions at which these particles nucleate ice because of their connection to cirrus cloud formation. Additionally, the concept of freezing point depression, a topic…

By the end of the nineteenth century, the momentum for the idea of a more practical education better suited to life in a modern, technological world brought the first educational reform movements in the nation. Concurrent reform efforts at the state and national levels influenced both the historical development of Earth science education and the…

The 2021-2040 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Education Strategic Plan is a reflection of the knowledge and dedication of the NOAA education community. Strategic planning provides guidance for NOAA Education and a framework for tracking and reporting progress. This plan builds on the foundation of the 2015-2035 NOAA…

In this paper a teaching-learning sequence (TLS) introducing pre-service elementary teachers (PET) to weather map reading, with emphasis on wind assignment, is presented. The TLS includes activities about recognition of wind symbols, assignment of wind direction and wind speed on a weather map and identification of wind characteristics in a…

The steep learning curve associated with computer programming can be a daunting prospect, particularly for those not well aligned with this way of logical thinking. However, programming is a skill that is becoming increasingly important. Geography graduates entering careers in atmospheric science are one example of a particularly diverse group who…