We propose the formal inclusion of the K-12 education system as a critical step to achieving the National Weather Service's (NWS) vision of a Weather Ready Nation (WRN). The WRN is a NWS initiative to build resilience within the U.S. population to extreme weather, water, and climate events, and includes considerable research investments in science…

The Fluid Earth (FE) is an interactive data visualization initially developed for learning about Earth's atmosphere in informal educational settings. In this study, we tested FE in middle school classes to assess student engagement in a formal educational setting. Using a quasi-experimental design, students were assigned to interact with the data…

Increasing extreme weather events in a warming world fuel the need for citizens to understand natural hazards and improve community resilience. We especially need to prepare students for these challenges and increase their understanding of hazard resilience. A teacher needs assessment survey was conducted to identify current teaching practices…

In the quest for broader participation in higher education, blended synchronous courses are offered as a way to support nontraditional as well as traditional students. While students appreciate the option of participating either face-to-face (F2F) or remotely (RMT), questions remain whether RMT students are as engaged and learning at the same rate…

The emergence of digital tools, including tablets with a multitude of built-in sensors, allows gathering many geological observations digitally and in a geo-referenced context. This is particularly important in the polar environments where (1) limited time is available at each outcrop due to harsh weather conditions, and (2) outcrops are rarely…

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%)…

Refutation texts, which are texts that rebut scientific misconceptions and explain the normative concept, can be effective devices for addressing misconceptions and affecting conceptual change. However, few, if any, refutation texts specifically related to climate change have been validated for effectiveness. In this project, we developed and…

The Lens on Climate Change (LOCC) is an informal, place-based science program designed to engage middle and high school students from underserved groups in learning and communicating about impacts of climate change on their communities. This student-driven experience involves identifying a local environmental challenge, researching the topic, and…

To ascertain novice conceptions of tornado wind speed and the influence of surface characteristics on tornado occurrence, 613 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory science courses at a large state university in Nebraska were surveyed. Our findings show that students lack understanding of the fundamental concepts that (1) tornadoes are…

Addressing the need for an introductory atmospheric science course for nonscience majors, a course was developed that provides a general understanding of atmospheric processes by examining how meteorological events are portrayed in movies. The course also uses films to study the causes of, impacts associated with, and potential adaptations to…

Increasing diversity in the geosciences has remained a challenge, despite large investments made by federal agencies in minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and historically black universities and colleges (HBCUs). With increasing challenges associated with climate and environmental change and severe and frequent natural disasters that…

An Earth science professional-development program for in-service middle- and high-school teachers increased participants' content knowledge about weather, climate, and climate change in addition to increasing their confidence in their assessment and teaching skills. The curriculum and funding gave them time, funding, and the help of content and…

A survey of 691 Georgia teachers suggested that their students generally were not prepared for severe weather. Teachers also were somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of the teaching resources on weather and weather safety. Only 46 (7%) of the teachers were aware of the American Red Cross Masters of Disaster (MoD) weather science and safety…

This paper is an examination of a teacher professional development program in northeast Louisiana, that provided 30 teachers and their students with the technology, skills, and content knowledge to collect data and explore weather trends. Data were collected from both continuous monitoring weather stations and simple school-based weather stations…

Undergraduate students acquire a deeper understanding of scientific principles through first-hand experience. To enhance the learning environment for atmospheric science majors, the University of North Carolina at Asheville has developed the severe weather field experience. Participants travel to Tornado Alley in the Great Plains to forecast and…