'Curriculum Expansion for AMS Weather and Ocean Studies at the University of Houston (UHD)': A Poster Presentation on Education at the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting held in Atlanta, GA, 16 – 21 January, 2010

摘要

The history of teaching the AMS version of Weather Studies at the Department of NaturalSciences of UHD dates back to Year 2004 when it began with one section consisting of 25students. Student’s enrollment has grown steadily to fill three sections of Introduction toMeteorology (GEOL 1304) by fall semester in 2009, and I am involved with integrated lectureplus laboratory courses to date. I have also taught full Online AMS Weather and Ocean Studiescourses at the Houston Community College System (HCCS) since Year 2004, while student’senrollment has equally grown substantially to date. Most of the students have been typically nonsciencemajors, of diverse and minority origin, and have weak analytical skills but enrolled tofulfill a general science requirement for their various major degrees. I was recently mandated toparticipate in the Faculty curriculum development of a new course titled Oceanography (GEOL2390) which I started to teach in fall 2009. This event ushered in a breakthrough, and a majorachievement is that this is a sophomore level course designed based on the AMS Ocean Studiesfor the first time for both science- and non-science majors. It constitutes part of the major degreecurriculum in the Department of Natural Sciences at UHD.Accomplishments offering AMS courses include a tremendous increase in retention of minoritystudents, while the AMS Weather Studies course has become one of the most popular optionsamong other traditional physical sciences in the Department. The student-centered instructiontechnique has been adopted to actively engage their minds, with lots of peer interaction, plenty offormative assessment integrated with instruction, and a focus on concepts. The learner-centeredstrategy is enhanced by learning from visualization plus reference to current weather events andoceanographic issues, particularly extreme weather conditions as they impact on society and theenvironment. The well-researched learner-centered instructional technique has functionedeffectively as an interactive and engaging approach that involved collaborative groupcooperation.Lessons learned from past experiences reveal that Faculty should engage in continualimprovement including goal-oriented techniques that are designed to enhance student outcomesand teacher satisfaction. Achieving teaching excellence takes time, requires honest reflection onstudent’s feedbacks, plus repeated revision, and fine-tuning efforts. A major achievement iswitnessed in higher retention rates, and passive students have ultimately turned into activelearners with a renewed sense of appreciation for Weather and Ocean sciences.