Linking Meteorological Education To Reality: A Prototype Undergraduate Research Study of Public Response to Hurricane Rita Forecasts

Morss, Rebecca E.; Zhang, Fuqing

doi:10.1175/bams-89-4-497

Cited by 9 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Weather predictions have been used in the classroom as part of the learning process in order to facilitate students to better understand complex theoretical concepts as well as different atmospheric processes addressed in the corresponding lectures (Morss and Zhang, 2008;Bond and Mass, 2009;Schultz et al, 2015;Suess et al, 2013;Gómez Doménech et al, 2016). In addition, the usage of weather forecasts in an educational environment provides students with first-hand experiences to visualize and contextualize different theoretical concepts and handle available information.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and confidence on weather forecasts among Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in different subjects related to physics

Gómez

Molina

Niclòs

et al. 2022

8th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'22)

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The current study focuses on Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in Meteorology-related subjects that would make use of weather forecasts in their future professional careers. The main aim of this study is twofold. Firstly, to evaluate the students’ confidence in the current weather forecasts. Secondly, to analyze the students’ perception and understanding of uncertainty associated with weather-related forecasts. To address these issues, a Google Form questionnaire was developed. A total of 101 students participated in the corresponding survey during the academic year 2018-2019. Results show that students have a well-founded opinion and a fairly solid knowledge of weather forecasts, both regarding confidence and in relation to the trend found in the current weather forecasts towards less accurate predictions for larger lead times. The results found in the current study are in line with previous research conducted in different specific contexts and should be taken into account to implement different learning strategies in the classroom.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception and confidence on weather forecasts among Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in different subjects related to physics

Gómez

Molina

Niclòs

et al. 2022

8th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'22)

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“…Earth's atmosphere is a dynamic system with a limited predictability. For this reason, weather forecasts have some uncertainty (Morss et al 2008;Sivle et al 2014). These forecasts are based on numerical models that allow for predicting the atmosphere's evolution on a given time period.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have included weather forecasts in classroom contexts with the aim of improving the meteorological educational process (Morss and Zhang 2008). This has provided students with firsthand experiences that aim to clearly visualize the theoretical concepts addressed in the lectures (Bond and Mass 2009;Schultz et al 2013Schultz et al , 2015.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a large body of research focused on the perception and use of uncertainty in weather and decision-making as well as on the effective communication of uncertainty and probability information (see, e.g., Sherman-Morris 2005;Morss et al 2008;Lazo et al 2009;Joslyn and Savelli 2010;Morss et al 2010;Ramos et al 2010;Demuth et al 2011;Parker et al 2011;Joslyn and LeClerc 2012;O'Hanrahan and Sweeney 2013;Savelli and Joslyn 2013;Abraham et al 2015;Kox et al 2015;LeClerc and Joslyn 2015;Marimo et al 2015;Zabini et al 2015;Bostrom et al 2016;Morss et al 2016;Grounds et al 2017;Kox and Thieken 2017;Grounds and Joslyn 2018;Keul et al 2018;Losee and Joslyn 2018;Doyle et al 2019;Fundel et al 2019;Kuonen et al 2019;Taylor et al 2019;Fleischhut et al 2020;G ómez et al 2021;Joslyn and Savelli 2021). These studies generally agree that members of the public have well-founded intuitions about uncertainty on a practical level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Confidence and Communication Preferences on Weather Forecasts among University Students in Spain

Gómez

Molina

Niclòs

et al. 2022

Weather, Climate, and Society

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Weather forecasts affect life of many people and are used by the general public on a daily basis. However, they are not perfect and there is an uncertainty associated with the current weather forecasts, and the users should be aware of this uncertainty. Previous research analyzes the perceptions, uses, and interpretations of uncertainty of Spanish undergraduate students. The present study continues with this research line, but in this case, we investigate the degree of confidence and communication preferences of students enrolled in three Meteorology-related subjects taught at two universities in Spain. In this regard, we evaluated to what extent students trust in the current weather forecasts, and analyzed how students are aware of the uncertainty associated with the forecasts considering different lead times. In addition, we assessed how students value the forecast of several weather elements, as well as the students’ preferences for deterministic versus nondeterministic forecasts under two weather situations, with different degree of complexity in the forecast communication. A Google Form questionnaire was developed in order to address these issues. The survey was conducted in the academic year 2018-2019, and 101 participants anonymously filled out the survey. Participants were enrolled in three different subjects taught in the Degree in Marine Sciences at the University of Alicante, and the degrees in Environmental Sciences and Physics at the University of Valencia. Results show that students have a well-formed opinion of weather forecasts, both regarding confidence and in relation to the trend found in the current weather forecasts towards less accurate forecasts for larger lead times. Regarding students’ preferences for deterministic versus nondeterministic forecasts, a significant majority of participants have a preference for weather forecast which incorporates some kind of uncertainty compared to those who prefer single-valued (deterministic) forecasts. Comparing our results with those found in previous studies conducted to date in different countries and contexts, similar outcomes are observed in general, but some differences are highlighted as well in the current study.

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“…These experiences tend to be predominantly designed for seniors or sometimes juniors and seniors. Fortunately, the inclusion of research experiences in the undergraduate classroom is becoming more popular (e.g., Schroeder and Weiss 2008;Morss and Zhang 2008), sometimes because of extra support from larger agencies (e.g., Unidata's support for inclusion of research experiences in the undergraduate curriculum; Etherton et al 2011), but these types of courses are still not an integral part of many undergraduate programs.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Successful Introduction of Authentic Research Early in an Undergraduate Atmospheric Science Program

Quardokus

Lasher-Trapp

Riggs

2012

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

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Participating in scientific research as an undergraduate student provides an opportunity to increase understanding of how scientific knowledge is advanced, to learn new research tools, to develop the ability to critically analyze new ideas, and to practice disseminating scientific findings. This experience unfortunately has traditionally been limited to students that can participate in select programs (e.g., summer research experiences, undergraduate positions in a faculty member's research group, special topics courses, independent study, or internships). A new laboratory course has been developed to provide sophomore- level atmospheric science students with the opportunity to participate in an authentic research project within the structure of an academic semester. The course consists of two modules based upon research topics currently under investigation by faculty (here, specific problems in cloud microphysics and severe weather research). Students participate in learning activities, work as a research team, and formally present research findings. Phenomenological evaluation of the new course through interviews, surveys, and student performance assessments, using constant comparative analysis, suggests these students improve their ability to understand and perform authentic research. The students attribute their success to the “scaffolding” structure of the course, peer collaboration, and their own high level of enthusiasm. Results also imply that students gain some clarification of their career options.

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Linking Meteorological Education To Reality: A Prototype Undergraduate Research Study of Public Response to Hurricane Rita Forecasts

Cited by 9 publications

References 12 publications

Perception and confidence on weather forecasts among Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in different subjects related to physics

Perception and confidence on weather forecasts among Spanish undergraduate students enrolled in different subjects related to physics

Confidence and Communication Preferences on Weather Forecasts among University Students in Spain

A Successful Introduction of Authentic Research Early in an Undergraduate Atmospheric Science Program

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