Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth: An Online General Education Science Course in Mountain Weather and Climate for Snow Enthusiasts

Weather and climate change in mountainous regions and other areas of complex terrain affect roughly half of the Earth’s land surface, population, and fresh-water runoff, yet there are few large-enrollment, general education science courses focused on mountain weather and climate. This talk examines a recently developed general education science course at the University of Utah, Atmos 1000: Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth, which provides snow enthusiasts with the opportunity to develop practical knowledge and problem-solving skills in mountain weather and climate. Successful online teaching strategies, instructional challenges, and lessons learned in developing and offering Atmos 1000 will be shared during the presentation.

Atmos 1000 is an asynchronous (i.e., no live lectures) online course developed within the Canvas Learning Management System. The course is structured to enable self-paced learning and is divided into 14 modules, available weekly, comprised of: (1) an overview that introduces students to the subject area, learning outcomes, and learning activities; (2) assigned reading from the book Secrets of the Greatest Snow on Earth; (3) a series of short instructional videos with interactive questioning and prompts ranging in length from 3 to 12 minutes; (4) a 15-question multiple-choice knowledge check; (5) a series of scenario-based learning activities that require students to develop skills and strategies for perseverance and problem solving; and (6) participation in discussion boards in which students respond to selected prompts that do not have a clear answer or allow them to share personal perspectives or experiences. All course materials, including the electronic version of the book, are available without additional fees or costs. Many low-risk formative assessment opportunities are used to reduce student stress.

Module topics include Wasatch Mountain microclimates, snow climates of North America, snow and ice crystals, avalanche fundamentals and accidents, winter-storm forecasting, climate change, and the fate of skiing in a warming world. Scenario-based learning activities include using climatological snow cover maps of Switzerland to identify snow-sure ski resorts; identifying human factors contributing backcountry avalanche accidents; and assessing the vulnerability of ski tourism in the northeast United States to climate change. After completing the course, students not only have a deeper knowledge of atmospheric and snow science but can also apply problem-solving strategies to better pursue winter-sports interests. Although it has a skiing and snowboarding emphasis, we have had students who don’t participate in winter sports take the course simply because they want to learn about snow and mountain weather.

Atmos 1000 was first offered in spring semester 2021 and we have gradually increased enrollment each academic year, commensurate with teaching assistantship support. For spring 2024, we reached the enrollment cap of 460 students prior to the start of classes. Student course feedback collected by the University of Utah Center for Teaching and Excellence and end-of-semester evaluations is overwhelmingly positive with students liking the depth of information, varied topic areas, and the structure and organization. One student commented that “This may be one of, if not, the greatest class I have ever taken. The format is incredible. I also love the subject matter. Every unit is interesting and engaging.” Course evaluations continue to be strong, with 94% of students responding that they would recommend the course to other students.