Ditch the Final Exam! A practical way to assess end of semester learning

Studies in education advocate that students learn best when deep, meaningful connections can be made between the subject material and real life scenarios, promoting analysis and synthesis of ideas. On the other hand, deep learning is rarely facilitated by studying for exams, which instead promotes rote memorization and cramming, both of which tend to be lost after the exam has passed. In this presentation, a substitution for the final exam that has been implemented for 5 semesters is described in the context of undergraduate synoptic and mesoscale meteorology classes. In place of a final exam, a final project is assigned that is based upon current, ongoing weather events. Students observe weather conditions using surface observations, upper-air plots, skew-T diagrams, radar and satellite observations, hodographs, and numerical weather model output for 3 consecutive days, with a specific end goal in mind that encapsulates the course objectives and learning outcomes for the class. The project based approach eliminates test anxiety and allows students to complete the task on their own time, from the comfort of whatever surroundings they choose. The parameters of the assignments for synoptic and mesoscale meteorology courses are explained, examples of application-based learning, the grading structure, and student feedback are described, and grade comparisons between the same courses where a final exam was taken vs the project-based final are provided. Spoiler alert: Students perform better on the project!

Note: This presentation would fit well with the “Inclusive and Innovative Teaching methods for weather analysis, forecasting, and numerical weather prediction”