Building an Atmospheric Science Education Research Community: Past, Present, and Future

The field of geoscience education research was formalized fifteen years ago (Manduca et al. 2003), and the importance of discipline based education research (DBER) in the advancement of teaching and learning in the geosciences has been recognized by the National Science Foundation (National Research Council 2012). In 2008, it was proposed that improved access to literature on teaching and learning and a central resource center may help to increase participation in education research within the atmospheric science community (Charlevoix 2008). Despite being recognized as vital to the advancement of undergraduate science education, only a small number of atmospheric science faculty members are actively engaged in education research (Wilson 2016).

This presentation will discuss the various efforts that have been made to establish an atmospheric science education research (ASER) community in the years following Charlevoix’s call to the field. We will discuss the recent steps that have been taken to formalize the ASER community, and share plans for the future. We hope that the audience will also share their thoughts for encouraging forward progress.