Atmospheric Sciences Education Research: Professional Society Support to an Emerging Community

Over the past ten years, discipline based education research (DBER) has emerged as an important disciplinary area, enhancing our knowledge of teaching and instruction in particular STEM fields. The National Academies states that” “DBER combines knowledge of teaching and learning with deep knowledge of discipline-specific science content. DBER describes the discipline-specific difficulties learners face and the specialized intellectual and instructional resources that can facilitate student understanding.”

As a part of DBER, the Atmospheric Sciences Education Research (ASER) community is gaining momentum. This group plays a critical role in understanding how to effectively educate future Atmospheric Scientists, how to communicate Atmospheric Science research, and in broadening the impact of our science. In support of these efforts, the AMS and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT) are working together to provide a support structure for atmospheric scientists within, or looking to join, the ASER community. NAGT is the home to an active community of Geoscience Education Researchers (GER) including many from the atmospheric sciences, publishes the Journal of Geoscience Education and hosts an education-focused conference each summer with a strong emphasis on DBER (the Earth Educator’s Rendezvous). AMS supports ASER through sessions at the Symposium on Education, a 2018 short course, and a newly formed volunteer working group focused on ASER.

This presentation will discuss the first phase of AMS and NAGT collaboration in support of the emerging ASER community.