UAS Faculty Learning Community for Meteorology, Aeronautics, and Air Traffic Management Education

In Fall 2017 a new “Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Research and Education” Faculty Learning Community (FLC) was formed as part of the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (CTLE) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Prescott, Arizona. Our faculty learning community is a group of trans-disciplinary faculty and professional staff engaging in an active, collaborative, four-semesters program with a curriculum enhancing teaching and learning, with monthly activities that provide learning, development of an interdisciplinary mindset, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and building a potential UAS ERAU users community. The participants in our FLC were encouraged to select a focus course or project to try out UAS innovations, applications, classroom activities and demonstrations, to assess resulting student learning, and to engage the students and stimulate their curiosity.

Our goal is to improve the quality of teaching and learning at ERAU College of Aviation, to inspire learners to conduct remote-sensing investigations, collecting and analyzing data by using Unmanned Aerial Systems as platforms to carry scientific sensors, payloads, and/or capture imagery. We want our students to collect, interpret, and develop applications for UAS remotely sensed data and to prepare themselves for an interdisciplinary future. This is accomplished through a focus on pedagogy and evidence-based, learner-centered teaching.

Our Faculty Learning Community shares student-focused activities using UAS to pursue STEM projects and investigations. We network with colleagues across disciplines in order to develop and refine a collaborative and interdisciplinary perspective of teaching. We discuss the pedagogical approach and implications for student learning and aim to engage the students in active learning, undergraduate research, working in teams, and working with real data. This study shares our strategies, ideas, and best practices.