Building NWS–University Partnerships through Experiential Education: NWS Topeka Meteorologists in the University of Kansas Classroom

For the past few years, meteorologists from the National Weather Service (NWS) in Topeka, Kansas have taught the “Operational Forecasting” class for undergraduate atmospheric science students at the University of Kansas. During the spring semester of 2019, the NWS Topeka staff decided to follow an innovative approach to teaching this course, thereby taking full advantage of this opportunity to greatly deepen partnerships between the operational and academic communities. Nearly half of the operational staff of the NWS Topeka office co-taught the course during spring 2019, allowing each staff member to teach topics that fell within their focal point areas, or areas of expertise. All six co-instructors developed their own teaching materials and class assignments, with the goal of providing students with realistic insight into tasks and meteorological assessments that are routinely performed by operational meteorologists.

Instructors discussed the following topics: basics of operational meteorology, mesoscale surface analyses, mesoscale forecasting for tornadic-supercell environments, hodographs and their implications for convective modes, post-storm surveying and verification, radar and satellite meteorology, aviation forecasting, weather communications, methods for messaging weather forecasts to diverse audiences, the role of the NWS forecaster, and culture in operational forecast offices. In an effort to provide students with as much operational meteorology experience as possible, instructors crafted their in-class and homework assignments accordingly to replicate routine NWS forecast responsibilities and the creation of routine products. Students gained experience in completing mesoscale surface analyses and utilizing them to aid in mesoscale forecasting, particularly for convective weather situations. To learn more about aviation weather forecasting, students created their own simulated Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts for a severe weather situation. Delving into routine operational decisions and the potential challenges that can exist with collaboration efforts, groups of students worked through different operational workplace scenarios and discussed viable solutions to those challenging situations. With the growing demand for decision support services in the NWS, effective weather communications was another critical topic within this course, during which students constructed a Situation Report and an Area Forecast Discussion, completed a stand-up weather briefing with briefing slides, and participated in a mock media interview.

Throughout the course, several students commented on how the content of this course was exactly what they were looking for, because it didn’t exist in other courses and allowed them to learn more about how to apply the meteorological concepts they’ve learned in other atmospheric science classes. This unique teaching opportunity has allowed NWS Topeka staff to build stronger working relationships with the Atmospheric Science Department at the University of Kansas, and the staff looks forward to strengthening those connections while educating more atmospheric science students in operational forecasting in the future. This is just one example of many operations-academia partnerships that could be cultivated, as a vital component to accomplishing operations-to-research and research-to-operations initiatives. Moreover, this experiential-education-based approach to teaching has provided instructors an opportunity to collectively build upon a broader array of expertise -- including the development of training materials and collaborative opportunities that stem from individual-class preparation. This talk will provide an extensive overview of how the NWS Topeka staff revitalized their approach to teaching at the University of Kansas, along with important opportunities that emanate from such experiences.