There are two special features in this research-oriented teaching program: (1) it will be the only program in the country with a full and equal collaboration between the School of Meteorology and the School of Electrical & Computer Engineering for the purpose of providing an integrated curriculum on weather radar, and (2) it will have access to weather data from the recently constructed National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) at the University of Oklahoma. Students will have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the weather data derived from this new phased array radar, specifically suited for weather observations. In essence, the project will decentralize this major research facility and make it available at zero-cost to a wide array of students across the nation. By placing the radar's data on a website, a diverse population of students will be able to use this state-of-the-art facility. To bolster the undergraduate education aspects of this project, a small, diverse team of six undergraduate peer teachers will be employed - differing from a limited number traditional graduate student(s) that will assist with the laboratory experiments. The judicious use of peer teachers has been shown to be a highly effective means to motivate and retain undergraduates. The principal investigators will partner with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey (OCS) to adapt and implement project materials directly to K-12 students and teachers via the OCS Earth-Storm outreach program. Finally, an assessment plan has been devised by an expert at OU who specializes in learning and course development. Moreover, assessment tools will be developed to identify at-risk students who will receive enhanced training.
Supplementary URL: http://www.ou.edu/engineering/ece/faculty/myeary.html