Beyond Bob Dylan: Integrating music and video into meteorology courses

A recent Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society article focused on the weather imagery in the lyrics of Bob Dylan's songs. In fact, there is a plethora of music and film with connections, both obvious and subtle, to our discipline. Can we use these connections to benefit our students and enhance the teaching of weather and climate?

Since 1994 I have used music and video as a regular part of my teaching practices in meteorology and geography courses. In this presentation, I will first provide rationales for why this is a sound educational strategy. Then a series of examples will be discussed that illustrate how subjects as diverse as the molecular structure of water, the extratropical cyclone, and weather forecasting can be taught in concert with popular music and film.

In addition to specific examples, a semester-long "playlist" of weather-related music covering each topic in a typical introductory weather and climate course will be outlined.

To conclude the presentation, student assessment of this approach and extensions to upper-division courses will also be examined.