Hands-on, interactive, computer-based in-class exercises have been developed and implemented into a survey course, "Introduction to Meteorology," at the University of Illinois. The goal of the incorporation of the exercises was to enhance students understanding of fundamental meteorological concepts and to improve their quantitative reasoning skills. Beginning in Summer 2002 and continuing in Fall 2002, the Introduction to Meteorology class will be held in a computer lab where students have access to computers allowing the incorporation of the computer-based exercises into the curriculum on a regular basis.

Previous offerings of this same class utilized similar in-class exercises that were not computer based. After the summer offering and during the fall offering of this class, we will assess the effectiveness of the move to computer-based exercises. Data collected during previous semesters will be compared to data collected during the modified course offering to determine the improvement of student understanding of key atmospheric processes.