In recent years the meteorological community has directed considerable attention to science education at the K-12 level, whereas instruction at the university level remains relatively unexamined. Current university curricula and pedagogies in the sciences are designed such that undergraduate students are presented a large amount of scientific material within a 16-week semester or 10-week quarter period. The volume of material presented during a course, coupled with the method of presentation, plays a primary role in not only the student's comprehension of material, but their ability to integrate it with concepts previously acquired either earlier in the course, in other science courses, or with pre-existing knowledge. This problem is compounded in the atmospheric sciences where new concepts are often immediately applied to historical and developing weather events, the result being the inability for students to fully comprehend course material.
Twenty-two students who completed the basic atmospheric science survey course at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Fall, 1997 were interviewed four months after the end of the semester. Students were interviewed with a naturalistic qualitative method, using semi-structured interviewing techniques. Interviews were designed to determine the content knowledge retention of material presented the previous fall. Of primary interest were (1) understanding of physical processes governing the atmosphere and (2) correct interpretation of current weather/atmospheric conditions based on knowledge gained in the course. Preliminary results indicate serious consideration should be given to reevaluating the amount and depth of material presented in introductory, survey courses in atmospheric sciences. Additionally, instructional methods should be examined to determine how material is presented and if areas of emphasis should be shifted, and examination should be given as to how to implement instructional methods which parallel current pedagogies in science education, e.g., active learning, student centered learning, discussion periods, etc. This paper will outline the process of evaluating course content and teaching methods via sound educational methodologies, summarize the results of the above described study, and provide suggestions for improving atmospheric science survey courses