9727600 Yarger This project is a collaboration between faculty members from the geosciences and curriculum and instruction to address pressing needs in science education. The primary outcome of the project will be a model for improving beginning science courses and preparing teachers of science. An introductory meteorology course is targeted for this project. Student-directed, computer-based simulations will be developed and integrated into the introductory meterology course to facilitate the learning of difficult concepts. These simulations will record student actions and replay those actions for later study and discussion. For preservice teachers enrolled in meterology, a concurrent companion course will be created to encourage reflection on and understanding of the learning and teaching strategies that are productive in the simulated environments. This course will be based on a constructivist philosophy of learning and will make extensive use of the students actions recorded by the simulations. This project contributes to an ongoing movement to change a large lecture class to an environment where students can construct their own understanding of science. It shifts the goals of the meterology course from the learning of science content toward learning how to learn science. This shift will be beneficial to all students, but it will be of special importance to preservice teachers as an anchor for their subsequent education activities.
