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Using Worked Examples to Improve Student Understanding of Atmospheric Dynamics

Atmospheric dynamics can represent a significant hurdle for students; the need to successfully apply concepts from calculus and physics, as well as the sometimes counterintuitive nature of fluid flow, combine to produce frustration and suboptimal learning. Additionally, there is often an emphasis on equation derivations and theory, rather than real-world applications. A new approach for teaching atmospheric dynamics, known as worked examples, is discussed herein. This pedagogy resolves identified challenges in a few ways: 1) reducing the cognitive load of students by explicitly demonstrating (via an expert-constructed guide) how mathematics and physics are applied to the atmosphere; 2) utilizing (as much as appropriate) real-world scenarios to demonstrate how equations explain what we observe; and 3) providing opportunities for students to critically examine the scenario, the relevant math and physics, and the underlying theory via a series of self-explanation prompts throughout the example. This study provides detailed information on the creation and implementation of worked examples in the two-semester atmospheric dynamics course sequence at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Comparisons in performance between students who took the course as a traditional lecture and derivation-based course and those who were subject to the worked examples pedagogy identify significant improvements with the new approach, especially for first-semester dynamics. Students also express deep satisfaction with the hands-on, application-based pedagogy.