Proposed New Interdisciplinary Freshman Course

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Proposed New Interdisciplinary Freshman Course

• Aondover Tarhule
• Kevin Kloesel

College Retreat
October 24, 2006
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Motivation

• Idea not new
• Recommended by several College reviews.
• Recommended by the College Transition committee.
• Take advantage of the college reorganization.
• Contribute to strengthening the link between
  Geography and Meteorology.

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Purpose

• To acquaint potential and new majors in the
  college with Geography and Meteorology.
• Help students distinguish between perceptions
  and reality about Geography and Meteorology.
• Provide information that helps students make
  informed decisions about their career
  pathwaysearly!

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Target

• To be required of every declared major in their
  first year in the college. For Geography, these
  may be students with sophomore or junior standing.

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Knowledge Expectations

• Students should
• Be able to concisely define Meteorology and
  Geography.
• Understand common misconceptions related to these
  disciplines.
• Understand the scope of Geography and
  Meteorology.
• Understand career pathways in both disciplines
  as well as the nature of coursework preparation
  necessary for each track (distinct from advising).

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Knowledge Expectations

• Develop full appreciation for the constraints,
  challenges, and opportunities related to specific
  career options in Geography and Meteorology.
• Understand the societal implications of key
  meteorological and geographical phenomena.
• Be familiar with important techniques employed
  commonly in meteorology and geographic research.

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Knowledge Expectations

• Be exposed to the differing perspectives and
  research methods that geographers and
  meteorologists bring to the same problems.
• Understand the meteorological and geographical
  dimensions of processes and phenomena common to
  both fields.
• Know what meteorologists and geographers do!

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Course Design Philosophy
Geology
Meteorology
Climatology
Geomorph.
Comp. Science
Hydrology
Water Resources
The Domain of Geography
GI Science
Political Geog.
Biogeog.
Political Science
Biology
Economic
Cultural Geog.
Economics
Anthropology
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Course Design Philosophy
Atmos. Dynamics
Mesoscale
Hydromet.
Synoptic
The Domain of Meteorology
Atms. Radiation
Radar
Instrumentation
Satellite
Statistical
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Course Design Philosophy
Meteorology
Climatology
Hydrology
Water Resources
Areas of Possible Intersection
Economic Geog.
GI Science
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Intersection Model
Hydromet.
Hydrology Water Res.
Water, Weather/Climate and Society?
Societal/Economic Impacts? (Tech. implicit)
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Complementary Model
Combine seemingly unrelated courses that somehow
complement one another
Atms. Dynamics
Economic Geog.
Cultural Geog.
Weather Forecasting
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Approach Adopted

• Thematic (case study) approach to expose
  students to the range of research perspectives
  and expertise that AGS has to offer.
• Possible title Interdisciplinary Perspectives
  on Extreme Events
• Select themes that are topical and inter
  disciplinary
• To ensure broadest possible exposure to faculty
  and guarantee content accuracy, various faculty
  could be invited to teach aspects relevant to
  their experiences and expertise.

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Sample Theme Hurricane Katrina

• The meteorology of the hurricane
• Techniques employed in monitoring the hurricane
  and mapping its impacts (Remote Sensing,GIS,
  Radar, Satellite)
• Katrina-induced crime patterns
• Migration and economic impacts.

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Other Themes

• The Dust Bowl
• Human-Environmental context
• Climatic context
• Dynamics and Effects
• Guest lecturer Prof. Bret Wallach?

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Other Themes

• The 1993 Mississippi River floods
• Hydrologic context
• Human Environmental context
• Dynamics and Effects
• Monitoring and forecasting
• Guest lecturer speaker from the NWS River
  Forecast Center?

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Other Themes

• The 1999 Tornadoes
• March 20, 1948
• May 3, 1999
• Climatic setting
• The human angle
• Impacts and response
• Monitoring and forecasting
• Guest Lecturer A NWS Warning Coordination
  Meteorologist ?

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Challenges

• An existing course may have to be removed to
  accommodate the new course.
• Logistics related to teaching (course load
  allocation) and grading.
• With so many speakers rotating in and out,
  maintaining synergy and coherency could be a
  major challenge.
• Class size may limit opportunities for
  interactive activities.
• Dominance of meteorology students (numbers)
  could be an issue.

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• Thank You!
• Comments? Questions?