CliMAS Colloquia

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Seminar coordinator for Fall 2025 is Steve Nesbitt, snesbitt@illinois.edu.

Seminar Speaker: Professor Robin Tanamachi, Purdue University

Event Type
Seminar/Symposium
Sponsor
Professor Gan Zhang
Location
2079 NHB
Virtual
Join online
Date
Oct 31, 2023   3:30 - 5:00 pm  
Views
41

Experiential learning in atmospheric science: Why it works, and how to put it into practice.

As current and former atmospheric science students, understanding complex geophysical systems is a way of life. In this presentation, I will discuss the importance of getting students out of the classroom and actively engaged in field activities. Drawing on decades of research in adjacent earth science disciplines, I formulate a case for why field experiences consolidate not only the cognitive gains made in the classroom, but help students make emotional and tactile connections with the atmosphere that they are studying. Affective gains made via collaborative field work have also been shown to increase persistence in science careers. I furnish evidence from my own field course that authentic field experiences can strengthen students' self-conceptualization as potential future research scientists. I conclude with some simple, low-cost suggestions for getting students involved in experiential learning, along with some recommendations for ways to "bake in" opportunities for student participation in authentic field research.


https://illinois.zoom.us/j/89601259042?pwd=RlYvVlNLMFhVUm9rRkY0eXkrdlh0Zz09

 Pass Code: 941642

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