Implementing Active Learning Techniques in an Undergraduate Aviation Meteorology Course
PI Daniel Halperin
PI Joseph Keebler
Student feedback from end-of-course evaluations repeatedly indicated a desire to change the format of the course by de-emphasizing the PowerPoint-based lectures. The goal of the present study was to determine whether including a set of new active-learning techniques in an Aviation Weather course would result in better student understanding (as measured by exam scores) and make the course more engaging (as measured by end-of-course evaluations). During 2018-19, three instructors implemented five different active-learning techniques into their classes (i.e., the experimental group), while two instructors continued to use the unrevised course materials (i.e., the control group). The new active-learning techniques, described below, included daily quizzes, polling questions, flipped classroom sessions, in-class activities, and assertion-evidence-based lectures. All sections used the same assignments and exams, allowing for direct assessment of the effectiveness of the active-learning techniques. Analyses of Variance (ANOVA) tables were used to determine the statistical significance of the differences in exam scores. Indirect assessments in the form of end-of-course evaluations were also examined.
Research Dates
01/01/2018 to 12/01/2019
Researchers
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- Department
- Office of Undergraduate Advising
- Degrees
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Ph.D., University of Connecticut
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- Department
- Applied Aviation Sciences Department
- Degrees
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M.S., B.S., University of Maryland-College Park
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- Department
- Applied Aviation Sciences Department
- Degrees
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Ph.D., M.S., Colorado State University
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- Department
- Applied Aviation Sciences Department
- Degrees
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Ph.D., M.S., Florida State University
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- Department
- Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology
- Degrees
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Ph.D., M.A., B.S., University of Central Florida