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

  • No Photo
    Department
    Office of Undergraduate Advising
    Degrees
    Ph.D., University of Connecticut
  • Robert Eicher
    Department
    Applied Aviation Sciences Department
    Degrees
    M.S., B.S., University of Maryland-College Park
  • Thomas Guinn
    Department
    Applied Aviation Sciences Department
    Degrees
    Ph.D., M.S., Colorado State University
  • Daniel Halperin
    Department
    Applied Aviation Sciences Department
    Degrees
    Ph.D., M.S., Florida State University
  • Joseph R. Keebler
    Department
    Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology
    Degrees
    Ph.D., M.A., B.S., University of Central Florida