Unit 4.4: Data at Your Fingertips

Angela Daneshmand, Santiago Canyon College

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Initial Publication Date: September 20, 2024

Summary

Where is severe weather happening? In groups, students obtain and evaluate data for an assigned severe weather phenomenon and communicate information via presentation. They will review national data sets, formulate questions, define problems, and plan and carry out investigations to answer the questions they propose. Additionally, they will be able to explain the importance of weather monitoring at the local and national levels by researching how severe weather has impacted and continues to impact humans. Students will make connections between science and society by researching and reporting on a current event surrounding their topic. They evaluate current engineering designs/techniques used to mitigate severe weather impacts on humans and make recommendations to mitigate future damage from severe weather events.

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Learning Objectives

At the end of this unit, students will be able to:

  1. Analyze meteorological data on severe weather to make a claim about the conditions that cause these weather phenomena
  2. Apply science and engineering practices to address questions about Earth and/or planetary systems
  3. Analyze and interpret data to investigate how humans affect Earth and how Earth's processes affect humans, in order to make decisions about societally-relevant events
  4. Work in teams to problem-solve and communicate the results of scientific investigations

Context for Use

Unit 4.4 dives deeper into meteorological concepts and explores how atmospheric processes affect humans. This unit consists largely of students gathering information and focuses on soft skill development such as research, scientific thinking, data analysis and interpretation, team work, creative thinking, problem-solving, communication, and public speaking.

Target Audience:

This unit is intended for students in undergraduate level earth science courses, including entry-level courses designed for future educators.

Time Needed:

The activities in this unit are designed to take place over the course of two 85-minute class sessions and can be administered in face-to-face, synchronous, or asynchronous classes.

Prerequisite Skills Needed:

Basic meteorological terms and foundational concepts from Unit 4.1: How to become a weather spotter are needed to complete this unit. It is recommended that students are able to analyze and interpret data as learned in Unit 1.1: What is science and what do scientists do? and Unit 4.3: Identifying patterns and making connections.

Description and Teaching Materials

Teaching Materials:

  • This slide set serves as a guide through Unit 4.4. Breakout session slides (slides 8-17) should be printed for each group (or accessed online if computers are available in the classroom). If using the slides online, the instructor should create a separate slide set for each group to access and work on.
    • Unit 4.4 Slide Set (PowerPoint 2007 (.pptx) 184kB Sep10 24)
  • This unit includes a semi-formal presentation that students will complete in order to give them practice for the culminating unit and presentation in Unit 6. The rubric below is a guideline to help students prepare and critique one another prior to presentation day.

Day 1: 85-minute Class Session Overview

  • Think-Pair-Share (5 minutes): Students discuss the first part of the motivating question "Is severe weather siloed to certain areas?" If so, give initial thoughts about where this is happening and why it is happening.
  • Student Presentation Project Breakout #1a (30 minutes): Exploring Severe Weather. Each group of students is assigned a different type of severe weather (thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, drought, wildfires, extreme heat). After looking at their data, they develop a question from the data set, generate a hypothesis, and formulate a plan to investigate the answer to their question. (e.g., tornado data: why are all the tornadoes clustered in certain areas (question)? Why do they think this is happening (hypothesis)? What data/information do they need to answer to prove their hypothesis (plan)?)
  • Student Presentation Project Breakout #1b (10 minutes): Communicating the Data. Teams will be split up, and each member will be required to explain their data set, question, hypothesis, and plan. Each group member will be required to either ask questions for further clarification and/or give their thoughts about the other data sets.
  • Student Presentation Project Breakout #2 (20 minutes): Severe Weather Current Events. You will be able to explain the importance of weather monitoring at the local and national levels by researching how severe weather has impacted and continues to impact humans. In your groups, find a current event pertaining to your chosen severe weather type in question 1. Use your Google Slide template to create a report detailing the event and the impact it is having on humans. Be sure to include:
    • Where/when did the event happen
    • Meteorological details leading up to the event
    • Impact the event had on humans
    • At least one photo to help visualize your event
    • What did you find most interesting or surprising about this event?
    • Use your current event as an example to explain the importance of weather monitoring at the local and national levels
  • Student Presentation Project Breakout #3 (20 minutes): Evaluating Engineering Designs. Students identify/develop engineering designs to help mitigate the effects of each severe weather type on humans. Students build on their research by making connections between science and society and evaluating current engineering mitigation designs/techniques. You will do more in-depth research and find evidence of what has been engineered/designed to help mitigate the effect of extreme weather on humans and evaluate it. Teams brainstorm best practices and give suggestions on:
    • Where/how these efforts should be deployed/implemented and/or what changes should be made.
    • What are the benefits of the design? Are there any drawbacks?
    • How would you change it to make it better or more useful?
    • Where are the best places to implement these?
  • If time remains, students can present their research project to the class or complete the optional extension during an additional day of class.

Day 2: 85-minute Class Session Overview

  • Student Presentation Project (25 minutes): Students have time to meet in their groups and tie up loose ends before presenting.
  • Student Presentation Project (25 minutes): Students present their completed research ideas/findings to the class.
  • Jigsaw (25 minutes): Severe Weather in Your Community. In new groups (preferably with at least 1 student from each type of severe weather group), students are assigned to/choose a location where they will develop a question to investigate severe weather in that particular area (their community or other place of interest). Students analyze multiple datasets to make claims on changes in the weather conditions over time.
  • Whole Class Discussion (10 minutes): Students communicate their findings with others during class presentations and come to a consensus on the severe weather type(s) that affect(s) their chosen location most frequently. Students revisit the first part of the motivating question "Is severe weather siloed to certain areas?" and list at least 2 pieces of evidence to support their answers.

Teaching Notes and Tips

For all modalities, instructors are encouraged to transfer the PowerPoint slides into Google Slides for classroom and student use.

Face-to-Face Courses:

  • Encourage students to look at live data sets online.
  • It is most impactful if each group has its own computer. The instructor is advised to print the in-class group work slides for each student group and set up computers at each station before class starts. If you do not have a class set of computers (or at least one computer for each group), it is best to print the in-class group work slides (slides 8-17) for each student group.

Synchronous Online Courses:

  • Students can access Google Slides to complete during a video conferencing session (e.g., Zoom) in breakout rooms. It is best for each group to have its own slide set (slides 8-17). The instructor is advised to set these up before class starts.

Asynchronous Online Courses:

  • Students need to be assigned topics for Breakout Sessions 1-3 in advance. The instructor should consider using a discussion board such as Padlet for students to present their information and ideas to the class for Breakout Sessions #1-3 and Presentations on Day 2.

Background Information Resources:


Assessment

Formative Assessment:

  • Day 1 - Google Slides Presentation
  • Day 2 - Group Jigsaw

Summative Assessment:

  • Student Presentation
  • Quiz on main topics, including things such as:
    • Why is there severe weather in certain areas and not in others?
    • Explain the importance of weather monitoring at the local and national levels
    • Analyzing and interpreting data sets
    • Summary/comparison of data: which hazards are more likely to occur in which parts of the country and why?

References and Resources

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Orr, Cheney. Night of Devastating Tornadoes Likely Kills More than 100 in Kentucky. Reuters, 13 Dec. 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fifty-people-likely-killed-tornadoes-kentucky-governor-2021-12-11/

O'Brien, Brendan, and Rich Mckay. Flash Floods Rage in Vermont, New York; 50 Rescued by Swift Boat. Reuters, 11 July 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/heavy-rains-wash-across-us-northeast-catastrophic-flooding-possible-2023-07-10/

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