Computer Exercises in Meteorology.

Beginning with Western Kentucky University's (Bowling Green) fall 1999 semester, exercises required for the geography and meteorology course used computers for learning. This course enrolls about 250 students per year, most of whom choose it to fulfill a general education requirement. Of the 185 geography majors, it is required for those who choose the Meteorology-Climatology track. Prior to the use of computers, exercises required for the course were done using a locally written exercise manual. For the last few years, this manual has not existed and all the exercises are completed using computers with locally conceived, designed, written, and programmed exercises. Each exercise includes presentation of current and topical weather information, and real time meteorological data. An acquired program called, Test Pilot, performs the grading, record keeping, and immediate feedback to the students. All exercises are completed in the Meteorology Lab Room during scheduled times and under the supervision of Meteorology Lab instructors. The development/implementation of the computer exercises was fraught with problems. Time demands for this phase were unexpectedly and demandingly high. The subsequent years involved revisions, corrections, and reassessments. The exercises are now considered a normal and expected part of the course. This paper describes the course's evolution. It describes the learned techniques and procedures used in developing, implementing, and assessing this method of teaching meteorology. This application may be useful for those courses with enrollments too great for traditional laboratory exercises. The paper notes that these methods can be replicated for other physical geography courses. (Author/BT)