MEA 444: Enhancing Student Engagement by Exploiting Perusall for Meteorology Lab Assignments

MEA 444: Mesoscale Analysis and Forecasting is a course dedicated to the analysis and forecasting of mid-latitude weather systems with emphasis on mesoscale phenomena, including thunderstorms, gap winds, downslope windstorms, land-sea breezes and squall lines. In Professor Matthew Parker’s lab, students are expected to interpret large quantities of imagery such as weather maps and radar data in addition to using plotting scripts for the first time. Their lab time is typically not long enough for them to complete the technical work, so students often complete the mechanical portions of the lab assignments during class time. This leaves the more thoughtful, interpretive parts of the work to be completed individually, after class. Parker identified the problem with the existing format as a missed opportunity for peer review and important interactions with the professor and TA to foster a deeper understanding of the course content. In the spring semester of 2024, Parker turned to DELTA by applying for an Instructional Tools Express Grant with the goal of using technology to foster productive communications outside of the classroom.

Instructional Challenges

• Parker needed a solution that would increase student interactions outside of the labs so students could benefit from peer and instructor interactions that would emulate the collaborative work environment that happens during a lab session.
• Parker was also seeking a system that would allow for rapid responses to student questions while ensuring that accessibility issues were being addressed.
• An instructional tool that would allow students to work with plotting scripts and images would be needed to facilitate the lab assignment completion and dialogue between students and their peers, as well as instructors. And, the material needed to comply with accessibility standards.

Highlights/Solutions

• Perusall was added to the Moodle course to facilitate interactions, but Perusall activity was not considered to be an assignment.
• The ability to share and annotate student images such as figures created in Python (as well as pieces of Python code) was made possible by using Jupyter along with Perusall.
• For the overall course design, suggestions were made to clarify timeframes (Week 1 or Unit 1), to clarify student actions (add verbs to assignment descriptions such as READ PPT slides, REVIEW Classroom Capture Recordings, etc.) and to specify topics of classroom recordings (Classroom Recording: Shearing Instability).

Related Links

• Perusall Instructor Guide
• Getting Started: Perusall
• How do I set up peer review?
• Can students upload their own documents to the course?
• What instructions can I provide to students?
• Engage Students Socially in Course Texts with Perusall

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