Atmospheric and Ocean Science Education:

Reflections on the past, the present, and the future

– being a talk in three parts –

Atmospheric and Ocean Science Education:

Reflections on the past, the present, and the future

– being a talk in three parts –

John T. SnowThe University of Oklahoma

Norman, Oklahoma USA

Paper 107 (Keynote), presented 7 July 20036th ICSPMOE – Madrid, Spain

AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements• Don Johnson, Univ. of Wisconsin, who

introduced me to Earth System Science in the 1980s• Art Few, Rice University, who taught me the

need for integrative thinking with respect to Earth System models• Cathy Manduca and Dave Mogk, who

introduced me to inquiry as way of learning• Faculty colleagues, who over the years debated

with me on what science education is today and what it could (should) become in the future• Many, many students, who put up with my

experiments in the classroom

I. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Education: The PastI. Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Education: The Past

• In The Beginning …In The Beginning …

• Reductionist Period – 1945 to ~1990Reductionist Period – 1945 to ~1990

• Related DevelopmentsRelated Developments

• A Turn Toward IntegrationA Turn Toward Integration

In The Beginning …In The Beginning …

• Natural philosophy in the late 1700s Holistic; no formal disciplinary boundaries Physical Geography is probably most direct

descendent

• Geology: early 1800s – the parent earth science

• Meteorology: mid-1800s, but “modern” meteorology post-WW I; expansion began post-WW II with growth of air service

• Oceanography: mid-1800s, but “modern” oceanography in the mid-1900s, growing with onset of the cold war

Reductionist Period – 1945 to ~1990Reductionist Period – 1945 to ~1990• Focus narrowly on components of Earth System to build

the knowledge base research driven

• Development of narrow subspecialties Continued proliferation for last 50 years

• Much, much progress in both understanding and applications, but … Loss of connection to the life sciences Loss of perspective of the whole:

“Can’t see forest for the trees”

• Begin to end in 1980s due to satellite views, “climate problem”, increasing model resolution

POINT: Modern science education, independent of particular discipline, has evolved to be largely reductionist in structure, with early specialization

Related DevelopmentsRelated Developments• Association with global military operationsAssociation with global military operations

Cold WarCold War End of the Cold War and rise of a “new world order”End of the Cold War and rise of a “new world order”

• Rise of the “environmental movement”Rise of the “environmental movement” Politics and PolicyPolitics and Policy ““Soft” science Soft” science environmental science is perceived as environmental science is perceived as

second classsecond class

• Global population Global population 6B + “rising expectations” 6B + “rising expectations”• Tools and Techniques Tools and Techniques a “fire hose” of data a “fire hose” of data

Computational capabilities; telecommunications Computational capabilities; telecommunications (Internet (Internet WWW); GIS; … WWW); GIS; …

Observing platforms; GPS; …Observing platforms; GPS; …

POINT: Sets the context for present and future

A Turn Toward IntegrationA Turn Toward Integration• View from space View from space Again seeing Earth as whole Again seeing Earth as whole• Knowledge base has reached stage where again Knowledge base has reached stage where again

need to consider Earth’s two fluid envelopes need to consider Earth’s two fluid envelopes surrounding a solid earth as an integrated surrounding a solid earth as an integrated system system Earth System ScienceEarth System Science; such a ; such a perspective required to address:perspective required to address: Environmental QualityEnvironmental Quality Water IssuesWater Issues Climate ChangeClimate Change Evolution of lifeEvolution of life

• Bio-geoscienceBio-geoscience formal reconnection to the life formal reconnection to the life sciencessciences Life an integral part of the Earth SystemLife an integral part of the Earth System

• Scientific foundation for sustainabilityScientific foundation for sustainability

II. Education In The Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: The Present

II. Education In The Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences: The Present

• Entering a Golden Age?

• A More Demanding Customer Base

• New Demands on Education

• Growing Interest In Education

Entering a Golden Age?Entering a Golden Age?• Knowledge base has grown to where we can begin

to understand the Earth as an integrated system Biogeochemical cycles Climate and climate change Co-evolution of the planetary system and life

• New tools and techniques promise unprecedented opportunities to explore the Earth System on a wide range of scales Now able to “see” phenomena in ways impossible only

a few years ago Continued push toward “big science”

POINT: Education must prepare all people for continuing major advances in understanding and in capabilities to monitor and prediction

A More Demanding Customer BaseA More Demanding Customer Base

• Atmospheric and ocean sciences rely on the support of society – government, industry Shrinking discretionary budgets Accountability

• Utilitarian Perspective of Science Applications to Decision-Making Support to decision makers in government

and industry Establishment of a global society sustainable

in long term

POINT: Lawyers, accountants, populist politicians are in charge of the future!

New Demands on Science EducationNew Demands on Science Education• Knowledge base is large and growing

Making sense of what we know frameworks How did we come to know what we know? history

• Ability to use wisely an ever-growing range of technical tools – skills vs. knowledge The WEB, search engines, digital libraries healthy,

informed skepticism for sorting wheat from chaff Computing tools necessary to utilize the data streams

-- GIS, MIS

• Prepare students for life-long learning Personal re-invention several times during a career

POINT: Educational programs should be flexible, adaptable to prepare students for a rapidly evolving personal and professional environment

Growing Interest In EducationGrowing Interest In Education

• Life-long economic valueLife-long economic value

• Awareness among scientists that societal Awareness among scientists that societal concerns are importantconcerns are important

• NSF Criterion 2NSF Criterion 2

• Informal Education Informal Education Edu-tainment Edu-tainment

III. Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Education: The Future

III. Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Education: The Future

• Goals for Tomorrow’s Teachers and Students

• A Way Forward

• Objectives 1, 2, 3 – Know, Understand, Apply

• Objectives for the Capstone Experience 1, 2

• Special Place for Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Education

• Closing Challenges

Two Goals for Tomorrow’s Teachers and StudentsTwo Goals for Tomorrow’s Teachers and Students• Development of integrated understandings of

Earth processes that combine measurements from observing systems with numerical simulations/prediction models

• Development of skills for accessing, manipulating, and analyzing massive data streams, converting “data” into “information” for decision-making

POINT: Tomorrow’s educational programs must prepare students to live in a very complex, very challenging world

One Way ForwardOne Way Forward

• Emphasize fundamentals of mathematics, physics, chemistry, life sciences as applied to the Earth as a whole students must come to know, to understand, and to be able to do

• As a capstone experience, investigate an aspect of a disciplinary area as an exploration for a career

Objectives 1Objectives 1

• Know the basic physical, chemical, and life science principles that govern the functioning of the Earth System (what scientists have come to know -- “facts”, theories, models -- about Earth processes as reflected in observable events) Quantitative as well as qualitative

appreciation of the natural world and the events that occur within it

Interconnections of Earth’s major subsystems Earth history: Evolution over long time

Origin, composition, and structure of the planet Co-evolution of life and the planet

Objectives 2Objectives 2

• Understand that science is a systematic method for exploring the natural world (how scientists have come to know what they know - processes, methods) Development of scientific “habits of mind”

( critical thinking, arguing from data, mathematical and reasoning skills, and problem solving experiences)

Objectives 3Objectives 3

• Able to apply knowledge and understanding to the solution of novel problems Uses a suite of appropriate “technology” – IT, GIS,

GPS, visualization – in problem solving Accesses relevant parts of the accumulated body of

knowledge about the natural world Recognizes, quantifies uncertainties and risks

POINT: Foundation for further study, living and working a hi-tech world, informed decision making, life-long learning

Objectives for the Capstone Experience 1Objectives for the Capstone Experience 1

• Depth knowledge, understandings, and skills GIS, RS, GPS tools as appropriate to the

disciplinary area Ethics risk; societal impacts (good and bad)

• Case study based, team-oriented Context: how disciplinary knowledge fits with

that of other geoscientists, engineers Integration: how to apply disciplinary

knowledge to solve complex problems

Objectives for the Capstone Experience 2Objectives for the Capstone Experience 2

• Technical project content + writing, presentation skills

• 22 to 24 months

• Opportunities for industry involvement internships, tailored projects

POINT: Career oriented; develops a flexible skills package

Special Place for Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences EducationSpecial Place for Atmospheric and Ocean Sciences Education• Readily accessible natural laboratories in air and ocean;

many interesting phenomena with short time scales

• Inherent natural interest of students in atmospheric phenomena, the sea, and the environment

Some students born to be meteorologists!

• Only geoscience with its own 24-hour TV show: The Weather Channel

• Combination of science/high technology with the out-of-doors

• Environmental concerns

• Community building – air and oceans connections us all

Closing Challenges to the Atmospheric and Ocean Science EducatorClosing Challenges to the Atmospheric and Ocean Science Educator• Teaching environmental ethics and values;

humankind as part of an integrated environment; environmental economics students prepared to contribute to development of a sustainability society in a world of rapid changes

• Development of an entrepreneurial spirit with regard to science education, breaking with traditions of last 100 years Bold and innovative in both structure and content Recognize that excitement as well as content must be

communicated; emphasize critical thinking and problem solving skills

Re-orient to serve the needs of the work place

John T. SnowDean, College of GeosciencesThe University of Oklahoma

Sarkeys Energy Center, Suite 710100 E. Boyd Street

Norman, Oklahoma 73019 USA 

Telephone: 405-325-3101FAX: 405-325-3148

 E-mail: jsnow@ou.edu

Web site: http://geosciences.ou.edu