The Backyard Weather Science Curriculum: Using a Weather-Observing Network to Support Data-Intensive Issue-Based Atmospheric Inquiry in Middle and High School

This theoretical article proposes using statewide weather-observing networks (Mesonets) to support data-intensive, issue-based teaching of atmospheric topics in middle and high school science. It is argued that the incorporation of this new technology and its affordances into the school curriculum can drastically change the ways that atmospheric topics are taught and learned in classroom settings, from dull lectures to engaging explorations of weather phenomena with potential not only to spark in-the-moment curiosity but also long-term interest in STEM. However, this educational revolution is contingent upon the availability of instructional materials that are pedagogically sound and developmentally appropriate. School-aged students require strategic instructional design and supportive pedagogic scaffolding to pursue their curiosity feelings and develop a motivational profile that is conducive to interest in STEM (self-efficacy, outcome expectation, etc.) as well as situational awareness. In addition to articulating the theoretical underpinnings of this proposition, an account is provided of ongoing efforts to turn this cutting-edge scientific technology into a curriculum space for students to explore weather phenomena, conduct map-based inquiries, and engage in data-based deliberation in the context of real-world issues. Centered on the provision of investigative cases that are locally situated and relevant to students’ lifeworld (place), the Backyard Weather Curriculum is presented to illustrate how this can be accomplished through the adoption of a place-based approach wherein relevance serves as an essential design principle for curricular development and enactment. Such curriculum, it is argued, can help promote student development from curious explorers to inquirers with a deep epistemic interest in STEM.