Why Teach Weather? Weather images removed for copyright reasons

Stage at which geography PGCE students at each establishment had last been taught ‘weather’ Number of students MMU 2011OxfordNottinghamMMU 2012 Primary1100 KS31-50 KS47332 KS53547 Degree/ masters 1594

Willingness of geography PGCE students at each establishment to teach about mid-latitude weather systems (before RMetS training session) Number of students MMU 2011OxfordNottinghamMMU – avoid at all costs – can’t wait to start -2

What we are offering One day’s tuition, free of charge for PGCE students (and mentors in schools?) Focussing on mid-latitude weather systems, but touching on other topics Subject knowledge, not ‘how to teach’ Mixture of talks, fieldwork, practical activities and online resource evaluation

Having done the weather and climate day and the GIS morning, I feel like I have had a real good go at getting to grips with both of these. I have a lot more confidence in weather and climate than before the day’s lectures/lessons and if they were something to teach in my next school I would find the planning more straight forward thanks to a better prior understanding. Weather and Climate - This week, Dr Sylvia Knight from the Royal Meteorological society came to speak to us about teaching weather and climate in schools. It was an interesting day and I certainly learnt a lot. However, on hearing that the Met Office don't employ geographers, and weather and climate can sometimes be considered to be part of physics, I wonder why it is taught in geography and not physics. Being involved in all information days focusing on weather, GIS and exam techniques has been very useful and has addressed concerns I had with all areas. The days have been very informative and I feel they have been very beneficial in the preparation for the forthcoming weeks. During this week, we have had a full day on weather and climate. Before Tuesday, I had hoped that I would never have to teach weather and climate, but now I am looking forward to teaching this and feel confident in my ability to do so.

On Tuesday, we were in university for a “weather day”. Two members of the Metrological Society visited us for an extremely interesting and useful day teaching us about weather and more specifically ‘mid-latitude depressions,’ also known as low-pressure systems that affect the Western half of Europe including the UK. The weather is a popular topic for GCSE and more commonly, A Level and I will now feel much more confident teaching this topic if required. Weather and Climate: The visit by Dr Sylvia Knight was very useful, especially to enhance my subject knowledge. The practical activities, resources and informative lecture that she provided were extremely useful and helped to consolidate my previous knowledge. It was also a great opportunity to clarify any queries that we had. The session on Weather and Climate was very helpful as it was topics that I had never covered at school and at university to any great detail. I often worry about whether I can teach the topics I am unsure about, however, these sessions give me confidence I can teach everything, I just need to continue improving my subject knowledge, and the best way to learn something is to teach it! In five years time I will hopefully look back and wonder why I was ever worried!

I feel far more confident to teach Weather and Climate, especially to Key Stage 3. I would still need to improve my knowledge for GCSE and do considerable work for A Levels, but I at least now have the confidence to do this. It is also good to continue making links with organisations (such as the Metrological Society) as their ability to lend equipment, for example, is something I can offer to any potential employer. This week has been hugely useful in terms of subject knowledge – I really enjoyed the weather and climate day and found the whole day extremely useful, although it was a shame to learn that the met office does not hire geography graduates! I would definitely feel confident in teaching the weather in school. It was great to have a day updating this part of my subject knowledge. Attending the Weather and Climate and AQA A-Level sessions at MMU was useful as it allowed me to refresh my subject knowledge which will benefit me when I teach sixth form and during my Block B school. I found these sessions valuable as it covered areas that I had not studied previously allowing me to feel more confident when teaching various topics.

This week I have also reflected on the day we spent looking at weather and climate with Sylvia Knight. This day proved extremely useful to me personally as I knew that my subject knowledge was lacking specifically in this area. As a result of this day I now feel more than capable of teaching this topic at my next placement if I am required to. The recap of Weather made me feel much more confident teaching this subject, which is one of my favourites within the field of physical geography.

How has the RMetS training day changed your attitude to teaching weather and climate in the future? Number of studentsMMU 2011NottinghamMMU 2012 Still won’t teach it Was going to teach it anyway 122 More likely to teach at KS More likely to teach at KS4/ Am now incredibly keen and will lobby my school to teach weather 41

Contact with departments

What now? Would making it regional work? Would your students be prepared/ able to travel to a regional training session? What would the costs involved be and who could cover them? Could your institution host a regional training session? Can you find a date that suits most of you in the region? Weekend or weekday? Any other considerations?