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- All Subjects: Knowledge
- All Subjects: Monsoons--Southwest, New.
- Creators: Cerveny, Randall
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Collaborative learning is a potential technique for teachers to use to meet the diverse learning needs of the students in their classrooms. Previous studies have investigated the contexts in which the benefits of collaborative learning show greater presence. The most important factor found was the quality of the interactions. Studies have suggested that high achieving students are capable of improving the quality of interactions. This bears the question if prior knowledge plays an influence in the learning outcome of students in collaborative learning. Results show that high prior knowledge students do not face a detriment in having low prior knowledge students as a partner comparing to having another high prior knowledge student and that low prior knowledge students show significantly higher learning outcome when partnered with a high prior knowledge partner than with another low prior knowledge student. It is therefore likely that having a high prior knowledge student within a dyad improves the quality of interaction, resulting in greater learning outcome through collaborative learning.
ContributorsKeyvani, Kewmars (Author) / Chi, Michelene (Thesis director) / Wylie, Ruth (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The North American Monsoon (NAM) is a late summer increase in precipitation fundamentally caused by a wind shift that is evident in the southwestern United States and northwest Mexico from approximately June-August. Increased precipitation during these months bring an increased regional threat from heavy rains, blowing dust, and damaging storms. (Adams and Comrie 1997). Researchers in Phoenix, AZ theorized that using surface dewpoint measurements was an objective way to officially mark the start of the NAM in Phoenix, AZ (and Tucson, AZ). Specifically, they used three consecutive days at or above a certain dewpoint temperature (Franjevic 2017). The justification for this method was developed by Reitan (1957) who established that 25.4mm (1.00”) of integrated precipitable water (IPW) was a sufficient threshold to create storm activity in the NAM region. He also determined (Reitan 1963) that a strong correlation existed between (IPW) and surface dewpoint (Td), whereas, Td could be used as a proxy to determine IPW.
I hypothesize that the correlation coefficients between IPW and Td will be greatest when using seasonal mean averages of IPW and Td, and they will decrease with shortened mean timescales (from seasonal to three-days). Second, I hypothesize that there is a unique relationship between IPW/Td that may signal monsoon onset. To conduct this study, I used the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) dataset (1979-2015). For ten locations in the Southwest, I conducted a series of statistical analyses between IPW, Td, and accumulated precipitation. I determined that there is a correlation between the two as set forth by Reitan (1963) as well as (Benwell 1965; Smith 1966; Ojo 1970). However, from the results I concluded this relationship is highly variable, spatially and temporally. Additionally, when comparing the three-hour, three-day, and the weekly mean measurements, I can conclude that, for my study, timescale averaging did enhance the IPW/Td relationship from three-hour to weekly as expected. The temporal and spatial evolution of the IPW/Td correlation as presented in this thesis may provide a framework for future research that reevaluates the NAM’s domain and the associated methods for determining its onset.
I hypothesize that the correlation coefficients between IPW and Td will be greatest when using seasonal mean averages of IPW and Td, and they will decrease with shortened mean timescales (from seasonal to three-days). Second, I hypothesize that there is a unique relationship between IPW/Td that may signal monsoon onset. To conduct this study, I used the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) dataset (1979-2015). For ten locations in the Southwest, I conducted a series of statistical analyses between IPW, Td, and accumulated precipitation. I determined that there is a correlation between the two as set forth by Reitan (1963) as well as (Benwell 1965; Smith 1966; Ojo 1970). However, from the results I concluded this relationship is highly variable, spatially and temporally. Additionally, when comparing the three-hour, three-day, and the weekly mean measurements, I can conclude that, for my study, timescale averaging did enhance the IPW/Td relationship from three-hour to weekly as expected. The temporal and spatial evolution of the IPW/Td correlation as presented in this thesis may provide a framework for future research that reevaluates the NAM’s domain and the associated methods for determining its onset.
ContributorsPanhans, Paul T (Author) / Cerveny, Randall (Thesis advisor) / Balling, Robert (Committee member) / Krahenbuhl, Daniel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Arizona is a unique state in that rain is not a normal occurrence throughout most of the year (NWS). Arizona averages from less than three months to half a month of measurable precipitation days per year (WRCC). With that, it is important to know the public’s understanding as well as their general trend of likeness towards the weather forecasts they receive. A questionnaire was distributed to 426 people in the state of Arizona to review what they understand from the forecasts and what they would like to see on social media and television.
ContributorsHermansen, Alexis Nicole (Author) / Alvarez, Melanie (Thesis director) / Cerveny, Randall (Committee member) / Hondula, David M. (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05