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Todd Ellis
Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Western Michigan University
I'm an Assistant Professor for Weather and Climate education in the Mallinson Institute for Science Education and the Department of Geography at Western Michigan University. I started here in 2015, after 6+ years on the faculty of SUNY Oneonta, finishing as an Associate Professor of Meteorology.
I have a Ph.D. (2008) and M.S. (2005) in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University, and B.S. (2002) degrees in Physics and Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University, University Park. My areas of expertise include atmospheric science education (K-16), K-12 teacher preparation, informal science education, science writing, remote sensing of the atmosphere, and physical meteorology. I have taught or developed 10 new courses over my career, and I have been an education and outreach officer for the NASA CloudSat mission since 2006.
Current research includes improving the expertise of teachers in using authentic mission data as part of the process of science, improving observational skills among K-12 learners, and improving models for professional development of pre- and in-service earth science educators.
I am currently Vice President of the NAGT Geoscience Education Research Division, and in charge of the long range planning committee and efforts to recruit other disciplines into the fold.
Website Content Contributions
Activity (1)
Is There a Trend in Hurricane Number or Intensity? part of Hurricanes-Climate Change Connection:Activities
This lab guides students through an examination of the hurricane record to determine if there is a trend in hurricane intensity over the past 40 years and introduces some issues related to statistics and ...
Learn more about this review process.
Conference Presentations (3)
Clouds in a Bottle: A versatile way to explore gas laws and phase changes part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2016:Program:Teaching Demonstrations:Tuesday B
In this activity, designed for introductory level undergraduates, but adaptable for K-16 learners, we explore fundamental ideas about the Ideal Gas Law as it applies to the atmosphere, and specifically to the ...
A Pilot Study of Spatial Thinking for Meteorology Education part of Earth Educators Rendezvous:Previous Rendezvous:Rendezvous 2016:Program:Poster Sessions:Tuesday
The important role of spatial thinking in STEM education is established, yet minimally applied to meteorology education and the study of atmospheric sciences. Weather forecasting, involving hand plotting of ...
Using Python to infuse data analysis in the curriculum part of Rendezvous 2015:Program:Abstracts
In this talk, I will present lessons learned from a previous NSF CCLI grant to incorporate computer data analysis in the meteorology curriculum, and demonstrate the power of Python to expand on those findings in ...
Other Contributions (5)
General Oceanography at SUNY College at Oneonta part of Math You Need:Implementations
This page is designed to provide a guide to a planned implementation ofThe Math You Need, When You Need It.It will change as the implementation proceeds at this institution. Please check back regularly for updates ...
Communities
July 2017 Earth Educators Rendezvous 2016
July 2016 Earth Educators Rendezvous 2015
July 2015 Climate of Change Interest Group
Teach the Earth
Earth Educators' Rendezvous Interest Group
EarthConnections Interest
Workshop Leader
Workshop Participant (7 workshops)
July 2016 Implementing NGSS -Rendezvous15
July 2015 Early Career Workshop 2009
June 2009