Project Atmosphere has two teacher enhancement components: (a) summer course training (with two parts), and (b) peer-led training sessions.
In component (a), the course phase is held each summer both online and at the NOAA/National Weather Service Training Center (NWSTC) in Kansas City, MO for about 24 participants. This one-week in-person component consists of intensive training sessions including lectures, tutorials, seminars, hands-on laboratory exercises, and unique NWS facility tours. Trainers include AMS Education Program meteorologists, PennWest faculty, NOAA and NASA scientists, and professional science educators. Participants will have an active role and may be asked to share 'best practices' from their home institution. Prior to the on-site portion, participants will be registered as graduate students as part of Pennsylvania Western University's Global Online initiative. Completion of various online learning modules will be required for completion prior to arriving in Kansas City. Upon completion of the on-site portion, teacher-participants will have follow-up activities in the course management system.
In component (b), the teachers trained in the Kansas City summer course conduct single-topic sessions on an on-going basis, for their peers within their home states, using single-topic teaching materials developed by AMS specifically for this purpose. These peer-led training sessions are offered by Project Atmosphere Peer Trainers on a variety of meteorological topics.