Spatial Skills for Science Education

Integrating Spatial Skills and Information Technology: ITS

and Geosciencehttp://geoits.tamu.edu

Andrew Klein • Robert S. Bednarz • Sarah W. Bednarz

Texas A&M University

Spatial Skills for Science Education

• Project context

• Theoretical foundations

• Pedagogical approach

• Research questions

Two Goals and a Process…

• Professional development structured around IT

• Production of sci-ed specialists

Three “Types” in Cohort

Teachers/Certificate

Grad Students/Education

Grad Students/Geosciences

ITS Mission

Change the culture and relationships among scientists, educational researchers, and teachers by engaging them in the use of information technology to learn about: – how science is done; – how science is taught and learned; – how science learning can be assessed; and– how scholarly networks between scientists, educational

researchers, teachers, and students can be developed.

ITS Structure

COHORT of 70 Teachers

Biology Chemistry Hazards MathGEOSCI17

Geosciences Core integrating spatial

technologies of GIS, Remote Sensing, and Scientific Visualization to enhance science education

Our goal: advocacy of a spatial & problem-based approach

Premises

• Interactive spatial technologies – make it easier to create environments in

which students learn by doing– help people visualize difficult to

understand concepts– provide access to information– enhance student performance

Team Approach

• Geography: Klein, Bednarz2

– Physical/techniques geographer– Human geographer – Geography educator

• Geology& Geophysics: Bruce Herbert• Oceanography: Robert Stewart• Education: Lynn Burlbaw

Theoretical Foundations

• Spatial Skills

• Constructivism

• Action research

• Educational theories

Spatial Relational Skills

• Recognize spatial distribution and spatial patterns

• Identify shapes• Recall and represent layouts• Connect locations• Associate and correlate spatially

distributed phenomena

Spatial Relations Skills• Comprehend and use spatial hierarchies• Regionalize• Comprehend distance decay and nearest

neighbor effects• Imagine maps from verbal descriptions• Sketch mapping• Overlay and dissolve maps

Educational theory…

• Interactive lecture demonstrations– Introduction– Prediction– Observation– Discussion and development of deep

understanding to facilitate transfer

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Pedagogical Approach• Mess with data…

– Patterns?– Ways to visualize it?– Research questions/hypotheses suggested

by data?– Further data to collect?

• Global hydrological cycle as a core organizing concept

Why GIS?

Move from passive animations to active learning

Technology is already available and used in schools

Provides a hand-on tool for developing spatial relational skills

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More Than Staff Development

• ITS has a research mission as a primary goal

• A participant assessment structure is part of ITS

• Follow-up assessment of students is required

Research Questions

• Barriers to introduction of IT into classrooms: Instructor barriers– Technological (in)experience– Subject-matter mastery– Learning styles, attitudes– Spatial skills, abilities

Instructor Data

• Pre- and post-testing of participants regarding each hypothesized factor.

• Assessment of final projects– Professional development programs– Classroom activities

Student Data

• Action research by classroom instructors to measure changes in student learning, attitudes, motivation

• Thesis and dissertation research conducted by grad-student participants

Research Context

• Impact of IT on high school students’ attitudes, beliefs, and learning in geography

• Characteristics of college students that lead to success in an introductory GIS class

For additional information…http://geoits.tamu.edu

Department of Geography

Texas A&M University

College Station, Texas 77843-3147

klein@geog.tamu.edu

r-bednarz@tamu.edu

s-bednarz@tamu.edu