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Transcript of Spatial Skills for Science Education Integrating Spatial Skills and Information Technology: ITS and...
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