USING ANIMATED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION · 2008. 6. 26. · using an animated geographic information...
Transcript of USING ANIMATED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION · 2008. 6. 26. · using an animated geographic information...
USING AN ANIMATED GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
OF HISTORY IN AMERICA
A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY
IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE
By Brett E. Matney
NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
APRIL, 2008
USING GIS TO IMPROVE HISTORY EDUCATION
Using an Animated Geographic Information System
to Improve the Quality of Secondary Education
of History in America
Brett E. Matney
Northwest Missouri State University
THESIS APPROVED
Thesis Advisor Date
Dean of Graduate School Date
Using an Animated Geographic Information System
to Improve the Quality of Secondary Education
of History in America
Abstract
This study was done to determine if an animated GIS can help enhance the
educational experience for American history students in our public schools. The purpose
was to show that GIS could help alleviate three problems facing our society today. Those
problems are that geographic education is lacking, traditional teaching methods neglect
visual learners, and the average child today has a short attention span. A project was
created with ArcMap and ArcGIS Tracking Analyst designed to present a history lesson
on the American Revolution to an eighth grade history class. The presentation was given
along with pre- and post-tests to determine if the presentation helped them understand the
information better. A control group class was given an alternate PowerPoint presentation
to compare results. The data showed no difference, but there were many issues with the
presentations. More research on the subject is needed. A questionnaire was also given,
and many positive conclusions regarding the value of GIS as a teaching tool can be
derived from these questionnaires. The majority opinion is that GIS could be a valuable
teaching tool used in American history classrooms. The significance of this study is that
the aforementioned problems are hindering the education of our society and GIS could be
the answer.
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Table of Contents
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents............................................................................................................... iv
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................... viii
Acknowledgements............................................................................................................ ix
Introduction..........................................................................................................................1
Research Objective ..................................................................................................1
Rationale ..................................................................................................................2
Significance..............................................................................................................2
Background..............................................................................................................3
Study Area ...............................................................................................................4
Limitations ...............................................................................................................4
Order ........................................................................................................................4
Literature Review.................................................................................................................5
Introduction..............................................................................................................5
The Deterioration of Geographic Education............................................................5
The Importance of Geographic Knowledge.............................................................7
Attempts to Improve Geographic Education ...........................................................8
Future Actions Needed ............................................................................................9
Status of History Education ...................................................................................10
The Importance of Historical Knowledge..............................................................10
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Attempts to Improve Historical Education ............................................................11
Different Opinions on Learning Styles ..................................................................12
Descriptions of the Three Different Learning Styles.............................................12
Auditory Learners ......................................................................................12
Visual Learners ..........................................................................................13
Kinesthetic Learners ..................................................................................13
Making Learning More Visual...............................................................................15
Future Considerations for Different Learning Styles.............................................16
Attention Spans of Today’s Youth ........................................................................16
History of GIS as a Teaching Tool ........................................................................17
The Value of Using Geography to teach History...................................................18
The Value of Using GIS to Teach..........................................................................18
Previous Research on Using GIS as a Teaching Tool ...........................................19
Conceptual Framework and Methodology.........................................................................21
Overview of Methodology.....................................................................................21
Data Sources ..........................................................................................................22
Data Used...............................................................................................................22
Research Methodology ..........................................................................................26
Statistical Tests ......................................................................................................47
Limitations of the Methodology ............................................................................48
Analysis Results and Discussion .......................................................................................49
Introduction............................................................................................................49
Statistical Results ...................................................................................................49
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Questionnaire Results ............................................................................................63
Analysis of the Presentation Issues........................................................................65
Analysis of the Relationship between Results and Study Issues ...........................69
Conclusion .........................................................................................................................71
Appendices.........................................................................................................................77
References..........................................................................................................................79
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List of Figures
Figure 1: Rectifying the Scanned Map ..............................................................................23
Figure 2: Beginning of Presentation ..................................................................................28
Figure 3: Beginning Sequence ...........................................................................................29
Figure 4: Pre-War Events...................................................................................................30
Figure 5: Pre-War Events Continued.................................................................................31
Figure 6: Using Bookmarks to Change View....................................................................32
Figure 7: Beginning of the War .........................................................................................33
Figure 8: Nathan Hale’s Last Words .................................................................................34
Figure 9: Philadelphia/Saratoga.........................................................................................35
Figure 10: Philadelphia/Saratoga Continued .....................................................................36
Figure 11: War Out West...................................................................................................37
Figure 12: War Out West Continued .................................................................................38
Figure 13: Using Bookmark to Change View to the South ...............................................39
Figure 14: War Turns to the South ....................................................................................40
Figure 15: Frontier Militia Get Big Victory ......................................................................41
Figure 16: Moving Through North Carolina .....................................................................42
Figure 17: Cornwallis Heads North ...................................................................................43
Figure 18: Converging on Yorktown.................................................................................44
Figure 19: End of the War and Presentation......................................................................45
List of Tables
Table 1: Both Statistical Studies Mean and Standard Deviation .......................................50
Table 2: Variance Test of GIS vs. Non-GIS Results .........................................................51
Table 3: t-Test of GIS vs. Non-GIS Results ......................................................................52
Table 4: Variance Test of Hour 6 vs. Non-GIS Results ....................................................54
Table 5: t-Test of Hour 6 vs. Non-GIS Results .................................................................55
Table 6: Variance Test of Hour 3 vs. Non-GIS Results ....................................................57
Table 7: t-Test of Hour 3 vs. Non-GIS Results .................................................................58
Table 8: Variance Test of Hour 4 vs. Non-GIS Results ....................................................59
Table 9: t-Test of Hour 4 vs. Non-GIS Results .................................................................60
Table 10: Variance Test of Hour 7 vs. Non-GIS Results ..................................................61
Table 11: t-Test of Hour 7 vs. Non-GIS Results ...............................................................62
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Acknowledgements
First and foremost, I would like to thank Mr. Chet Owens for providing me the
base data to formulate this project, and for allowing the use of his students as research
subjects.
I would like to thank my father, Mark Matney, for providing valuable insight into
different teaching methods and students’ learning styles.
I would like to thank Shafer, Kline & Warren, Inc. for providing me the software
and hardware to accomplish this project.
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Chapter 1: Introduction
Research Objective
Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) as a teaching tool has inspired
much debate since GIS with user-friendly interfaces became commercially available and
accessible to novice users in the early 1990’s (Demirci 2008). There is much debate on
the utility of GIS as a teaching tool because it is difficult to quantify the value of using
GIS to teach. A study in 2000 at Ligon High School in Los Angeles supports the notion
that using GIS to teach history helps to improve the retention of knowledge (Alibrandi
and Sarnoff 2006). However, very few studies like the one done in Los Angeles have
occurred. Finding data on the value of using GIS to teach history is very difficult due to
the lack of research done. Finding data on using animated GIS to teach is even more
difficult as very little has been done in this specific area.
The purpose of this research is to attempt to bring focus to the situation and to
answer the question: can an animated historical GIS database be used to advance
education of history in our public schools?
This thesis project was done to support the Ligon study with more research. A
presentation was given to an eighth grade history classroom using GIS to teach a lesson
on the American Revolution. The objective was to show that taking the extra step and
animating the GIS would enhance history education even more. If nothing else, the hope
was to reinforce the study by Alibrandi and Sarnoff (2006) and demonstrate that GIS can
really make a difference in the retention of historical knowledge.
Rationale
The rationale, or justification, for this question is based upon three separate, but
intrinsically linked, observations. None of these observations can be fully proven, but all
of them are supported with multiple sources in the literature review in Chapter 2. The
first observation that justifies this research is that history and, to a much greater extent,
geography education in this country is severely lacking. “Geography as a school subject
and as a university discipline in the United States is, to put it mildly, underrepresented”
(de Blij 2005, 14).
The second observation is that traditional teaching methods favor students who
learn mostly by auditory means, and neglect students who learn better through visual and
kinesthetic means. “Many academic situations are auditory, so in many classrooms this
type of learner does well. When the teacher instructs and gives the class verbal
directions, has class discussions on a regular basis, and asks questions to clarify the
content, the student with verbal strengths has an advantage” (Fuller 2004, 45).
The last observation that justifies this research is a general lack of attention span
of today’s youth. This is generally due to all of the technological advances in recent
years. The average child has to be presented information in a much more vibrant,
exciting way. GIS can be the tool that allows us to reach children in a new and exciting
way.
Significance
The significance of this study lies in the importance and value of understanding
both history and geography. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to
repeat it.” - George Santayana (Andrews, Biggs, and Seidel 2006). Those famous words
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are the essence of history education. They speak to the heart of why it is important for us
to know what has occurred in the past, so that we may learn from our mistakes.
Understanding how cultures and societies are different from place to place is just
as important as knowing how things have come to be the way they are. Knowing
geography means knowing the world as it truly is. As we learn geography, we develop
an understanding of other people, and are more capable to deal with the conflicts and
clashes that plague our world today. It is also vital to understand how our human
interactions affect the environment and vice-versa. All of this comes from developing a
better understanding of geography.
Background
Herschel Sarnoff is a history teacher in the Watts section of Los Angeles. Due to
the hostile nature of the neighborhood in which he teaches, it is not an area that is prone
to children succeeding at high levels. With his initiation of advanced techniques, mostly
GIS, he has been able to really connect with his students, and they are thriving. Alibrandi
and Sarnoff (2006) detailed a project that Sarnoff’s students did in developing their own
GIS databases to try and answer a hypothetical question of whether or not the South had a
chance to win the Civil War, depending upon whether there was foreign intervention or
not. By being hands on with GIS and history, the students learned the material much
better than normal. The authors documented how using GIS helped the students create
mental maps that come in to focus the more they understand the space-time continuum.
All historical events have geographic bases (Alibrandi and Sarnoff 2006). The work
Sarnoff has done is crucial to the underlying principle of this research project, or at the
least it reinforces the project.
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Study Area
The American Revolution and the area where it occurred were chosen as the
historical event and study area for this research. The chronological order and geographic
effects that the war’s battles and events had on one another can be difficult to visualize,
which can hinder understanding of the war. The American Revolution is important to
understand because after the war, events transpired throughout the world that led many
other countries to follow the United States’ lead in the practice of democracy.
Limitations
There were many limitations to the research. Five different classrooms were
presented to, totaling 110 students, but to truly get a feel for the effects of GIS, one would
have to sample a much larger number of subjects. Also, just because a student
remembers something that was presented to them a few moments before doesn’t
necessarily mean they will retain that knowledge long-term. Another limitation to this
project was my inexperience as an educator, which could have impacted the clarity of my
presentation.
Order
Chapter 2 of this thesis is the literature review, which lays out the basis for the
research. There are many underlying factors for this research, and the previous research
and observations that others have done is laid out in this review. Chapter 3 describes the
methodology that was used and details the steps taken to fulfill the research objectives.
Next, Chapter 4 presents the analysis and observations of all of the results and findings
from the research. Finally, Chapter 5 documents conclusions, based on the analysis and
experiences within the research process.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
Introduction
Before reviewing literature on using GIS to teach history, this chapter reviews
literature on the three observations that are the basis for this research. First, the status
and shortcomings of history and geographic education are discussed. Then, different
learning styles are documented and discussed, and the shortcomings of modern teaching
methods with regard to learning styles are documented. Finally, the lack of attention
spans in today’s youth is documented. After the background for the research is
substantiated with credible sources, the previous research on the subject is documented.
Very little has been done specifically with regard to using GIS to teach history; however,
many similar ideas have been supported. These ideas include using geography to teach
history, and using GIS as a teaching tool in general. These concepts can be pieced
together to support this research.
The Deterioration of Geographic Education
The first observation that justifies this research is the deterioration of geographic
education in the United States and the catastrophic effects this has had. Up until around
1948, geography was held in the utmost regard within American academia (Dobson
2007). Geographers were vital to the early expansion of our country and the important
geopolitical actions of the early half of the last century (the creation of the United
Nations) (Dobson 2007). “Soon after World War II, however, geography was purged in
the United States, and the impact continues today” (Dobson 2007, 1).
Through the 1950s and 1960s geography maintained some of its earlier status, but
was still in a slow decline (de Blij 2005). The turning point came when “social
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engineers” got a hold of it and changed things in a way that spelled doom for the
discipline in K-12 education (de Blij 2005). “Professional” educators decided to combine
history, government, and geography into a new subject called social studies, because they
thought this was a superior way to teach geography (de Blij 2005). Geographers and
historians alike worried that their disciplines would be purged with this eclectic teaching
method, but geographers fought the trend (Thornton 2007). Historians embraced the
movement and made sure that history became the dominant thread of social studies
(Thornton 2007). Social studies teachers became more history teachers than anything
else (Thornton 2007). University history departments were the ones preparing future
social studies teachers; consequently, geography became an afterthought to history within
the social studies curriculum (Thronton 2007).
As a result, the K-12 curriculum in the United States is practically void of
structured geographic education (Dobson 2007). The idea of earning a college degree in
geography is foreign to most students (Dobson 2007). This has left most Americans
geo-illiterate. “Although U.S. troops have been on the ground there since 2003, as of
2006 only 37% of young Americans could find Iraq on a map” (Thornton 2007, 535).
Surveys have shown that even educated people have severe problems understanding map
usage (de Blij 2005). “At one college, only 42 percent (of students) could correctly name
Mexico as our southern neighbor” (de Blij 2005, 17). The effects go beyond these
appalling statistics. The shear lack of a basic understanding of general geographic
knowledge underlines the more important shortcomings of the public’s lack of
knowledge of geo-spatial interaction between humans, the environment, countries, etc.
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The Importance of Geographic Knowledge
Most social observers and pretty much all geographers understand the value of
geographic education. Meanwhile, the people that make the major decisions regarding
geography’s place in academia still feel geography is not as vital as other “staple”
subjects, such as math or science. The priorities of policy makers have not been swayed
by the decades of findings that alert to the issues of geographic illiteracy (Thornton
2007). Geography was not included amongst the subjects being funded by the No Child
Left Behind program, even after Congress had said that geography is essential (Dobson
2007). Dobson (2007) goes on in his report to lay out certain things that geographers can
do to help persuade the “people that make decisions” into doing what is right for
geography as an academic stronghold. He says, “Tell people what geography is.” Most
people seem to think geography is just knowing place names. We must tell people “that
geography is to space what history is to time” (Dobson 2007, 2). The idea of a history
department not being included in a university is ludicrous, why isn’t it the same for
geography (Dobson 2007)? He also says we need to “lobby for a rational legislative
agenda” (Dobson 2007, 2). Without the funds to supply the movement, it will ultimately
fail.
What’s the point of trying to persuade the “policy-makers” to help in the
movement to “re-introduce” geography back into the academic fundamentals? What is
the value of this endeavor? Our national security is linked to our geographic literacy (de
Blij 2005). The world is becoming more and more competitive and our lack of
geographic knowledge puts us at a serious disadvantage (de Blij 2005). It is critical to
have intelligent geographic insights to solve geopolitical problems and to make decisions
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about our economy and culture and many other areas of concern (de Blij 2005).
Knowledge is power in our globalizing world (de Blij 2005). The challenging times
ahead will require us to know as much as possible about our planet (de Blij 2005). In this
regard, the importance of geography has no superior (de Blij 2005).
To truly understand the importance of geographic knowledge, de Blij (2005, 12)
tells a story about a little girl, Tilly Smith, and the terrible tsunami that hit Thailand on
December 26th, 2004. Tilly was vacationing there with her parents, when she saw the
water recede. She remembered what she had just been taught by her geography teacher,
Mr. Andrew Kearney at Danes Hill Prep School in Oxshott, south of London, about
tsunamis and how they suck back the water off the beaches before they come crashing
back as a “wave of death”. Tilly told her parents and they went running up and down the
shore warning as many people as they could. About 100 people followed them to an
upper floor of a hotel nearby, and all of them survived. All of those who stayed behind
perished. The British papers declared her “The Angel of Phuket”, and rightfully so, but
they should have given a “shout out” to Mr. Kearney as well. If Tilly had been an
American, she might have perished, along with the 100 or so others she helped save.
Attempts to Improve Geographic Education
Attempts have been made to improve the state of geographic education in this
country. Over $100 million has been spent by the National Geographic Society on
professional-development seminars, building statewide networks of geography teachers,
and helping to write the recommended national standards for geography (Hoff 2002).
“ ‘The National Geographic Society's efforts have been the most important ingredient in
getting geography taught on a wider scale,’ says Sarah W. Bednarz, an associate
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professor of geography at Texas A&M University in College Station” (Hoff 2002, 7).
But the progress the society has made is not all that apparent (Hoff 2002). The latest
NAEP states that 34 percent of fourth-graders could not write the name of the state or
district they lived in and mark it on a U.S. map (Hoff 2002). Sixty percent of fourth-
graders and 26 percent of eighth-graders did not know that Florida is a peninsula (Hoff
2002).
Harm de Blij (2005, 16) documents that Georgetown University requires students
to take a one-credit freshman course taught by noted political geographer Charles Pirtle
called Map of the Modern World. In this course, students learn about the layout of our
political world, the general patterns of geopolitical change, environmental and climactic
conditions, and resource distributions. After they graduate, they are asked to identify the
class that “pushed their knowledge forward more than any other. Year after year, this
one-hour freshman course topped the list. “Unfortunately the Georgetown remedial
model was (and still is) a rarity, not a commonplace” (de Blij 2005, 16).
Future Actions Needed
To advance geographic education in this country, De Blij (2005, 22) thinks we
should concentrate on reinstating departments of geography in our “elite” universities, as
many of them have been eliminated. He is accurate in his assessment, but without a basic
understanding of geography at the junior high and high school level, students would be
lost going into these college courses. Stephen Thornton (2007, 535) feels that “with
accountability pressures shrinking the curriculum, there is even less of a chance that
geography will take its place as a separate subject. The best solution might be to integrate
a geography strand into American history courses, which seem to hold a secure place in
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the schools.” This is where GIS comes into play, and why it can help not only
geographic education, but history education as well.
Status of History Education
Concerning the status of history education in this country, some feel that the
“social studies trend” has crippled not only geography and government, but hindered our
teaching of history as well. “All of the social studies are in the beginning of benign
neglect,” said Peggy Altoff, the supervisor of social studies for the Colorado Springs
District No. 11 in Colorado (Hoff 2002, 9). “The NAEP 2001 U.S. History Report Card
shows a lack of proficiency. Fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-graders were tested, and the
results showed that 89% of high school seniors, 84% of eighth-graders, and 82% of
fourth-graders scored below “proficient” levels” (Paige 2003, 59). Mathew Robinson
(2000, 18) tells of some scary findings in an ACTA report called “Losing America’s
Memory: Historical Illiteracy in the 21st Century.” Apparently, a D or F was scored on
high school level history exams by 81% of seniors at the nation’s top 55 colleges
(Robinson 2002). Most of them did not know George Washington was the American
general at the battle of Yorktown (Robinson 2002). Less than 25% of them knew the
“Father of the Constitution” was James Madison (Robinson 2002).
The Importance of Historical Knowledge
To understand why we must rectify the current state of history education in this
country, we must understand the importance of historical knowledge. George Walden
(Andrews, Biggs, and Seidel 2006) said, “A country losing touch with its own history is
like an old man losing his glasses, a distressing sight, at once vulnerable, unsure, and
easily disoriented.” Rod Paige (2003, 59), the U.S. Secretary of Education, thinks that
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history education is vital to the health of our republic. He quotes Thomas Jefferson,
saying “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people….they are the only sure
reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” Thomas Jefferson also wrote, “If a nation
expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and
never will be” (Robinson 2000). An informed population was one of the key elements
America was founded upon (Robinson 2000). The problem with our ever-growing
uniformed population is that the masses are becoming unable to understand, defend or
promote the constitutional principles that have made us all free (Robinson 2000). The
educational tactics of history and citizenship must be reevaluated, in light of the almost
total ignorance of the principle of American liberty that the next generation is showing
(Robinson 2000).
Attempts to Improve Historical Education
In describing one attempt to change the current state of history education in this
country for the better, Rod Paige (2003, 59) said the U.S. Dept. of Education has a
Teaching American History program that provided nearly $100 million in the 2003 fiscal
year alone. It promotes the teaching of American history as its own subject in elementary
and secondary schools. It gives awards to local school districts that establish partnerships
with postsecondary institutions, non-profit history organizations, libraries, or museums.
This has helped, but we must be “forward-thinking” to help fix this problem, and that’s
where GIS can help. By “injecting” GIS into our history classes we “would not only
increase the amount of significant geographic content taught but also enrich the history”
(Thornton 2007, 538).
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Different Opinions on Learning Styles
The second observation that justifies this research is that GIS appeals much more
to visual learners, and somewhat more to kinesthetic learners as well, than traditional
teaching methods. Today, many people feel that learning styles are genetic for the most
part (Lemire 2000). Teachers must learn to adapt their teaching methods to adhere to all
three of the “general learning styles”. “What was once the forum for the classic Professor
personality now demands a combination of three very different personae to address the
diverse learning styles of contemporary students” (Majstorovic 2001, 1).
Descriptions of the Three Different Learning Styles
Sheri Fuller (2004), an author, speaker, and educator at every level from
elementary to college, wrote a book entitled Talkers, Watchers, & Doers in which she
catalogs and details these three distinct learning styles. She also thinks that learning
styles are more biologically based. She compares children’s distinct learning style to
over-the-air network television. One station tends to usually come in much clearer than
the other two.
Auditory Learners
The first learning style that Fuller (2004) describes is auditory. These children’s
strengths lie in their abilities to hear explanations and talk about the information. They
follow oral directions easily and are quick to answer their teacher’s questions. They are
also the children who tend to talk too much in school. They tend to move their lips or
whisper when trying to memorize facts. They need to verbalize everything and hear
information and then say it to themselves in order to learn it. Most importantly for this
discussion, they maintain focus just by listening in a class lecture without having to be
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actively involved. When it comes to driving directions, they prefer clear, written
directions.
Traditional lecture and discussion teaching methods tend to favor the auditory
learners. Fuller (2004) describes her own school experience as enjoyable, because she
was in fact an auditory learner, and was good with all of the oral instructions and writing.
“At the junior high and high school level, teachers emphasize verbal skills” (2004, 110).
“But kids whose strengths don’t fit in the school system wonder about their worth and
often experience frustration in the classroom” (2004, 111).
Visual Learners
One of those learning styles that tend to struggle in school a bit is the visual
learner. Fuller (2004) says that visual learners tend to learn best by picturing something
in their mind and maintaining a mental image of it. They tend to have great imaginations
and love to draw. They sometimes get labeled as “daydreamers” for their lack of focus in
the traditional educational environment. If there is no outline or visual attention-getter,
they lose focus easily. They tend to like seeing data in graphs, diagrams, and pictures.
They are usually good test-takers, and tend to excel in math. They are best following
instructions when there is a list to accompany them. When it comes to driving directions,
they prefer maps. Teachers sometimes get irritated with the visual learner for “not
listening” to oral instructions. Typically, they are listening, but they need some sort of a
visual or graphic representation to properly process the instructions.
Kinesthetic Learners
Visual learners often struggle with school, but typically there are enough visual
learning devices put in place for them to not fail completely. The same cannot be said for
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the last learning style, kinesthetic. Fuller (2004) states that kinesthetic learners need to
get their muscles, movement, and touch involved in learning. They have a hard time
learning without some sort of action associated with it. They definitely learn more by
experience and trial and error. They tend to be better athletes than the other two learning
types. They also tend to be much better at taking things apart and putting them back
together. When driving somewhere, they prefer to “feel” their way, as they tend to have
a better natural sense of direction.
Kinesthetic learners are “the most at risk for frustration at school and home
because the majority of instruction, and many of the tasks and testing, are auditory and
visual” (2004, 63). They tend to be labeled as “trouble-makers” at an early age, and are
often the first to drop out of school. Mark Matney, my father, has dealt with kinesthetic
learners for many years in both a positive and negative way (Matney 2008). He has been
a teacher for thirty years, the last twenty-one at Liberty Public High School in Liberty,
MO. Of those twenty-one, he spent the first ten years teaching remedial math to tenth-
graders. There were probably a few auditory learners in his classes, but the majority of
them were kinesthetic learners. Math tends to be a very visual subject, appealing mostly
to visual learners, and it was difficult for him to teach children that, for the most part,
didn’t want to be there, had trouble processing the information without some sort of
action involved, and didn’t really care. Many of these children had already become
“trouble-makers” at this stage in their lives, due to years of “educational neglect”. Then,
at the beginning of the 1996-1997 school year, an opening came up for a new Industrial
Technology Teacher. Most teachers have side jobs in the summer to supplement their
income, and Mr. Matney had always been a mechanic. So, they offered him the position.
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After becoming an Industrial Tech. Teacher, he found it fascinating that he was getting
essentially the same type of children in his classes that he had before, the “trouble-
makers”, but the educational environment was totally different. Because he was now
teaching something that was very, very “hands on”, these children that had never cared
about school were suddenly paying close attention and excelling. He has helped many
students who were serious dropout risks, and got them into very good trade schools, and
many have gone on to very successful careers (one is even working on nuclear
submarines for the US Navy). He has also connected with his students like never before.
Much of this can also be attributed to his excellent ability to connect with children, but
the match-up of teaching a subject that is mostly kinesthetic with children who are mostly
kinesthetic learners should also be given some credit. This is a prime example of how
presenting information in a way that connects with a particular learning style can really
enhance the learning environment.
Making Learning More Visual
Not all children can be “pigeon-holed” as one singular type of learner though.
“Some kids-about 30 percent-operate out of a blend of two or three strengths” (Fuller
2004, 27). Due to this “hodge podge” of learning styles teachers are faced with, we must
find ways to connect with all three at one time. We must inject more visual and action
learning techniques into our teaching methods. Dr. James H. Madison (2004, 65),
professor of History at Indiana University, claims that most of America’s youth are visual
learners. Dr. Madison states (2004, 65) “Never walk into a classroom without a picture.
It is one of the few “rules” of teaching I have come to believe and usually to practice.”
Putting an image on a screen grabs students’ attentions like nothing else (Madison 2004).
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Students have been found to retain information and words better when a verbal AND
visual activity is used according to several studies at the UCLA Graduate School of
Education (Fuller 2004). If nothing else, it can be intrinsically obvious that adding visual
aids to a teaching lesson that is already auditory can remain effective to those students
who are more auditory learners, and enhance the lesson for students who are visual
learners. This research is centered on this principle, and while it was not intended to
“reach out” to the kinesthetic learners, the hope was to at least keep them interested.
Future Considerations for Different Learning Styles
How students learn may differ in the future due to an increasing mass of
information and new ways of presenting information (Schnotz 2002). Computers, and
GIS specifically, can make a big improvement in how we connect with all three learning
styles. “Computers offer many possibilities for all learning styles, and visual students
especially enjoy the stimulation” (Fuller 2004, 92).
Attention Spans of Today’s Youth
The final observation that justifies this research is that children today have very
short attention spans, and our teaching methods should take this into account. Teaching
should be done with minimal lecturing (Snell 2000). Today’s youth spend thousands of
hours on the internet and watching cable television with the images changing at an
incredible rate (Snell 2000). “My observation after teaching for thirty-five years is that
they have ‘short attention spans’ ” (Snell 2000, 482).
Sometimes these “short attention spans” are not as much the child’s fault as it is
teachers using out-dated methods. “ ‘Limited attention span’ may sometimes be a
symptom of teaching that does not connect with children’s purposes and interests”
16
(Findley 2005, 653). Children long to succeed in life and understand their world, and can
focus for hours on something they feel has apparent value and appeal (Findley 2005).
Regardless as to whether it is the student’s fault or the teacher’s fault for students not
staying focused in school, it is up to the teachers to do something to rectify the situation.
This is where GIS might come into play; the research and the examples described in this
study will contribute to determining the value of such teaching methods.
History of GIS as a Teaching Tool
The history of using GIS for teaching only goes back about twenty years. In the
early 1990s, GIS was just seen as a way to introduce students to advancing technologies,
and to get them curious about careers in science and engineering (Demirci 2008). The
use of GIS as a teaching tool has advanced after many studies revealed its value as an
educational tool as opposed to just being a “neat” technology (Demirci 2008). Despite
the advancement of the practice, it still has not taken a stronghold on the country’s
teaching methods. “According to the NRC (National Research Council), the current
generation of GIS software was ‘not designed with either children or learning in mind …
(and) there has been very little adaptation of GIS for K-12 education.’ Partly because of
this lack of adaptation and partly because of a lack of financial resources, the council
notes that by 2003, only one percent of American high schools were using GIS” (Waters
2007, 16).
All is not lost, though, as we progress with this valuable teaching method. Many
government agencies are now using GIS in some form and are posting much of their data
on websites available for anyone to download (Demirci 2008). As this continues to
17
increase, students can have more of a chance to use GIS in school projects (Demirci
2008).
The Value of Using Geography to Teach History
There is much value in injecting Geography into our History curriculum. “As
U.S. Geological Survey educator Joseph Kerski put it, ‘Geography is constituted of the
'whys' of 'where.’ ‘Therefore, spatial thinking demands that we ask ourselves (and that
our students ask themselves), ‘Why did this event happen here and not elsewhere?’ ”
(Alibrandi and Sarnoff 2006, 138). Incorporating this question into social studies
discussions or writing tasks expands students’ imagining of a landscape and the factors
that determine it (Alibrandi and Sarnoff 2006). Geography never totally explains a
historical event, but it always plays some role, and this goes unincorporated in most
history instruction (Thornton 2007). “This is just what John Dewey was getting at when
he wrote: ‘This setting of nature does not bear to social activities the relation that the
scenery of a theatrical performance bears to a dramatic representation; it enters into the
very make-up of the social happenings that form history’ ” (Thornton 2007, 537)
The Value of Using GIS to Teach
GIS facilitates both injecting geography into history and adding visual displays to
auditory teaching methods. It is also a very valuable teaching tool, in and of itself. GIS
can allow teachers in K-12 classrooms to modify maps for their own purposes as opposed
to static paper maps (Brown, Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006). GIS allows students to
apply knowledge using advanced skills such as problem solving and synthesis, and thus
the retention rates are enhanced (Crawford, Kajs, and Sanders 2002). GIS is a powerful
tool for students because of its innate ability to create visualizations and spatial queries
18
(Baxter and Broda 2002). Students using GIS can create their own representations of the
world as they see it (Baxter and Broda 2002). They can visualize the human-
environmental relationship, especially within their own cities (Baxter and Broda 2002).
Previous Research on Using GIS as a Teaching Tool
The Colorado Geography Education Fund did a study to get teachers’ feedback on
the matter (Kerski, Linn, and Wither 2005). In the summer of 2002, they sent ten
teachers to a week-long GIS institute for educators. After that, the teachers went back to
their classrooms with GIS capabilities and used it to help teach their classes. Then, there
was a follow-up session where all of the teachers came back, plus seven more teachers
who had been using GIS in their classes already, and they all had a discussion on the
value of using GIS to teach. The teachers noted that GIS creates a more student-
centered learning environment (Kerski, Linn, and Wither 2005). They also felt that
critical analysis and higher-order thinking was enhanced using GIS (Kerski, Linn, and
Wither 2005). Students completed many of the same tasks using both GIS and paper
maps, but the difference was in the time it took to accomplish these tasks (Kerski, Linn,
and Wither 2005). Students were spending about 4/5 of their time on data acquisition and
representation, leaving them only 1/5 of their time for analysis and interpretation. The
percentages were switched using GIS (Kerski, Linn, and Wither 2005).
In the Introduction of this thesis, it was documented how Herschel Sarnoff
implemented GIS in his history classroom by making his students create hands-on GIS
reports on answering a hypothetical history question, appealing to kinesthetic learners, as
well as visual and auditory. He observed, “Students are constructing their own
understandings of the relationships of economics, geography, and policy in a historical
19
context through data analysis. This differs greatly from reading passages about the war
and is therefore an important supplement to developing historical understanding”
(Alibrandi and Sarnoff 2006, 142).
Another study was done on four fifth-grade classes at Braun Station Elementary
in Northside Independent School District (NISD), San Antonio, Texas (Brown,
Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006). Two classes were taught plate tectonics using GIS and
two classes were taught using traditional textbook-based methods. The GIS classes were
far more attentive than the non-GIS classes (Brown, Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006).
The questionnaire responses also indicated that the GIS classes were much more
interested (Brown, Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006). “For example, to the question
‘What did you like least about using GIS?’ students responded with comments such as, ‘I
liked everything’ and ‘Nothing really because a lot of it is interesting’ ” (Brown,
Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006, 25). All classes were given pre-tests and post-tests to
see how well the information was retained. The results of these tests turned out similar,
indicating that the GIS method is at least as good as non-GIS methods (Brown,
Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006). However, on the map-based questions, the GIS class
performed significantly better on the post-test, indicating it is a superior method at
teaching the spatial components of science (Brown, Ponomarenko, and Purcell 2006).
So, even if the outcomes of this thesis study are similar in nature to the study done in San
Antonio, we can deduct from the Texas study that there is definitely some educational
value from teaching history with GIS.
20
Chapter 3: Conceptual Framework and Methodology
Overview of Methodology
The American Revolution was chosen as the historical topic for this research
because geography played a major role in the war and the war was extremely historically
significant. The school class chosen for this research was the eighth grade history class
taught by Mr. Chet Owens at Liberty Junior High School in Liberty, Missouri. Mr.
Owens’ class was chosen because he was my own eighth grade history teacher, I have
kept in contact with him, and he welcomed the idea of something different being
presented to his students.
Environmental Systems Research Institute’s (ESRI) Tracking Analyst extension
was the software used for this research. The Tracking Analyst is designed to track
hurricanes and events of that nature. It is basic temporal display software that shows
simple point features as they occur. A date field must be present in a shapefile or feature
class for Tracking Analyst to recognize it as temporal. Tracking Analyst uses this field to
display events as they occur at a rate and with the effects that the user specifies.
Tracking Analyst was used within ArcGIS ArcMap to create a temporal GIS
history presentation that was then presented to four of Mr. Owens’ five history classes.
In addition to the GIS taught classes, a PowerPoint presentation was created and
presented to the remaining history classroom as a control group to measure the usefulness
of GIS against. Pre-tests and post-tests were given in order to collect statistical data to
determine the outcomes of the project. After presenting, statistical tests were run to
determine the significance of the findings.
21
Data Sources
Four sources of data were acquired for this research. The first source was all of
Mr. Owens’ notes on the unit. His notes contained the events to cover and their
chronological order and provided an excellent base of data for this research. The second
data source was Turning the World Upside Down (Tebbel 1993). This source contained
the exact dates, locations, and associated information for the events. Maps in the book
showed troop movements for 1775-1776, 1777-1778, and 1779-1781 and colony
boundaries. Any information on war events not obtained from Tebbel (1993) was
researched online at Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2007). All other base data (oceans,
boundaries, cities, rivers) was obtained from ESRI’s Data and Maps (ESRI 2006).
Data Used
The first set of data formatted was the base data. This is the data that was the
background for the rest of the ArcMap map document. This data does not change
throughout the course of the presentation. The first of this data is a country outline
polygon shapefile acquired from ESRI’s Data and Maps (ESRI 2006). GCS_WGS_1984
was chosen as the projection of the map document’s data frame so that Great Britain and
the Colonies could be shown simultaneously with an acceptable level of distortion. The
next base layer is a colony boundary shapefile. This was obtained from using a U.S.
boundary shapefile from the ESRI data (ESRI 2006), and overlaying the boundaries from
a paper map in the book (Tebbel 1993). The maps from the book had to be scanned and
georeferenced. (Figure 1) Using a transparency effect on the polygon shapefile of the
U.S outline, and having the scanned .tif maps georeferenced in the background, I was
able to “cut out” the shapes of the 13 colonies.
22
Figure 1: Rectifying the Scanned Map.
23
The two other base layers were a significant cities point shapefile and a significant rivers
polyline shapefile. Significant cities of the war were selected and exported to their own
shapefile from the cities shapefile in ESRI’s Data and Maps (ESRI 2006). The same
procedure was repeated to produce the significant rivers. The information that
determined which cities and rivers were significant was derived from the book (Tebbel
1993).
The other set of data to be formatted was the data to be animated. These layers
were created in a geodatabase because annotation classes were required and these can
only be done in a geodatabase, not in shapefiles (ESRI 2007). The three layers needed
were a battles point feature class, a troop movements point feature class, and an events
callout annotation class. Creating the battles point feature class consisted of selecting the
points from the cities point shapefile, provided by ESRI (ESRI 2006), where the
significant battles took place and exporting those points into the geodatabase in the form
of a point feature class. Then, using the information from Mr. Owens’ notes, the book
(Tebbel 1993), and the Encyclopedia Britannica Online (2007), the associated battle
attribute information was populated, including commanders, the victors, and most
importantly the date. The troop movements point feature class was created by using the
three scanned maps from the book (Tebbel 1993) that had all of the significant troop
movements for the war on them, and placing points on these lines to represent where a
specific troop was on a particular date. In all, 435 points were placed. The dates for
these points were also obtained from the book (Tebbel 1993).
The final data layer was the significant events callout annotation class. With
annotation layers, an associated point file is needed that the annotation is based upon.
24
First, four point files were created that four annotation layers were based upon, and that
was done by exporting the selected cities (that the significant events occurred in) from the
cities point shapefile in the ESRI data (ESRI 2006). Callouts were to be displayed from
the particular cities that gave brief descriptions of the events. Then, the point layers’
attribute tables had to be populated with the descriptions of the events. The font, size,
and other label characteristics were set before exporting the labels to an annotation class.
Four different annotation classes had to be created for different reasons. From
1763 to 1775, proclamations and tax declarations coming out of England were shown.
Then, a second layer was created showing the colonies reactions to these declarations in
the same time span, so the students could see both callouts at the same time. Next, the
colonial events annotation layer had to be split into two separate layers because
annotation classes, unlike feature classes, are set to specific scales. If an ArcMap user
zooms in, a feature class’s symbology will stay the same, while an annotation class will
grow significantly larger. From 1763 to the beginning of the war, events leading up to
the war were shown at a scale that allowed the viewers to see the colonies and Great
Britain. After the war started, a scale was needed to show just the colonies so that the
students could see the battles and troop movements as they unfolded, so the second
colonial events annotation class, (the events, not battles, taking place after the war
started), had to be changed to this particular scale. After creating the point files for these
three layers and getting the scale, data, and the look of the callout to be just right, the
labels were exported to annotation classes. Then, the associated point files were removed
from the map, as they were unnecessary. A date field was created in the annotation
classes and populated with the corresponding dates for each event. The information for
25
these events was derived from Mr. Owens’ notes and the book (Tebbel 1993). Finally, an
annotation layer was created from the battles point feature class, so that the callouts for
the battles could be shown in succession as the battles took place.
Research Methodology
To use the Tracking Analyst, one has to turn the data they want to use into
temporal data by adding a date field that matches with the format that they specify. Dates
were added to the geodatabase feature classes. The temporal layers had to be re-added to
the map document file through the Tracking Analyst toolbar in order for them to be
recognized as temporal. The dates are used with the playback manager of the Tracking
Analyst which displays data based on user-entered start and stop dates, and the rate at
which events transpired. For instance, from 1763 to 1775, the animation was run at about
2 months per second, as usually there were only 1 or 2 events a year. From 1775 to 1781
though, 3 days per second was used, because the war started and significant events
happened much more frequently. Other settings in the Tracking Analyst allow the user to
specify how each layer will look when it appears. The user can specify how long each
event appears on the screen before disappearing. The user can show only the most recent
event in a layer or they can show all events in a layer as they transpire. The user can
even create a time window and specify that they want events to show for six months (or
however long is necessary) after they transpire, and then disappear.
After creating all of the temporal geodatabase feature classes and populating them
with the associated event data and bringing them into the map through the Tracking
Analyst toolbar, the next task was to make them look right so that the maps were clear
and not cluttered, and so that the information was easily digestible. The temporal
26
parameters of the annotation classes were set so that the latest event was the only one that
appeared in the map. The battles were set up so that the British victories were a red,
explosion-looking star, and the American victories were blue. It was designated that after
a battle occurred, the star remained on the map for the duration of the project, but the
battle annotation only stayed until the next battle occurred. Showing the troop
movements was the next step. Each commander’s troops were designated with a
different colored dot. Tracking Analyst has an option to allow dots to appear big when
they first happen, and then slowly get smaller until they disappear. The troop movement
dots lasted for two months; getting smaller the longer they were on the map. This
allowed the viewers to witness the troop movements in “lines” as the dots showing where
they had been get smaller over time. To find out which commander was associated with
a dot, viewers were forced to look at the legend in the table of contents.
Bookmarks were created so that the presenter could easily jump to the scale and
location they wanted the map to show as the presentation progressed. Only once did
significant fighting occur in two different locations at the same time, Saratoga and
Philadelphia, and that was easily shown in one frame. Pre-war, the map document was
zoomed out to show the colonies and Great Britain. (Figures 2-5) When the first
skirmishes occurred, the map document was zoomed into the Boston/New York area
(Figures 6-8), then to Philadelphia and Saratoga (Figures 9-10), then out west from
Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River (Figures 11-12), and then it shifted to the Southern
Colonies (Figures 13-17), and finally to Yorktown (Figures 18-19).
27
Figure 2: Beginning of Presentation.
28
Figure 3: Beginning Sequence.
29
Figure 4: Pre-War Events.
30
Figure 5: Pre-War Events Continued.
31
Figure 6: Using Bookmarks to Change View.
32
Figure 7: Beginning of the War.
33
Figure 8: Nathan Hale’s Last Words.
34
Figure 9: Philadelphia/Saratoga.
35
Figure 10: Philadelphia/Saratoga Continued.
36
Figure 11: War Out West.
37
Figure 12: War Out West Continued.
38
Figure 13: Using Bookmark to Change View to the South.
39
Figure 14: War Turns to the South.
40
Figure 15: Frontier Militia Get Big Victory.
41
Figure 16: Moving Through North Carolina.
42
Figure 17: Cornwallis Heads North.
43
Figure 18: Converging on Yorktown.
44
Figure 19: End of the War and Presentation.
45
After creating the bookmarks, the time order needed to be perfected to traverse
through the war and information as efficiently as possible. Sometimes there were
months, even years, when little action occurred, and other times multiple actions occurred
within a very short amount of time.
At that point, the map document looked appropriate on the screen. Associated
information to say to the class as ArcMap traversed through the war was written on
notecards, using Mr. Owens’ notes and Tebbel (1993) as sources.
Now that the GIS presentation was finalized, a PowerPoint presentation was
created to give to the control group. From the notecards and from the GIS presentation,
all of the pertinent historical and geographical facts were included to give to the control
group. The presentation was 35 slides long, all text, with the information being presented
chronologically. The slides were straight forward with the year as the title, and bulleted
lists of the events and movements organized by dates and months.
A single 15-question quiz (Appendix 1) was created that was intended to cover
the most significant geographical questions, as they related to the revolution. An attempt
was made to make the questions easy, without touching on the most basic of facts (such
as Philadelphia is where the Declaration of Independence was signed). A few of the
questions were multiple choice, but most of them were short answer. The purpose of the
uniform quizzes to be given before and after each presentation was to collect data to test
the thesis question.
Along with the quizzes, a questionnaire of eight questions (Appendix 2) was
created that was given out after the GIS presentations. These eight questions were
46
designed to get the student’s opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of the GIS,
and what parts of it appealed to them. The feedback was invaluable in judging the worth
of the concept.
Finally, before presenting, I gave the presentation to Mr. Owens to get his
approval before presenting to his classes, and to give him an idea of how GIS could play
into his teaching. I went to his classroom a few weeks before I was to present to his
students, obtained his approval, and discussed how I was going to present. We decided
on the first hour class being the control group, and his third, fourth, sixth, and seventh
hours being the GIS groups. The next step was delivering the presentations.
Statistical Tests
After delivering the presentations and collecting the data, a two-sample difference
of means test was used with a 95% confidence rating to determine if one method
improved the scores of the students over the other. A two-tailed test was used, which will
indicate if either one method of instruction in particular faired better than the other, rather
than a one-tailed test, which only tests if one specific sample is significantly greater than,
or significantly less than, the other. First, a null hypothesis and an alternate hypothesis
were established. The null hypothesis is that the average scores of the two methods of
instruction are the same. The alternate hypothesis is that the average scores of the two
methods are different. Also, an Analysis of Variance test had to be run, using Microsoft
Excel’s data analysis toolpak, to determine if the variances were the same. Finally, the
toolpak was used to run a two-sample t-test assuming equal variances on the post-test
results of the PowerPoint class versus all of the GIS taught classes. Because of all of the
“issues” in several of the GIS taught classes, a second set of the same tests was run on the
47
post-test results of the PowerPoint class versus the best GIS taught class (Hour 6). A
third set of tests were run on all of the remaining GIS taught classes against the
PowerPoint class to determine if the issues that occurred caused any significant
differences in the results. The issues for the other classes are discussed later in this
thesis.
Limitations of the Methodology
There were some limitations to the methods that were used. If one really wanted
to prove or disprove the worth of GIS as a teaching aid, they would have to go beyond
the limits of this thesis study and present to many more classrooms, and collect enough
data to overcome any mishaps that might happen in one or two classes. That would be
the only way to truly quantify the value of GIS. Time and money were not sufficient
enough to go that far with this study.
Time constraints also did not permit a follow up visit. To study the long-term
effects of these presentations, one would need to follow up once, or perhaps even twice,
to determine whether the information was retained or not. Also, a random visit to see if
the students retained the information would probably not determine much. The proof of
their retention will come a year or two from now in another history class, when they start
talking about the war again, and the associated information would hopefully be recalled.
The difficulty of the level of questions was difficult to determine. If they were
elementary school students, the most basic of questions would have been used. If they
were college students, the most difficult questions possible would have been used.
Eighth-graders are somewhere in between.
48
Chapter 4: Analysis Results and Discussion
Introduction
The primary statistical test that compares the PowerPoint class post-test results to
the post-test results of all of the GIS taught classes is presented first. Following those
results are the results of the same statistical test comparing the PowerPoint class to the
best GIS taught class (Hour 6). Then, all of the results from comparing the PowerPoint
class to the remaining GIS taught classes will be presented. After that, the questionnaire
results are discussed in great detail, as there was a plethora of useful feedback from these
questions. Finally, there is an in-depth look at all of the problems that occurred in each
individual class and how these problems may have affected the results.
Statistical Results
As one can see from the data collected (Table 1), the student results on the post-
test taught by PowerPoint instruction improved nearly a point better than all classes
taught by GIS. The Analysis of Variance Test was run on these results (Table 2). The F
value clearly falls within the normal distribution, so one can assume that the variances are
equal. Next, a two-sample t-test assuming equal variances was run on these results
(Table 3). The statistical test produced a t value of –0.933. Using a 95% confidence
rating, we can accept the null hypothesis and determine that while there is a clear
difference between the methods, there is not a statistically significant difference.
49
Table 1. Statistical Studies Mean and Standard Deviation.
1st Study:Powerpoint vs. All
Mean Standard Deviation
Pre-Test: 4.3818182 3.202584444 Powerpoint Post-Test: 7.4545455 3.188181639 GIS Post-Test: 6.6590909 3.663696907 2nd Study: Powerpoint vs. 6th Hour
Mean Standard Deviation
Pre-Test: 4.4545455 3.083749948 Powerpoint Post-Test: 7.4545455 3.188181639 GIS Post-Test: 7.1818182 3.800205053 3rd Study: Powerpoint vs. 3rd Hour
Mean Standard Deviation
Pre-Test: 4.2954545 2.937959626 Powerpoint Post-Test: 7.4545455 3.188181639 GIS Post-Test: 6.7272727 3.705617591 4th Study: Powerpoint vs. 4th Hour
Mean Standard Deviation
Pre-Test: 4.9318182 3.150472296 Powerpoint Post-Test: 7.4545455 3.188181639 GIS Post-Test: 6.6818182 3.168090361 5th Study: Powerpoint vs. 7th Hour
Mean Standard Deviation
Pre-Test: 3.9545455 3.450342386 Powerpoint Post-Test: 7.4545455 3.188181639 GIS Post-Test: 6.0454545 4.088046136
50
Table 2. Variance Test of GIS vs. Non-GIS Results.
F-Test Two-Sample for Variances
GIS PowerPoint Mean 6.6591 7.4545Variance 13.4227 10.1645Observations 88 22df 87 21F 1.3205 P(F<=f) one-tail 0.2386 F Critical one-tail 1.8853
51
Table 3. t-Test of GIS vs. Non-GIS Results.
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
GIS PowerPoint Mean 6.6591 7.4545Variance 13.4227 10.1645Observations 88 22Pooled Variance 12.7891 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 108 t Stat -0.9331 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.3528 t Critical two-tail 1.9822
52
There were certain “issues” in three of the four GIS classes, so the same tests
were run comparing the post-test results of the one good GIS class (Hour 6) with the
PowerPoint class. As can be seen from the resulting data (Table 1), the scores were
virtually the same. After running the same tests again, the Analysis of Variance tests
(Table 4) produced an F value within the normal distribution, so they were the same. The
resulting t value (Table 5) was –0.258, much less than the first test, and clearly within the
normal t-distribution. So, again with a 95% confidence rating, we can accept the null
hypothesis and determine that, with this case, there is no significant difference between
the scores.
53
Table 4. Variance Test of Hour 6 vs. Non-GIS Results.
F-Test Two-Sample for Variances
GIS Hour 6 PowerPoint Mean 7.1818 7.4545Variance 14.4416 10.1645Observations 22 22df 21 21F 1.4208 P(F<=f) one-tail 0.2138 F Critical one-tail 2.0842
54
Table 5. t-Test of Hour 6 vs. Non-GIS Results.
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
GIS Hour 6 PowerPoint Mean 7.1818 7.4545Variance 14.4416 10.1645Observations 22 22Pooled Variance 12.303 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 42 t Stat -0.2579 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.7978 t Critical two-tail 2.0181
55
Finally, the same tests were run on the remaining GIS taught classes versus the
PowerPoint taught class to determine if the “issues” that occurred in the GIS classes
caused a significant difference in the post-test results. The Analysis of Variance tests
(Tables 6, 8, 10) produced F values that all fall within the normal distribution, so they
were the same. The resulting t values (Tables 7, 9, 11) were –0.698, -0.806, and -1.275
for hours 3, 4, and 7 respectively, all within the normal t-distribution. So, again with a
95% confidence rating, we can accept the null hypothesis and determine that, with this
case, there is no significant difference between the scores.
56
Table 6. Variance Test of Hour 3 vs. Non-GIS Results.
F-Test Two-Sample for Variances
GIS Hour 3 PowerPoint Mean 6.7273 7.4545Variance 13.7316 10.1645Observations 22 22df 21 21F 1.3509 P(F<=f) one-tail 0.2483 F Critical one-tail 2.0842
57
Table 7. t-Test of Hour 3 vs. Non-GIS Results.
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
GIS Hour 3 PowerPoint Mean 6.7273 7.4545Variance 13.7316 10.1645Observations 22 22Pooled Variance 11.9481 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 42 t Stat -0.6978 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.4891 t Critical two-tail 2.0181
58
Table 8. Variance Test of Hour 4 vs. Non-GIS Results.
F-Test Two-Sample for Variances
GIS Hour 4 PowerPoint Mean 6.6818 7.4545Variance 10.0368 10.1645Observations 22 22df 21 21F 0.9874 P(F<=f) one-tail 0.4886 F Critical one-tail 0.4798
59
Table 9. t-Test of Hour 4 vs. Non-GIS Results.
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
GIS Hour 4 PowerPoint Mean 6.6818 7.4545Variance 10.0368 10.1645Observations 22 22Pooled Variance 10.1006 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 42 t Stat -0.8064 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.4246 t Critical two-tail 2.0181
60
Table 10. Variance Test of Hour 7 vs. Non-GIS Results.
F-Test Two-Sample for Variances
GIS Hour 7 PowerPoint Mean 6.0455 7.4545Variance 16.7121 10.1645Observations 22 22df 21 21F 1.6442 P(F<=f) one-tail 0.1313 F Critical one-tail 2.0842
61
Table 11. t-Test of Hour 7 vs. Non-GIS Results.
t-Test: Two-Sample Assuming Equal Variances
GIS Hour 7 PowerPoint Mean 6.0455 7.4545 Variance 16.7121 10.1645 Observations 22 22 Pooled Variance 13.4383 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 42 t Stat -1.2749 P(T<=t) two-tail 0.2094 t Critical two-tail 2.0181
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Questionnaire Results
The questionnaires (Appendix 2) showed a positive feedback on the GIS
presentation. Only 32 of the 88 GIS students filled out the questionnaire. In two of the
classes (third and seventh hours) there wasn’t enough time to hand it out. In the other
two hours, twelve students didn’t finish their quizzes in enough time to fill out the
questionnaire. Mr. Owens also filled out a questionnaire. Questions 1 and 2 asked
students to explain how the presentation helped them understand the events, and then the
geography, of the war better. The general outcomes of these two questions were that it
helped them visualize everything much better. A correlation can be derived between
questions 1 and 2, and question 4. Question 4 asks whether the students think they are a
visual learner or an audio learner (I should have included kinesthetic too, but that may
have been confusing to the students if they did not understand what “kinesthetic” means).
Twenty-four students answered this question; 18 said they are visual learners, 4 answered
both, and 2 students said they are auditory learners. This backs up Dr. Madison’s
assertion that most students are visual learners (2004, 65). One interesting note was that
all of the visual learners answered the first two questions in a very positive way, claiming
that the presentation helped them visualize the information much better. The two audio
students did not respond so positively. One of them said, “this presentation helped me
but it was easier to concentrate on what he (Mr. Owens) was teaching.” This auditory
person also claimed that the presentation was boring (question 8 asked to list the least
interesting part of it). Perhaps if a less monotone teacher were presenting the GIS, they
would have thought it was interesting too.
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Question 3 asked if the students would like for history to be presented to them this
way from now on. Twenty-two students answered this question, and 14 said yes, 5 said
maybe or somewhat, and 3 said no. Again, this appears to coincide somewhat with the
visual numbers.
Questions 5 and 6 asked to list the advantages and disadvantages of the
presentation. Most of the advantages were along the lines of helping to visualize it better.
Some other answers were, “helped me remember it better”, “didn’t have to use books”,
“kept my attention better”, and “it’s more fun”. Some of the disadvantages listed were
that it was “too boring”, “too confusing”, “too much to remember”, and “too hard to
follow”.
Questions 7 and 8 asked them to list what they thought were the most interesting
and least interesting parts. The interesting parts were identified as, “seeing where the
ships were”, “the paths taken by the important people”, “the battles”, and “how they all
converged on Yorktown”. The least interesting parts were identified as, “the colors never
change”, “too boring”, “too long”, “too confusing”, “too slow”, “pre-war stuff”, and “not
knowing which dots were which armies”.
Mr. Owens had nothing but positive feedback for the presentations; of course he
also indicated that he is more of a visual learner. Along with the other visual learners, he
stated how it helped him visualize the information. He also appreciated how it helped
him understand the “flow” of the war. He thought the most interesting part was the dots
showing the troop movements.
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Analysis of the Presentation Issues
The issues and problems with all of the presentations were plentiful and obvious,
and the questionnaires can back my analysis up. The first general issue was my lack of
speaking abilities. I’ve never been good in front of a crowd, but the fact that I hadn’t
given a public speech of any kind in over three years had me somewhat on edge. I’d
have to say that my “flow of speaking” was much better with the PowerPoint presentation
than the GIS presentations, because I’ve given several PowerPoint presentations before,
and this was my first time trying to go through a GIS presentation in front of people. The
first couple of GIS presentations were very disjointed and there were many instances of
having to stop things to figure out where I was in my order of speaking. By the third GIS
presentation (sixth hour), I had sorted those issues out. But, that may have skewed the
overall numbers toward the non-GIS presentation.
Along with a lack of public speaking abilities, I have a lack of teaching
experience. My voice can be monotone at times, and I’ve never had to try and relate to
students before and try to keep their attention. The results of this seem apparent as many
of the students commented on how boring it was. Perhaps a better study would be to
train someone who is already a good teacher in the art of GIS. They would have certainly
been able to relate the information much better than I did.
I was also limited by having an old laptop that ran the software very slowly. I
could have covered more information if my computer had not been so slow, or if perhaps
someone else could have run the GIS while I talked. Ideally, it would have been nice to
have a presentation where I just pushed a “start button”, and then talked as the GIS
traversed through the events, but because Tracking Analyst isn’t designed that way, I was
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forced to be very hands-on with the project as it was presenting so that it looked right.
This was one more factor I had to overcome.
Another issue to consider when looking at the data is how students learn at
different times of the day. Their attention spans and attitudes appeared to vary as the day
progressed, ranging from extremely tired at the beginning of the day, to overly
rambunctious at the end of the day.
Each class had their own separate set of issues that may have skewed their overall
numbers. Hour 1 was the class that was given the PowerPoint presentation. The students
in this class seemed the most bored of all of them. Several of the students had their heads
down, possibly sleeping, by the end of it. This may have been due to several factors.
The fact that it was so early in the day was an apparent factor. My already discussed lack
of teaching skills and monotone voice had something to do with the lack of attention.
Perhaps the PowerPoint method is just as effective at teaching, but not at holding
students’ attention. Whatever the case may be, despite clearly not capturing the students’
attention and holding it for the class period, the first hour class performed better on the
quizzes, although not significantly better.
One theory for why the non-GIS class performed slightly better, even though they
were not as interested, may be that while the PowerPoint method was less interesting, it
was also more straightforward. There was less information to digest in the PowerPoint,
and it was more to the point. Perhaps the GIS presentation was filled with too much
information to digest in a 45-minute class period, and the information requested on the
quizzes was more difficult to recall due to all of the added knowledge to process.
Perhaps the GIS presentation given would have worked better in a college classroom, and
66
it was not eighth grade appropriate. That was difficult to judge beforehand. In
retrospect, it would have been better to leave out the events prior to the war taking place,
especially since there was no geographic movement amongst them. This would have
given the students much less information to process. It would have also made it shorter
and would have kept their interest longer. Another possible direction would have been to
leave out the troop movements. Although it was interesting to see, I’m not sure the troop
movements of the war are necessary for eighth-graders to know, and that is content that is
perhaps better left until college. None of the quiz questions had to do with the troop
movements, so perhaps they distracted the students from properly digesting the
information.
Several of the GIS classes had specific issues that caused their own data to be
skewed. Hour 3 was the first class given the GIS presentation. Not only was it
somewhat “choppy and disoriented”, but also I covered every little bit of information I
had written down, significant or not. So, not only did these students really get an
“overload of information”, but they also ran short on time at the end, and were rushed to
finish the quizzes. Most of them did not complete the quiz, although in the end the class
didn’t perform significantly worse than the PowerPoint class. In hour 4, I improved
some. I cut out some insignificant items, and there was plenty of time at the end to take
the quiz, but they still performed poorly, although not significantly more poor. Part of
this could be due to me still trying to cover too much information in the presentation.
Part of the results could have been due to it being right before lunchtime, and the students
were anxious to get some food.
67
Hour 6 was the best GIS presentation given, and the numbers coincide with that.
By then, I had finally gotten the “flow” of the presentation down, and trimmed down the
information to its essential elements. The students were attentive and behaved well, and
had plenty of time at the end for their quizzes and questionnaires. Despite the clear
interest that this class had with the GIS, they still performed the same as the PowerPoint
class. Perhaps even after the GIS was “trimmed down”, it still presented too much
information and “counter-acted” the fact that the students were more interested.
Hour 7 was clearly the worst class of the day, and it showed in the results. Even
though the resulting outcome wasn’t significantly worse than the PowerPoint class, it was
by far the closest to being significantly worse compared to the other GIS classes. This
could have been due to the fact that it was the end of the day on a Friday. Whatever the
reason, the students were extremely rambunctious, and one in particular kept interrupting
me. Then, several others joined in the ruckus. I was constantly pausing to allow the
students to settle back down. Perhaps there was an excess of kinesthetic learners in this
classroom. Unfortunately, there were several students in this class that were more
interested in the GIS than any students I taught all day, and they were getting very
frustrated with the ones that were causing problems. The end result was that, like hour 3,
the students were short on time at the end, and had trouble finishing their quizzes.
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Analysis of the Relationship between Results and Study Issues
When looking at the “issues” that all of the classes had, I am not sure one can
make an accurate correlation between the quiz data and the question at hand. Another
underlying factor that has to be taken into consideration is that there was very little
incentive for the students to perform. It was a Friday, and the students were being
presented essentially review data (although in a totally un-orthodox fashion), and it
wasn’t being counted as a grade. Their only real incentives for trying to learn the
information and doing well on the quiz were personal ambition to learn and trying to help
me out (I did give them candy bars). Several of the quizzes could be unauthentic, as that
particular student might not have been taking it seriously. Due to all of these issues, it is
fair to say that while the quiz data can show a little insight into using GIS for teaching
history, the raw data is essentially inconclusive.
Despite collecting only 32 questionnaires (33 if you count Mr. Owens), the
questionnaires can show significant insight into the advantages and disadvantages of
using GIS to teach eighth grade history. Perhaps if there had not been so many issues in
the third and seventh hour classes, many more questionnaires would have been collected.
Regardless, there seem to be some obvious links between some of the positive findings in
the questionnaires and some of the findings in the literature review regarding the general
opinions on GIS for teaching. There are also obvious correlations between some of the
negative findings of the questionnaire answers and my personal assessment of my
teaching job. Visual learners seemed to appreciate the GIS, and the auditory students did
not take as much from it. The literature review supports this notion, although perhaps if a
better teacher had presented it, the auditory students would have enjoyed it as well.
69
However, despite my lack of teaching skills, the visual learners still took a lot from the
GIS, indicating that a GIS method of teaching can reach the visual learners no matter how
good the teacher is.
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Chapter 5: Conclusion
The research question for this thesis is: can an animated historical GIS database
be used to advance education of history in our public schools. To test this question, GIS
and PowerPoint presentations were given to an eighth grade American history class to
determine if the GIS presentation helped students obtain historical and geographic
information better. No statistically significant results were found. If we ask a broader
question of whether GIS enhances the overall education experience in an eighth grade
American history class, the overwhelming majority opinion is yes.
The next logical question is how much value is there? Also, to what extent should
GIS be used? These are questions that can only be answered with further research
beyond this study. The issues and problems in this study made it difficult to quantify the
amount of GIS that should be used. There were too many complications in each class to
allow the data to stand on its own. Ideally, the study would have been much more
effective if a GIS programmer had designed a “free-flowing” American Revolution GIS
teaching program. Then, the programmer would work with a licensed teacher to perfect
the presentation on a faster computer. The programmer would run the presentation while
the teacher taught the class, and the students would be graded on how well they
performed, thus giving them ample incentive to pay attention and do well. I am not a
programmer or licensed teacher, however, and the resources were not available to expand
the research in these ways.
This study was not without useful findings though. Insight was gained by giving
these students and the teacher a small taste of what could be and obtaining their feedback
on the matter. It appears that most children describe themselves as visual learners.
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According to the responses from the questionnaires, the visual learners (most of the
students) want history to be presented to them this way. While the short-term effects of
using GIS may not be apparent, it seems clear that it catches most of the students’
attention much better, keeping them interested in the learning experience on a greater
scale. In the long run, this kind of attention-getter would be invaluable. So, yes, an
animated GIS can be used to advance the education of history in our public schools.
Ideally, there would be a way to use GIS to appeal to all three learning styles, and
not inundate the students with an overflow of the technology, but give them enough use
with it to peak their interest, feed them geographic knowledge, and present them with a
career choice that most of them probably don’t know exists. We may be far away from
such a dream, but perhaps not. The ultimate vision would be for programmers to design
interactive GIS history lessons for each unit (i.e. western expansion, Indian Wars, the
explorers, etc.). These lessons would be interactive, appealing to the kinesthetic learners.
GIS is naturally visual and already appeals to visual learners. Finally, they could include
hyperlinks to documents, speeches, and video clips to appeal to the auditory learners.
Perhaps every unit would include a GIS day, when the students would each work on a
computer, or as a group, going through the lesson interactively. To achieve this goal,
relatively inexpensive programs need to be created. Teachers would have to be trained in
GIS, although if the programs were done to perfection, they would be fairly self-
explanatory. The computers and software would need to be available for all of the
children. Finally, the concept and idea would have to be approved by the educational
decision-makers.
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There are three main complications standing in the way of using GIS in secondary
education and making this vision become a reality: 1) the lack of availability of essential
base elements such as hardware, software, and data, 2) the shortcomings of curriculum
materials and training of teachers, 3) bureaucratic issues limiting innovation in education
(Demirci 2008). There are other issues to be resolved, such as time for training of
teachers and the difficulty of GIS software, but these are not as major as the three issues
previously stated (Demirci 2008).
The first obstacle will be rectified by time. All technological innovations are
bulky, cumbersome, expensive, and not very user-friendly when they are first introduced.
As time progresses, though, the technology becomes less expensive, easier to use, and
more readily available to all (e.g., cell phones, computers, and high definition
televisions). GIS has already become more user-friendly over time. It is logical to
assume that GIS animation software will become less expensive and more readily
available for schools.
The second obstacle is a difficult one to overcome. Teachers who have been on
the job for years are difficult to train in new technology. Even when they are trained in
GIS workshops, the information does not always stick. Full-time teachers have a difficult
challenge finding enough time to practice using GIS after going through training
(Demirci 2008). Teaching “old dogs new tricks” may be a troublesome conundrum. The
solution is two-fold. For the teachers already teaching, this technology must be as user-
friendly as possible. As the money becomes available to purchase such technology, the
easy-to-use programs will become available as long as there are some GIS programmers
with enough insight to witness a golden business opportunity. The second method to
73
infiltrate GIS into the teaching methods is to alter the source. Teachers in the field do not
have enough time to learn this technology, and many of them are close to retirement so
teaching them would be futile. Mr. Owens loved the idea of using GIS to teach, but he is
retiring this year. By the time he would be taught the technology, he would be out of
teaching. We must start requiring GIS courses for college students who are studying to
be history teachers, so that they can at least understand the basics of GIS and what it can
do for them. This is one major contribution of this research. Hopefully, this study and
others like it will be used to help justify to the powers that be that GIS should be included
in the education major’s curriculums around the country. This is the first step into
infusing GIS into the average teaching methods of history instructors.
The last obstacle is perhaps the most difficult to overcome. Getting an idea as
forward thinking as this to be accepted by those who decide the educational future of this
country is always a daunting task. This is the second contribution of this research.
Hopefully, this study will be convincing to those who read it, and perhaps they will pass
the idea on to others, and then they will pass the idea on to even more people until it
catches on like a brushfire.
The last contribution this study will hopefully have is spawning further research.
More research is needed to quantify the value of GIS for history education. Many
educators will not be convinced of the worth of GIS until they are shown conclusive, hard
data that it is beneficial. Perhaps, someone will take this study further and accomplish
even more toward the ultimate vision of expanding GIS in this manner.
Ultimately, this study was not as successful as it could have been. This study was
done with a grand vision in mind, but the software and people able to use GIS in this way
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are still years away. Plus, the amount of information and complexity of the display were
perhaps more suited for a college history classroom and perhaps too complicated and
distracting for eighth-graders. However, the value of using GIS in this manner has been
substantiated, and the lessons learned from this study are invaluable. Trying to show all
of the events leading up to and during the war was too complicated, and GIS on such a
scale would be difficult to inject into history classrooms across this country. However, if
small displays showing just specific battles or specific campaigns could be developed, it
would perhaps be the first step in the process of using animated GIS to teach history. For
instance, if one were to capture just the troop movements leading up to and taking place
during the battle of Yorktown, the small visualization would be easy to show on most
computers, and easy to convince teachers to use as a visual aid as they teach this decisive
battle. Using the screen capture software Snag-It (TechSmith 2008), one can record just
a specific area on their computer screen as the events transpire on the screen. Using
Snag-It and Tracking Analyst in conjunction, one can capture the animated GIS for a
battle and distribute it to teachers or professors as a movie scene, so that all they have to
do is play it, and pause it when they want to add their own commentary. This would
make it very easy for them to use the visual aid and to see the power of GIS. By limiting
the screen area to just the battle itself and not the toolbars or other such side
visualizations, the display would become much less distracting and “busy” as well, letting
the students focus on just the pertinent information. As teachers begin to use these small
slivers of GIS as visual aids, they would begin to see its benefits and perhaps become
more curious as to the possibilities of using the software to teach on a much larger scale.
Eventually, as the software becomes more developed and less expensive, and teachers
75
become more willing to use the software, it will develop into a more versatile tool,
allowing for linking to videos and documents, and then eventually evolving into the
grander vision that was attempted with this study. This grand vision is still perhaps years
away, but the first step in the evolution of injecting GIS into our history teaching
curricula by presenting small battles and events as movie displays is perhaps not that far
away, if someone has the know how and motivation to create such displays.
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Appendix 1
American Revolution Geography Quiz
1. The Royal Proclamation of 1763 forbid colonists from settling west of what mountain range? 2. In what colony did Patrick Henry deliver his famous speech that included the phrase “Give me Liberty or give me death.”? 3. In what country was the treaty signed that officially ended the war in 1783? 4. What city was the site of the first military engagement of the war? 5. What city was the location of the battle that convinced France to join the war? 6. Where were the last major battles of the war fought? a. Northern Colonies (New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut,
Rhode Island) b. Southern Colonies (Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia) c. Middle Colonies (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland) 7. What river did George Washington cross in the middle of the night to defeat the Hessians at the battle of Trenton? 8. What water body was closed by the British with the Intolerable Acts? 9. What front was dominated by George Rogers Clark (North, South, or West)? 10. What city did General Howe refuse to leave, essentially ruining the British Grand Plan? 11. The end of the war left the western border of the U. S. as what geographic feature? 12. What colony was the last major battle of the war fought in? 13. What country sent ships that help seal off the British ships in the last major battle? 14. The first Continental Congress was held in what city? 15. What city was the first major battle, and also the biggest battle, of the war fought in?
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Appendix 2
American Revolution Geography Questionnaire
1. Do you think this presentation helped you understand the events and interactions of the Revolutionary War better?
2. Do you think this presentation helped you understand the geography of the Revolutionary War better?
3. If the means were available, would you rather have history presented to you in this fashion?
4. Do you consider yourself more of an audio learner or a visual learner?
5. What do you think the advantages are of having history presented to you in this way?
6. What do you think the disadvantages are of having history presented to you in this way?
7. What was the most interesting or informative part of the presentation?
8. What was the least interesting or informative part of the presentation?
78
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