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Written by Steven Moore
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Wednesday, 10 June 2009 |
GIS in Education
Effective use of geographic information systems (GIS) in schools will help (1) integrate spatial thinking into the K-12 curriculum as a core cognitive skill for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction and (2) prepare an American workforce that can carry forward the growing field of geospatial technologies.
Promoting Spatial Thinking as a Core Academic Skill
GIS provides a platform for unlimited exploration, analysis, and visualization of many kinds of data. Because GIS uses powerful database capabilities to link geographic information (where things are) with descriptive information (what things are), a GIS map can present many layers of different types of information simultaneously. With GIS software, students can manipulate environmental science data on maps, make comparisons among different map “layers” of a GIS project, and create new maps by entering their own field observations. Powerful search and analysis capabilities in a GIS can be used to develop and test scientific research hypotheses. Graphic capabilities in the software can also be employed to change how objects and regions are represented on a map, produce charts and graphs from the mapped data, and represent data in three-dimensional models.
Recent publications have endorsed the practice of using visualization tools like GIS for learning. For instance, a 2006 report by the National Research Council Committee on Support for Thinking Spatially (National Research Council 2006) emphasizes that spatial thinking—a constructive amalgam of three elements: concepts of space, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning—underlies many great discoveries in science (e.g., Watson and Crick’s discovery of the structure of DNA). The committee proposes that spatial thinking helps people solve problems by “...easing the process of managing, transforming, and analyzing data, especially complex and large data sets, and by communicating the results of those processes to one’s self and to others” (National Research Council 2006). The committee concluded that spatial thinking is a basic and essential skill that should be taught extensively in K-12 schools
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 Preparing a Workforce To Sustain a Growing Industry
National Academies of Science (2006), National Science Board (2006), Coble and Allen (2006), and other reports have raised the alarm that the United States is falling behind in science education and science practice. This alarm intensifies the need for programs that encourage young people to enter into technical careers that can sustain growth in IT industries. Geospatial technologies, one of the targeted industries for president Bush's High Growth Job Training Initiative (U.S. Department of Labor [USDOL] 2006), is in need of systems designers and practitioners. Because of advancements in GIS technology and the increased accessibility of the global positioning system (GPS) to industry and government, geospatial technologies have become foundational to many professional activities, including environmental management, emergency response, homeland security, infrastructure management, geoexploration, and national defense (NSF 2005). As a result, the demand for appropriately trained personnel in the geospatial industries is increasing rapidly (NSF 2005). CoastLines will help satisfy that demand by increasing the visibility of GIS in K-12 schools and helping students and teachers understand the relevance of GIS as a workplace tool for conducting science and improving environmental conditions on Earth.
References Cited
National Academies of Science. 2006. Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future (Prepublication Copy). Washington DC: National Academies Press.
National Research Council. 2006. Learning to Think Spatially. Report of the Committee on Support for Thinking Spatially: The Incorporation of Geographic Information Science Across the K-12 Curriculum. Washington DC: National Academies Press.
National Science Board. 2006. Science and Engineering Indicators 2006: Volume 1. Arlington, Virginia: National Science Foundation.
National Science Foundation. 2005. Translating Science for Society: Broader Impacts of NSF’s Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Arlington, Virginia: National Science Foundation.
———. 2005. Integrating Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing for Technical Workforce Training at Two-Year Colleges. Arlington, Virginia: National Science Foundation.
U.S. Department of Labor. 2006. The President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment, and Training Administration 2006 [cited 27 December 2006]. Available from http://www.doleta.gov/BRG/JobTrainInitiative/
———. 2006. High Growth Industry Profile - Geospatial Technology. U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration 2006 [cited 27 December 2006]. Available from http://www.doleta.gov/BRG/Indprof/geospatial_profile.cfm
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 June 2009 )
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