1 / 21

Using GIS in the introductory classroom

Using GIS in the introductory classroom. 14 December, 2008 Mark Abolins (mabolins@mtsu.edu), Department of Geosciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. Organization. Background Long Term Goals Science and GIS Unlocking Analysis and Research Opportunities (SAGUARO)

parsonsc
Download Presentation

Using GIS in the introductory classroom

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Using GIS in the introductory classroom 14 December, 2008 Mark Abolins (mabolins@mtsu.edu), Department of Geosciences, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

  2. Organization • Background • Long Term Goals • Science and GIS Unlocking Analysis and Research Opportunities (SAGUARO) • Activities (2005-present) • Asteroid impact • Volcano • Evaluation • Future work

  3. Background – 1Students • Geographic Information System (GIS) = Database + Quantitative analysis + Visualization • GIS-based activity for introductory non-majors Earth Science course • Students at regional comprehensive public university • No prior GIS experience assumed • Students use GIS to explore Earth Science

  4. Background – 2Institution • Department includes both geology and geography • No graduate program • Departmental GIS courses serve undergraduate and graduate students studying numerous disciplines • Natural sciences • Social sciences • Education (e.g., outdoor recreation) • Humanities

  5. Background – 3Facilities • 20+ seat departmental GIS lab • 24/7 GIS-equipped university computer lab

  6. Background – 3Facilities • NSF-supported analytical equipment Warner Cribb, Ph.D., MTSU Geosciences • X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) • Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS) • Geochemical sampling at Mount Hood, Oregon • After graduation, some undergraduates complete petrology/volcanology masters theses • e.g., one student currently working with Jim Walker at Northern Illinois

  7. Background – 4Funding for GIS Curricula • ~$20K from NASA Earth Observing System Higher Education Alliance (“GeoBrain”) • Small grants from Tennessee Space Grant • NSF STEP

  8. Long Term Goals • Knowledge • All students can describe a GIS in general terms • Recruitment • Some students • enroll in GIS course • declare a major in Geoscience

  9. Science and GIS Unlocking Analysis and Research Opportunities (SAGUARO) • GIS for non-majors introductory Earth Science • Subject matter • Plate tectonics - Water cycle • Oceanography - Tropical cyclones • Software • Arcview 3.x - ArcGIS 9.x • Developed by Michelle Hall-Wallace (Science Education Solutions), C. Scott Walker (Harvard), and others • Curricula developed 1998-present • Initially a large NSF grant

  10. Activities • Asteroid impact • Volcanoes • Geochem. data • GEOROC • NAVDAT • Geospatial data • “GeoBrain”

  11. Evaluation • Aimed primarily at justifying/defending use of GIS in introductory Earth Science • Time required for completion • Student perceptions • Difficulty • “Uninterestingness” • Student opinions about future use • Re-use? • More GIS anyone? • To GIS or not to GIS, that is the question. • N=42 (45% of class completed survey)

  12. H O U R S ACTIVITY

  13. MORE DIFFICULT S C A L E O F 1 T O 5 LESS DIFFICULT ACTIVITY

  14. NOT INTERESTING S C A L E O F 1 T O 5 INTERESTING ACTIVITY

  15. NOT INTERESTING S C A L E O F 1 T O 5 INTERESTING ACTIVITY

  16. Re-use? Modify? • Students support re-use of both activities.

  17. * Students prefer GIS to other homework * Students like the amount of GIS-based instruction In general, you would like to see _________GIS-based instruction in the course. Suppose you have to spend 1 hour working on a homework assignment. How would you rather spend this time?

  18. Sample strengths • The directions are easy to follow. • Allowing students to visualize what is being studied. • "Hands on " participation. • It is interactive and user friendly (if you have the directions!) • Interactivity, working with real data. • The computer! I love the computer.

  19. Sample weaknesses • Can be somewhat difficult to operate program. (For those who are computer illiterate.) • Not enough hands on stuff. • Boring, tedious. • Software available on campus in only 2 places. Difficult to install/complete at home. • The software is horrible. Granted it has to do a lot but I can’t imagine a worse interface.

  20. Summary • Student perceptions of impact and volcano activities are broadly similar to perceptions of SAGUARO curricula • 30 min to 1 hour for activity completion • similar perceptions of difficulty and “interestingness” • Students support future use of GIS • Re-use of impact and volcano activities • Prefer GIS to other homework

More Related