GIS experts in school curriculum can foster students' understanding of GIS and its real-world applications

Geographical information systems (GIS) are technological frameworks to analyze spatial and geographical data and have become ubiquitous in our personal lives. For example, map applications rely on GIS to update vehicle information in real time. GIS applications have widespread use in a variety of professional fields as well, from urban planning to intelligence agencies. Thus, GIS has become increasingly relevant for students to learn in geography classrooms. Yet, there remains a reluctance from teachers to engage in these technologies and a lack of attention on students' interests and perspectives on GIS both in education and in research. This study examined student engagement with GIS and geographical education in the UK, focusing on one GIS training program that brought GIS professionals and industry experts into the classroom. The researchers evaluated whether introducing industry experts had an impact on how students perceived GIS in relation to their personal education and geographical studies. The researchers also considered whether the industry experts supported students' development of geographical knowledge.

Prior to the study, the researchers conducted a literature review on GIS education and geographical in the UK. It was found that the UK curriculum generally encourages GIS education. Yet, there remain logistical and technical barriers that inhibit national GIS education implementation in schools, including teacher hesitancy to engage with GIS in the classrooms. Research that has shown, however, that partnering industry experts with educational professionals can transcend these barriers and allow for GIS to be successfully embedded in geography classrooms.

This study was part of a larger research inquiry exploring two research questions; first, how a GIS training program develops students' perceptions of and engagement with GIS and second, how students develop geographical knowledge. A total of 1790 students were included in the larger study at a 11-18 academy in England. This study comprised of 15 students aged 16 and 17 years, all of whom had opted to take a class titled Geography at Advanced Level. The participants were introduced to GIS and used ArcGIS Online, a Web-GIS platform. Professional geographers and GIS experts presented real-world GIS projects and provided educational support for relevant topics throughout the course. The researchers used a combination of six questionnaires and interviews to evaluate the two research questions.

The questionnaires consisted of open-ended questions to explore students' understanding of GIS as a tool, their use of GIS, their reaction to industry experts, and their geographical knowledge. Interviews were also conducted with all participants at the start of the study and seven participants at the end of the study. Both interviews asked participants to define GIS and its importance in geography studies. The final interview required that participants reflect on how they used GIS as a tool and GIS experts for support. The questionnaires and interviews were analyzed for common themes.

The researchers found that the program and sessions with GIS experts cultivated new perspectives about GIS among the participants. Prior to the academic year, only 2 out of the 15 participants had heard of GIS before. By the end of the year, the participants understood both the data visualization and geographical data analysis aspects of GIS. The majority of the participants reported at the end of the year that they would prefer GIS over a paper-based approach to geography. Additionally, the participants thought that the sessions with GIS experts helped them see the relevance of GIS to geography and their studies and understand how GIS applies to the real-world. For example, one participant stated that the sessions helped them realize the purpose of GIS. Another participant explained that the sessions showed how GIS is a “real-life tool and not just for studying”. Involving GIS experts in the curriculum allowed for students to understand GIS not only geographical technology, but also as a tool to communicate real-world information.

The researchers also found that using real-world experts in GIS curriculum both indirectly and directly supported student acquisition of geographical knowledge in multiple ways. First, the curriculum provided students with new ways of thinking about geography; for example, one student highlighted that if people are physically closer to particular place, they have more of a sense of place to there. Second, the curriculum provided students with the ability to analyze, explain, and understand information, specifically students' fieldwork data. Multiple students reported that GIS made it more feasible for them to discern relationships among data that became apparent when visualized spatially on a map. Third, the curriculum gave students agency over their own learning about geography. One student explained that learning how to use GIS with experts set the student up to investigate data that was of interest to them. Fourth, the curriculum enabled students to participate in local, national, and global issues, such as considering the accessibility of pavements in their local area. Last, the curriculum provided student with knowledge of the world, in that they explored global data beyond their own experiences.

This study has limitations. First, it had a small sample size of 15 participants. Additionally, the students were not selected randomly but rather were students who opted to take an advanced geography class. Thus, they may have been more interested in the topic or had more previous knowledge than a random group of students might have. Lastly, this study took place at one school in the UK, limiting the generalizability of the results.

The researchers recommend that industry experts should be used in the classroom to inspire students to engage with geographical learning. They also suggested that teachers act as an intermediary between the experts and students to effectively leverage the development of geographical knowledge.