CAREER: Teaching and Learning Social Science Inquiry and Spatial Reasoning with GIS

本研究计划旨在探索和了解地理资讯系统（GIS）如何被用来促进和教授空间思维和社会科学探究技能。它解决了研究问题：在中学和本科课堂上，使用GIS教授空间思维和社会科学探究的有效教学实践是什么？本项目将研究城市公立学校使用GIS进行社会科学教学实践的有效性，以实现特定的学习目标。本研究计划建立一个以经验为基础的框架，以研究地理信息系统教学实践与其他四个研究重点的互动方式：(1)探究技能和空间推理的学习目标，跨年级表达；(2)基于GIS的学习过程；(3) GIS课程设计；(4)学习环境的GIS工具设计。该项目计划在与文化有关的课程单元中为非洲裔美国人和拉丁裔背景的不同学生使用地理信息系统工具。一系列的研究方法将用于研究教学和学习，集中在一个共同的主题：美国移民的非洲裔美国人和拉丁裔人口随着时间的推移，使用地理信息系统测绘的人口普查数据。研究将分三个阶段进行：(1)设计实验，迭代开发理论框架、课程和教学策略；(2)两个层面的有效教学案例研究；(3)课程评价。本研究将介绍基于地理资讯系统的课程对中学课堂、本科学生和职前小学教师有效教与学的研究结果。

This research project aims to explore and understand how geographic information systems (GIS) can be used to promote and teach spatial thinking and social science inquiry skills. It addresses the research question: What are effective teaching practices using GIS to teach spatial thinking and social science inquiry in middle-school and undergraduate classrooms? This program will study the effectiveness of teaching practices for social science instruction with GIS in urban public schools for specific learning objectives.The research plans to develop an empirically-grounded framework for studying the ways teaching practices with GIS interact with four other foci of research: (1) learning objectives for inquiry skills and spatial reasoning, articulated across grade levels; (2) learning processes with GIS; (3) GIS curriculum designs; and (4) the design of GIS tools for learning environments. The project plans to use the GIS tools within a culturally relevant curriculum unit for diverse students of African American and Latino backgrounds. A range of research methods will be used to study teaching and learning, focused on a common topic: American Migrations of African American and Latino populations over time, using GIS-mapped census data. Research will be conducted in three phases: (1) design experiments iteratively developing a theoretical framework, curriculum, and instructional strategies; (2) case studies of effective instruction at two levels; and (3) curriculum evaluations. Findings on effective teaching and learning in middle school classrooms, with undergraduate college students, and pre-service elementary teachers via GIS based-curriculum, will be presented.