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

本研究项目旨在探索和理解如何利用地理信息系统（GIS）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：什么是有效的教学实践，利用GIS教空间思维和社会科学探究在中学和本科课堂？本项目将研究城市公立学校社会科学教学中GIS教学实践的有效性，以实现特定的学习目标。本研究计划开发一个基于实践的框架，以研究GIS教学实践与其他四个研究焦点的互动方式：（1）跨年级的探究技能和空间推理的学习目标;（2）GIS学习过程;（3）GIS课程设计;（4）GIS学习环境工具设计。该项目计划在一个与文化相关的课程单元内为非裔美国人和拉丁美洲背景的各种学生使用地理信息系统工具。一系列的研究方法将被用来研究教学和学习，集中在一个共同的主题：随着时间的推移，非洲裔美国人和拉丁裔人口的美国移民，使用GIS映射的人口普查数据。研究将分三个阶段进行：（1）设计实验，反复开发理论框架，课程和教学策略;（2）两个层次的有效教学案例研究;（3）课程评估。调查结果有效的教学和学习在中学课堂上，与本科大学生，和职前小学教师通过GIS为基础的课程，将提交。

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.