Integrating GPS and LIDAR Into Geoscience Education

该项目将两种大地测量技术——全球定位系统（GPS）和光探测和测距（LiDAR）——整合到本科地球科学课程中：1)在休斯顿大学创建一个新的高级应用课程，2)在黄石大角研究协会野外营地增加现有的现场方法课程，其中包括GPS和LiDAR应用。3)为大学教师举办专业发展研讨会，将GPS和激光雷达纳入不同层次的课程中。教学方法以探究式案例为基础，并使用免费的在线软件来克服复杂的数据处理挑战，使学生专注于应用和解决问题。项目评估旨在解决课程对本科生学习高精度GPS和LiDAR方法的有效性，GPS和LiDAR集成在多大程度上增强了更广泛的地球科学问题解决，以及教师发展将GPS和LiDAR纳入其他本科地球科学课程的有效策略。该项目的智力价值在于它将尖端的高精度技术注入到本科课程中，这些技术越来越多地被地球科学专业人员使用，以应用于一系列引人注目的地球科学主题。更广泛的影响包括专业发展和传播四个模块，这些模块连同基本策略，可以在其他机构和/或课程级别使用。该项目还使用GPS和激光雷达来提高参与度，并向地学专业的学生传授与劳动力相关的技能，其中包括休斯顿大学（University of Houston）大部分来自少数族裔的学生。

The project is integrating two geodetic technologies--Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)--into the undergraduate geoscience curriculum by 1) creating a new upper-level applications course at the University of Houston, 2) augmenting an existing field-methods course at the Yellowstone Bighorn Research Association field camp with GPS and LiDAR applications, and 3) conducting professional-development workshops for college faculty to incorporate GPS and LiDAR into their own courses at different levels of the curriculum. The pedagogical approach scaffolds inquiry-based cases and uses freely available online software to overcome complex data-processing challenges, allowing students to focus on applications and problem-solving. Project assessment is addressing the efficacy of the curriculum on undergraduate learning of high-precision GPS and LiDAR methodologies, the extent to which GPS and LiDAR integration augments geoscience problem solving more broadly, and effective strategies for faculty development to incorporate GPS and LiDAR into other undergradaute geoscience courses.The intellectual merit of the project lies in its infusion of cutting-edge high-precision technologies, increasingly used by geoscience professionals, into the undergraduate curriculum for application to a host of compelling geoscience topics. Broader impacts include professional development and dissemination of four modules which, together with the underlying strategies, enable use at other institutions and/or levels of the curriculum. The project also uses GPS and LiDAR to increase engagement and impart workforce-relevant skills to geoscience majors, including a high proportion of students from underrepresented minorities at the University of Houston.