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A chronic problem, a contemporary solution : designing a GIS-based learning environment to improve geographic literacy / Patrick J. Ladd

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Identifier	Thesis 1593
Author	Ladd, Patrick J
Title	A chronic problem, a contemporary solution : designing a GIS-based learning environment to improve geographic literacy / Patrick J. Ladd
Publisher	Central Connecticut State University
Date	2000
Resource Type	Master's Thesis
Notes	Geographic illiteracy is a chronic problem in the United States perpetuated, in part, by teachers who lack proper geography education training and by weak state education certification requirements. Initiatives for improving geographic literacy include the Educate America: Goals 2000 Act of 1990 and Geography for Life, the National Geography Standards of 1994. Additionally, organizations such as the National Geographic Society and the National Council for Geography Education have taken great strides in promoting geography education. Teachers are beginning to pick up on these initiatives by implementing practical and useful activities into their geography lesson plans that follow the recommendations of the National Standards. Among these initiatives is a move to implement geographic information systems (GIS) into the K-12 curriculum. Though GIS is information-driven, its output is a visual display of geographic patterns, making it an extremely powerful tool for improving geographic literacy. Implementation has been slow, but GIS technology holds much promise for the future of geography in American education. In spite of the capabilities GIS offers for classroom instruction, little work has been done to find ways the technology can aid in geographic literacy. The questions this thesis sought to answer, therefore, included the following: Can GIS, coupled with knowledge from learning theories, computer programming concepts, and cognitive spatial sciences, be adapted to aid in the development of a pedagogic environment for teaching and learning spatial concepts in our middle schools? Will the adaption of such an interactive GIS program by teachers at the middle school level in the US lead to a change and ultimately an improvement in geographic literacy among students? This thesis capitalizes on the educational promise of GIS by demonstrating that a software package can be designed to improve geographic literacy among middle school students. To answer the above questions, research was conducted on various educational learning theories and computer-aided instruction techniques. Additionally, data was gathered on important topics on geography education for middle school students and strategies that are being used to teach these topics. From this research, a GIS-based computer application was created to provide an interactive, self-paced learning environment to learn the name and location of the 50 US states. The application was then tested among selected middle school students. The results of the test provide preliminary indications that a GIS-based learning environment improves the ability of students to recall the names and location of the 50 US states. The results also show that a computer-based application for improving geographic literacy is appropriate for middle school students. In some instances, the program was able to effectively attract and sustain student interest in learning the tedious and repetitive task of remembering place-name geography. More testing will be needed, however, to identify the effects of the application on long-term recall and differences among gender groups and age groups.
Subject	Geography -- Study and teaching Geographic information systems
Department	Department of Geography
Advisor	Kyem, Peter A.
Type	Text
Digital Format	application/pdf
Language	eng
OCLC number	45242984
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A chronic problem, a contemporary solution : designing a GIS-based learning environment to improve geographic literacy / Patrick J. Ladd

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