Abstract
Wyoming EdPARC: Seventeen Years of K-16 Geospatial Education
Track: Teacher Education and Educational Research
Authors: Alan Buss
As part of the Education Public Access Resource Center (EdPARC), a division of the Upper-Midwest Aerospace Consortium, educators in Idaho, Montana, North and South Dakota, and Wyoming have been part of a regional effort to improve geospatial thinking and reasoning in the public schools for 17 years. Numerous teacher workshops, short-courses, summer institutes and other activities have been delivered to help teachers understand how GIS and remote sensing tools and data can be used to support and enhance learning in science, mathematics, social studies and art.
During this time Wyoming EdPARC provided experiences throughout the state, involving teachers from 37 of the 48 school districts. A research-based professional development model was developed to better support teachers in implementing geospatial technologies, comprising three two-day workshop sessions, extended over a three-month period. Teachers developed, implemented and assessed lesson plans incorporating ArcView/GIS, remote sensing data and tools. Sample teacher-developed lessons will be highlighted.