Abstract
Paths to Geospatial Literacy: The Roadmap to Geographic Literacy
Track: Teacher Education and Educational Research
Authors: Sarah Bednarz
The Geographical Sciences Education Research Committee (GSERC) is one component of the Roadmap to Geographic Literacy, an ambitious project of the three professional geography associations led by the National Geographic Society and funded by NSF. The charge of GSERC is 1) to identify the areas of research most useful for large-scale efforts to improve education in the geographical sciences; and 2) to suggest strategies and methodologies research communities may develop and adopt to maximize the cumulative impact of research in geographical sciences education. With special focus on geospatial literacy, this presentation outlines a general framework to develop a coordinated research agenda; presents a model designed to build capacity in geography/GIS education based on linkages to related communities in science education, the learning sciences, and cognitive psychology; and suggests key components that research in geography/GIS education should encompass to advance fundamental understandings of geospatial literacy.