Abstract

GIS Impact on Students' Use of Spatial Language and Gesture
Track: Educational Research and Teacher Education
Authors: Bob Kolvoord, David Uttal, Lori Lineweaver, Nathaniel Meadow

An open question in the use of GIS in K-12 settings is the impact on students' spatial thinking skills. While some work has focused on using a standard battery of psychometric instruments that often bear little connection to the kinds of spatial thinking we want students to do when using GIS.

We are conducting a classroom video study of students participating in the Geospatial Semester over a period of multiple months to observe the impact of GIS use on their use of spatial language and gesture. The students are followed as they research their extended final project (which unfolds over many weeks in the Spring term).

In this presentation, we will discuss the research design and share initial results from the 2010-2011 school year. We'll also discuss future directions and the implications of this research.