Assessment and Evaluation of GIScience Curriculum using the Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge

Abstract

Academic institutions are increasingly being held accountable for the quality of education which is, in turn, leading to an increased emphasis on curriculum assessment. This is especially true of geographic information science & technology (GIS&T), in which a rapidly growing profession demands that educational programs produce highly qualified graduates. In response to these demands, the University Consortium of Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) has developed the Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge, to identify the broad spectrum of knowledge, skills and techniques that make up the GIS&T domain. An intended use of this document is to support the development and assessment of GIS&T curricula. The authors address the potential benefits of using the Body of Knowledge through an evaluation of the learning objectives and curriculum of sample courses at two universities. They find that the Body of Knowledge enables robust specification of objectives and curricula, and provides the platform for reproducible and consistent evaluation of both curriculum and, ultimately, student outcomes. It is also flexible in allowing programmes to evaluate curricula based on their own goals and missions, rather than against a single standard curriculum.

Inquiry-Based Learning in Remote Sensing: A Space Balloon Educational Experiment

“…Teaching and learning need to strengthen student's ability to think about geography, supporting intellectual development and empowering students to become active users and analysts of spatial data (Lloyd, 2001). Limited efforts currently exist that assess and evaluate the geographical information science and technology (GIS&T) curricula; the body of knowledge has been developed by the University Consortium of GIS and is an isolated example that integrates the assessment of learning outcomes of curricula with professional needs and expectations required by employers (Prager & Plewe, 2009).…”

Assessment of Workforce Demands to Shape GIS&T Education

“…To live up to its past success in framing curriculum design in GIS&T Higher Education (DiBiase et al ; Prager and Plewe ; Van Orshoven ; Ahlqvist ) the BoK needs to take account of a changed GIS&T job market. Accordingly, an update of the BoK may be needed to fill gaps and even more importantly to address granularity issues, that is to provide a redefinition of hierarchical relationships between concepts (Disera and Johnson ; Wilson ).…”

Student perspectives on the teaching of geographical information systems (GIS) in geography degrees

“…Although assessment is now seen as playing a key role in HE and the concept of "assessment for learning" (Brown, 2004a, p. 81) has wide support, relatively little has been published about assessment in GIS (Prager & Plewe, 2009). One recent article of note is that by Erlien (2011) who suggests that "writing-intensive" GIS coursework (with an emphasis on preparing explanatory papers and reports) can help students to strengthen and deepen their GIS knowledge.…”