Real-world geographers and geography students using GIS: relevance, everyday applications and the development of geographical knowledge

Healy, Grace; Walshe, Nicola

doi:10.1080/10382046.2019.1661125

Cited by 24 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(28 reference statements)

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“…GIS, for example, is often required in geography curricula and frameworks in Germany, e.g., educational standards in geography for the intermediate school certification [38]. At the same time, there are various teaching materials for GIS in geography teaching [39,40], as well as GIS is discussed for higher education [41]. Furthermore, it is geography that, unlike other subjects, provides a framework from the outset to teach traditional science and MT in combined approaches [38,42].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modern Technology in Geography Education—Attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers of Geography on Modern Technology

Bengel

Peter

2021

Education Sciences

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In this study, we focus on teachers’ attitudes to compare and evaluate their ability and readiness to implement technology education in geography lessons. First, the lack of suitable measuring instruments for our intent was identified, and we thus attempted to develop the Modern Technology Attitude Index (MTAI) for remedy. An exploratory factor analysis helped to identify three distinguishable dimensions that depict areas of intimidation (INT), loss of control (LOC), and benefits and easement (BAE), with or through modern technology. The scales were then applied to German university students (n = 357). As a result, the pre-service geography teachers (n = 72) showed higher scores on the affinity scale than on the two aversion scales. Their subject-specific interest correlated negatively with intimidation and positively with the perceived benefits and easements of modern technology, while the perceived loss of control showed no significant correlation. This allows for the conclusion that the subject’s technology-related interest has an influence on cognitive and behavioral attitudes, while this is not the case for affective ones. Further, there are indications that the much-discussed gender gap in technology topics might particularly be related to people’s affective attitudes, while cognitive and behavioral dimensions seem not to be affected. Differing results in other studies on whether the gender gap still exists or not could be due to the fact that, in addition to growing social awareness and a generational change, the measuring tools used may have not yet been able to depict a sufficiently diverse range of attitudes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modern Technology in Geography Education—Attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers of Geography on Modern Technology

Bengel

Peter

2021

Education Sciences

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“…More recently, Healy and Walshe (2020: 184) have used Maude's typology to analyze "how use of real-world geography experts might support students' geographical knowledge" in the context of GIS education. Based on student interviews and questionnaire responses, they conclude that real-world geography experts support students to develop knowledge types 2, 4, and 5, whereas type 3 is difficult to find in the students' answers (Healy & Walshe 2020). Béneker (2018; see also Bouwmans & Béneker 2018) acknowledges that Maude's typology has helped to concretize the concept of powerful knowledge in geography, but she states that there is a risk of seeing the five types as separate, even though all five are needed to form powerful knowledge (see also Béneker & Van Der Vaart 2020).…”

Section: Powerful Geographical Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Geography's ability to enhance powerful thinking skills and knowledge

Virranmäki

2022

NGP

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Finnish upper secondary geography education has faced major changes within the last decade. In 2014, geography lost one of its compulsory courses in the distribution of lesson hours. Afterward, curriculum reforms were conducted in 2015 and 2019, and the geography test in the Finnish matriculation examination was digitalized in 2016. Similar major changes have occurred across the globe over the last 20 years as geography’s position in schools has weakened. Therefore, geography educationists have engaged in discussion regarding the kinds of knowledge and thinking skills that geography encourages young people to learn during their years in school. This thesis acknowledges that geography involves much more than teaching and learning simple facts about world’s topography, regions, and places, which is how geography is usually understood in popular views. The aim of this thesis is to widen our understanding of thinking skills and powerful knowledge in the context of geography education. Theoretically, the thesis brings together discussions of powerful geographical knowledge with thinking skills and knowledge dimensions from a revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy, and it suggests that these can be used as two “lenses” through which to examine geography. The main objective of the thesis is to examine geography’s potential to engage students in thinking skills and powerful geographical knowledge, using Finnish upper secondary geography education as an example. This thesis is based on three individual research articles, and thus the empirical part of the thesis consists of multiple research materials: in-service upper secondary teachers’ concept maps and in-depth interviews; the geography test questions from the paper-based and digital forms of the Finnish matriculation examination between fall 2013 and spring 2019; students’ answers to the paper-based and digital geography test questions between fall 2015 and spring 2017; and learning objectives in upper secondary geography curricula documents from the years 2003, 2015, and 2019, which are examined through the qualitative research methodology approach. Both inductive and deductive content analysis are used as methods of analysis. Additionally, quantification, descriptive statistics, and statistical analyses are used to comprehensively understand the researched phenomenon. In this compilation part of the thesis, the findings from the three original research articles are examined through the two “lenses” to reveal which geographical thinking skills and knowledge are emphasized. The findings suggest that the various thinking skills and knowledge dimensions, as well as powerful geographical knowledge types, are all present to some extent in Finnish geography’s learning objectives and test questions, students’ answers, and teachers’ conceptions. However, the majority of the learning objectives and test questions emphasize lower-order thinking skills, i.e. powerful geographical knowledge types 2 and 5. However, to some extent, teachers additionally emphasize higher-order thinking skills, i.e. powerful geographical knowledge types 1 and 4. The digitalization of the matriculation examination and the curriculum reforms slightly shifted the emphasis toward higher order thinking because the requirement to use analytical thinking skills—i.e. powerful geographical knowledge type 4—increased. Additionally, the findings suggest that students have difficulty answering questions that require them to use analytical (in digital tests only), evaluative, and creative thinking or procedural knowledge, i.e. powerful geographical knowledge types 4, 3, and 1. The findings indicate that geography has the potential to enhance students’ higher-order thinking skills and engage them in powerful geographical knowledge, but further development is needed. First, there is a need to reevaluate the optimal distribution between lower- and higher-order thinking skills in the geography curriculum’s learning objectives and the geography test questions in the Finnish matriculation examination. Additionally, there is a need to engage geography teachers and students in reflection on thinking skills and powerful geographical knowledge. Moreover, there is a need to consider the possibility of placing more emphasis on higher-order thinking skills, because this will enable the development of students’ powerful geographical knowledge in greater depth. In conclusion, this thesis provides one perspective on geography education and presents one framework for understanding thinking skills and powerful knowledge in geography. This framework can be used to plan the aims of geography education, or to choose teaching artifacts, methods, or assessments tasks. Moreover, it can be applied in order to “speak the same language” so as to develop geography education, and above all to develop students’ powerful geographical knowledge and thinking skills. Keywords revised Bloom’s taxonomy, powerful geographical knowledge, upper secondary education, geography education, geography curriculum, learning objectives, summative assessment, teachers’ conceptions, students’ performance, higher-order thinking skills

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“…Healy and Walshe [18] GIS training develops students' perceptions of the value and nature of GIS, and their impact on their geographical knowledge…”

Section: Acquisition Of Geographical Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

“…), and it entails the great potential for research and teaching. In addition, in professional performance, decision-making almost always involves geographical reasons or relationships [18].…”

Section: (A) Why Should Efforts Be Focused On Gis Education Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…GIS technology is potentially the basis of applying an active learning methodology, because it increases motivation and interest in classes, and stimulates students' curiosity in discovering the world around them [12,20]. To this end, GIS tools show how acquired knowledge can be applied in practice, and they establish connections with everyday applications and professions [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Introducing innovative technologies in higher education: An experience in using geographic information systems for the teaching‐learning process

Pérez-delHoyo

Mora

Ciriquián

et al. 2020

Comp Applic In Engineering

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In today's world, new technologies are being used for the teaching‐learning process in the classroom. Their use to support learning can provide significant advantages for the teaching‐learning process and have potential benefits for students, as many of these technologies are a part of the work life of many current professions. The aim of this study is to analyse the use of innovative technologies for engineering and science education after examining the data obtained from students in their learning process and experiences. The study has been focused on computational geographic information systems, which allow access to and management of large volumes of information and data, and on the assessment of this tool as a basis for a suitable methodology to enhance the teaching‐learning process, taking into account the great social impact of big data. The results allow identifying the main advantages, opportunities, and drawbacks of using these technological tools for educational purposes. Finally, a set of initiatives has been proposed to complement the teaching activity and to improve user experience in the educational field.

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Real-world geographers and geography students using GIS: relevance, everyday applications and the development of geographical knowledge

Cited by 24 publications

References 25 publications

Modern Technology in Geography Education—Attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers of Geography on Modern Technology

Modern Technology in Geography Education—Attitudes of Pre-Service Teachers of Geography on Modern Technology

Geography's ability to enhance powerful thinking skills and knowledge

Introducing innovative technologies in higher education: An experience in using geographic information systems for the teaching‐learning process

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