Tim Vatovec's Portfolio Page
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About Me
My name is Tim Vatovec and I am originally from Upstate New York. I have been teaching in the social sciences at the college level since 2009. My current teaching areas include human and physical geography, and Geographic Information Systems. I have also taught Introduction to Sociology and several first-year seminars for new students. My academic interests include security and preparedness issues in the United States and the application of social theory. My current learning objectives are to expand my knowledge of online instruction and become a more effective teacher.
My Topic and Purpose
The topic for my mini-course is the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in secondary education. A GIS is a computerized system utilized for the collection, storage, manipulation, analysis, and output of information that is spatially referenced. What sets a GIS apart from other types of information systems is that the data is referenced to a spatial location (geospatial data) and the ability to perform geographic analyses to answer questions. Geospatial data combines location information (such as latitude and longitude coordinates), attribute information (characteristics of an object, event, or phenomena), and temporal information (the time or life span at which the location and attributes exist) (Stock and Guesgen, 2016). GIS is increasingly used across academic disciplines, industries, and government to gather, analyze, and visually display information gleaned from ‘big data’ (extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations), generally in the form of maps. The guiding assumption of this course is that most teachers have had little-to-no instructional experience with GIS. The purpose of this course is to have educators learn the basics of a GIS, explore open-source and commercial GIS tools, and learn how to design a GIS-based learning activity.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
1) Define and identify the parts of a GIS;
2) Assess an open-source or commercial GIS tool;
3) Apply GIS to different learning contexts, and
4) Create a GIS-based learning activity.
Narrowing My Topic
Research from national academies, institutes, and academic and non-profit educational institutions, suggest that American secondary educators and their students are deficient in geographic knowledge. National standards are broad, and state standard requirements for geographic training vary; thus, secondary educators lack training in geographic information and technologies. Secondary education students, then, are not exposed to geographic information or technologies, even as this information and these technologies are increasingly used across subjects, industries, and government. I have narrowed my initial focus to secondary education teachers because the research suggests a move towards more training and professional development in this group will increase the utilization of GIS in their instructional practices and, thus, increase geographic knowledge and skills amongst their students. Please review the Resources and References section below for more information on the background research.
Needs Assessment
1) Instructional Problem: GIS, as a technological tool and method for analysis, is underutilized on secondary educational instructional contexts, even as educational research suggests that geographic inquiry-based learning is “crucial to the development of basic critical thinking and spatial analytical skills and capabilities (Favier and Schee, 2012; AAG, 2015) and is often communicated through geo-spatial technologies” (Osborne et al., 2020, p. 12). Including geographic, inquiry-based learning in the classroom leads to a deeper understanding of knowledge across all subjects (National Research Council [US], 2006). There is a need for teacher training and professional development opportunities for GIS in secondary education in the United States to facilitate instruction in basic geographic information across subjects. My hypothesis is that most secondary educators have little to no formal GIS training and, thus, their students are not exposed to a tool and method that support fundamental constructivist learning principles. To aid in expanding geographic instruction and knowledge, I propose this mini-course to help educators understand GIS and how to help them develop spatial thinking in their students and support inquiry-based learning.
2) The Nature of What is to be Learned: Participants in this mini-course will learn about the fundamentals of a GIS, the utility of spatial thinking and GIS, and how to access OER GIS resources to develop a GIS-based lesson. Teaching with GIS provides the opportunity for issue-based, student-centered, standards-based, inquiry-oriented education, but its effectiveness is limited primarily by social and structural barriers (Kerski, 2003, p. 134).
3) Gathering Data: To assess the need for a mini-course on GIS in the K-12 classroom, I drew upon national and state-level assessment data on the role of geography and GIS in secondary education in the United States. I also created a survey to gauge awareness of, and experience with, GIS as well as its instructional use by members of the ETAP 623 Spring 2021 course. Thank you to the eight people who participated (see GIS Survey link and Survey Summary link).
4) Instructional Content: This course will be presented in a series of units, beginning with a background unit linking geography to GIS; followed by the role of spatial thinking; the utility of GIS to support inquiry-based learning; how to access OER GIS resources, and finally, how to construct a GIS-based learning activity. The content of the course will be presented in different formats based on each unit’s learning objectives. Text-based lecture content, multi-media presentations, and model lessons with instructional material will be used to help participants recognize the utility of GIS in different instructional contexts.
Analysis of the Learner and Context
Participants are secondary-level, K-12 educators from variety of disciplines who teach on a range of subjects. The expectation is that most participants have little formal GIS training or experience, and, thus, use little of the technology in their instruction. Meanwhile, usage of GIS technologies has risen dramatically with the increased speed of computing, the internet, and storage capacities – across industries and government, and in our everyday lives (GPS, Google Maps, etc.). The context in which course participant's are embedded is the general lack of geographic knowledge amongst Americans. National assessments have noted a deficiency in geographic knowledge and skills, such as spatial thinking, for decades. Osborne et al. (2020) note that there is a lack of teacher preparation and development in geography, which translates into low confidence in GIS usage and applicability in the classroom (p. 12). To remedy the general deficiency in geographic knowledge and the specific lack of GIS knowledge is more teacher training across disciplines, in the post-secondary and graduate level courses and professional development opportunities with institutional supports. Solutions will involve more access to learning and training opportunities, access to GIS software (free and commercial), and access to computing devices in the classroom.
Performance-Based Objectives
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:
1) Identify the parts of a GIS and how they work together to support data analysis and knowledge construction.
2) Assess an open-source or commercial GIS tool to draw conclusions about the selected tool’s potential accessibility and applicability to their own instructional practice.
3) Apply GIS to different learning contexts based on instructional goals and course outcomes.
4) Create a learning activity appropriate for the secondary education classroom using an open-source or commercial GIS resource tool which models the tenets of inquiry-based learning.
Task Analysis
Before taking this course, the participants should:
1) have basic computing skills; be familiar with with web browsing, and web applications (pre-requisite);
2) have knowledge of basic geographic concepts (space, place, and location) (pre-requisite), and
3) have a desire to learn more about geographic inquiry methods and tools.
Unit 1: Web-based Geographic Information Systems
After this unit, participants will:
1) be able to define a Geographic Information System (GIS) by reading articles, and viewing video clips;
2) be able to identify the component parts of a GIS by reviewing a lecture and reading text;
3) be able to identify data and methods used to derive geographic information from a case study, and
4) have begun working on a course-long activity (plan a GIS-based learning activity).
Unit 2: Assessing Web-based Geographic Information Systems
After this unit, participants will:
1) be able to identify and access open-source and commercial GIS tools online;
2) be able to assess the applicability of GIS tools to their own instructional practice, and
3) have continued to work on their course-long activity (GIS-based learning activity plan outline).
Unit 3: Web-based Geographic Information Systems in the Classroom
After this unit, participants will:
1) be able to recognize how geographic information systems support inquiry-based learning;
2) be able to explain how GIS integrates spatial information which can support learning objectives;
3) have reflected on how GIS can be applied to a subject or topic they teach, and
4) have continued to work on their course-long activity (GIS-based learning activity plan procedures).
Unit 4: Creating a Web-based GIS Learning Activity
After this unit, participants will:
1) know how GIS supports inquiry-based learning;
2) be able to draft a plan for a GIS-based learning activity, and
3) have created and submitted a GIS-based learning activity for feedback.
Curriculum Map
Here is a link to my Course Curriculum Map: Mini-course Curriculum Map. If the link does not work, here is a PDF version: File:GIS Curriculum Map .pdf
References and Resources
American Association of Geographers (AAG). 2015. What Geographers Do. Originally accessed May 10, 2018. http://www.aag.org/cs/jobs_and_careers/what_geographers_do/overview.
Collins, L., & Mitchell, J. T. (2019). Teacher training in GIS: what is needed for long-term success?. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 28(2), 118-135.
Resources for K12 classrooms and schools in the time of COVID-19
Favier, T. T., & Van der Schee, J. A. (2012). Exploring the characteristics of an optimal design for inquiry-based geography education with Geographic Information Systems. Computers & Education, 58(1), 666-677.
Harte, W. (2017). Preparing preservice teachers to incorporate geospatial technologies in geography teaching. Journal of Geography, 116(5), 226-236.
Höhnle, S., Fögele, J., Mehren, R., & Schubert, J. C. (2016). GIS teacher training: Empirically-based indicators of effectiveness. Journal of Geography, 115(1), 12-23.
Hong, J. E. (2014). Promoting teacher adoption of GIS using teacher-centered and teacher-friendly design. Journal of Geography, 113(4), 139-150.
Kerski, J. J. (2003). The implementation and effectiveness of geographic information systems technology and methods in secondary education. Journal of Geography, 102(3), 128-137.
Mitchell, J. T., Roy, G., Fritch, S., & Wood, B. (2018). GIS professional development for teachers: Lessons learned from high-needs schools. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 45(4), 292-304.
National Research Council [NRC]. (2006). Systems for state science assessment. National Academies Press.
Osborne, Z. M., van de Gevel, S. L., Eck, M. A., & Sugg, M. (2020). An Assessment of Geospatial Technology Integration in K–12 Education. Journal of Geography, 119(1), 12-21.
Stock, K., & Guesgen, H. (2016). Geospatial reasoning with open data. In Automating Open Source Intelligence (pp. 171-204). Syngress.
Xuan, X., Jin, Q., Jo, I., Duan, Y., & Kim, M. (2019). The potential contribution of geography curriculum to scientific literacy. Journal of Geography, 118(5), 185-196.