Examining the Effect of Enactment of a Geospatial Curriculum on Students' Geospatial Thinking and Reasoning

Autor/inn/en	Bodzin, Alec M.; Fu, Qiong; Kulo, Violet; Peffer, Tamara
Titel	Examining the Effect of Enactment of a Geospatial Curriculum on Students' Geospatial Thinking and Reasoning
Quelle	In: Journal of Science Education and Technology, 23 (2014) 4, S.562-574 (13 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1059-0145
DOI	10.1007/s10956-014-9488-6
Schlagwörter	Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills; Logical Thinking; Science Curriculum; Geographic Information Systems; Geography; Spatial Ability; Middle School Teachers; Urban Schools; Middle School Students; Science Achievement; Surveys; Energy; Pretests Posttests; Knowledge Level; Science Process Skills; Multiple Regression Analysis; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; Science Instruction + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Denkfähigkeit; Geografie; Räumliches Vorstellungsvermögen; Middle school; Middle schools; Teacher; Teachers; Mittelschule; Mittelstufenschule; Lehrer; Lehrerin; Lehrende; Urban area; Urban areas; School; Schools; Stadtregion; Stadt; Schule; Student; Students; Schüler; Schülerin; Survey; Umfrage; Befragung; Energie; Wissensbasis; Teaching of science; Science education; Natural sciences Lessons; Naturwissenschaftlicher Unterricht
Abstract	A potential method for teaching geospatial thinking and reasoning (GTR) is through geospatially enabled learning technologies. We developed an energy resources geospatial curriculum that included learning activities with geographic information systems and virtual globes. This study investigated how 13 urban middle school teachers implemented and varied the enactment of the curriculum with their students and investigated which teacher- and student-level factors accounted for students' GTR posttest achievement. Data included biweekly implementation surveys from teachers and energy resources content and GTR pre- and posttest achievement measures from 1,049 students. Students significantly increased both their energy resources content knowledge and their GTR skills related to energy resources at the end of the curriculum enactment. Both multiple regression and hierarchical linear modeling found that students' initial GTR abilities and gain in energy content knowledge were significantly explanatory variables for their geospatial achievement at the end of curriculum enactment, p < 0.001. Teacher enactment factors, including adherence to implementing the critical components of the curriculum or the number of years the teachers had taught the curriculum, did not have significant effects on students' geospatial posttest achievement. The findings from this study provide support that learning with geospatially enabled learning technologies can support GTR with urban middle-level learners. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10