Promoting the Development of Higher Level Spatial Thinking With Geographic Information Systems Instruction

• In Event: 25.017 - Supporting Spatial Thinking to Enhance STEM Learning

Abstract

Given that research suggests that spatial skills are strongly predictive of achievement in STEM disciplines (Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009), the National Research Council (2006) has argued that there is a need to develop and empirically evaluate ways of teaching spatial thinking skills. Of particular relevance for achievement in STEM disciplines is higher-level spatial thinking. Higher-level spatial thinking is a set of strategies that facilitate reasoning about issues related to space. For example, higher-level spatial thinking strategies include the ability to recognize when to think spatially, the ability to selectively use spatial representations and technologies as problem-solving tools, and the capacity to utilize forms of spatial data when solving a given problem (National Research Council, 2006). Although empirical evidence suggests that learning to use geospatial technologies (namely Geographic Information Systems, or GIS) can lead to improvement in performance on certain spatially-related tasks (Lee & Bednarz, 2009; Kim & Bednarz, 2013a; Kim & Bednarz, 2013b), few studies to date have examined the role of GIS-based instruction in promoting the development of higher-level spatial thinking strategies. Therefore, the following research question was addressed: To what degree does spatially-based GIS instruction promote the development of higher-level spatial thinking? To address this question, we conducted two studies to investigate the effects of participation in a GIS course on high school students’ higher-level spatial thinking.

In Study 1, we recruited a sample of high school juniors and seniors (N=46), comprised of students enrolled in either a GIS course (N=32) or in AP courses (N=14). One-on-one interviews were conducted before the start of courses in the fall (pre-test) and after the completion of courses in the spring (post-test). Interviewers asked participants to think aloud as they generated solutions to a set of hypothetical scenarios (e.g., “Why do you think gas prices vary from station to station, and how would you predict the price of gas at each station?”). Students’ responses to the scenario question were transcribed and coded for expressions of higher-level spatial thinking strategies. Results from analyses of students’ responses show that, in contrast to the comparison group students (those students enrolled in the AP courses), GIS students demonstrated an increase in the number of instances of higher-level spatial thinking strategy use from pre-test to post-test.

Study 2 examined the replicability of the findings from Study 1 with a larger sample (N =55 GIS, N=54 comparison) using a slightly modified interview protocol, and included measures of general spatial ability (mental rotation, paper folding). Preliminary findings provide additional evidence to support the utility of spatially-based GIS instruction as a means for promoting higher-level spatial thinking as well as general spatial ability.

Results from these studies provide preliminary evidence that participation in spatially-based GIS instruction can lead to improvements in higher-level spatial thinking. Such findings advance scientific understanding of the effectiveness of instructional approaches designed to teach higher-level spatial thinking, and contribute to the development and implementation of spatial thinking instruction in educational settings.

Authors

• Emily Hollenbeck, Northwestern University

• David Henry Uttal, Northwestern University

• Bob Kolvoord, James Madison University

• Emily Grossnickle Peterson

• Adam Green, Georgetown University