Evaluation of GIScience Exercise Using Online Educational Materials for Japanese University Students

Abstract

GIScience is essential to geography education. Different curriculums and textbooks have been developed to teach GIScience in classrooms through lectures and exercises corresponding to the educational situation of each country. We developed e-learning materials based on existing research outcomes for GIScience education in Japan, such as the Japanese GIS core curriculum for university education. Using the materials, we held a three-day intensive GIScience class at the University of Tokyo from 2018 to 2022 with questionnaire surveys to investigate the educational effects of the materials and factors influencing GIScience learning. The attending students browsed the materials and studied GIScience by themselves but asked questions of teachers if necessary. The questionnaire survey results indicate that most students felt geospatial data processing is somewhat complex, but they were satisfied with the opportunity of GIScience learning. Whether the students thought the exercise was simple and easy depended on their confidence in computer knowledge and operation and their preferred learning style at their own pace. The students’ satisfaction level and ease in using the material correlate with their motivation level, the number of questions they asked the others, and their preferred style for learning at their own pace.

Key Words:

• exercise
• GIScience education
• open educational resources
• self-learning

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank three anonymous reviewers for their valuable and insightful comments.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers JP15H01782 and JP21H00627.

Notes on contributors

Hiroyuki Yamauchi

HIROYUKI YAMAUCHI is an Associate Research Professor at Art Research Center, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto 603-8577, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests involve geography education using GIS and related technology.

Takashi Oguchi

TAKASHI OGUCHI is a Professor at the Center for Spatial Information Science, The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8568, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests include hillslope geomorphology, fluvial geomorphology, geomorphometry, GIS applications, and GIS-related education.

Kotaro Iizuka

KOTARO IIZUKA is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Spatial Information Science (CSIS), The University of Tokyo, Kashiwa 277-8568, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests lie in the field of environmental remote sensing. Various analysis is conducted utilizing data from optical and synthetic aperture radar satellite imagery to UAV-based studies. Applications are varied across fields, including forestry, urban studies, and earth sciences.

Yuichi S. Hayakawa

YUICHI S. HAYAKAWA is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. His academic focus is within the domain of environmental geography, with a particular focus on using high-definition earth surface data for geomorphology and related studies; this encompasses various aspects, including data acquisition, analysis, sharing, outreach, and education.

Toshikazu Seto

TOSHIKAZU SETO is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Letters, Komazawa University, Tokyo 154-8525, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]. His research interests are based on social geography and geospatial analysis of various social phenomena. In particular, he specializes in fields such as participatory GIS and volunteered geographic information.