Considerations of How to Study Learning Processes when Students use GIS as an Instrument for Developing Spatial Thinking Skills

Abstract

Within the last 30 years, geographical information systems (GIS) have been used increasingly in the training of geographers. On the basis of the philosophy of technology and instrumental genesis, we sketch how the use of instruments interacts with learning processes and outline how this can be studied. We empirically analyse students' learning processes and the influences of teaching practice in an introductory course in GIS. We show that students have different strategies for creating their personal instrument for spatial thinking and how teaching interacts with the students' learning processes. Finally, we discuss how GIS may gradually alter future professional development of geographers.

Keywords:

• Spatial thinking
• GIS
• learning processes
• teaching orchestration
• professional outlook

Acknowledgements

First, we thank all the first-year students at the Department of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen, in the academic year 2005–2006 for their time and effort in trying to let us understand their learning processes and perceptions of the world of GIS. We thank the team of teachers at the GIS and cartography course for their enthusiasm and willingness to show and discuss their teaching practice with us. This work has been possible through a university teaching development project financed by the Faculty of Science, University of Copenhagen. The entire teaching development project is described in detail in Madsen and Holm (2006). Furthermore, we wish to thank a number of referees for their valuable comments that improved the paper significantly.