Going solo: students’ strategies for coping with an independent GIS project

ABSTRACT

A GIS project is an effective means of linking learning about GIS and learning with GIS, and it can enhance students’ employability. However, individual project work creates challenges that could result in failed assessment. Here we adopt a mixed-methods approach to examine how students of mixed abilities cope with GIS problems and to reveal the variety of support mechanisms they adopt. We also highlight the moral dilemmas of achieving academic success independently. We conclude that more research needs to be conducted into the way staff promote the graduate attribute of independence while still supporting their students.

KEYWORDS:

• Sources of help
• risk minimisation
• coping strategies
• moral responsibilities
• graduate attributes

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by Lancaster University Faculty of Science Technology Teaching Development Grant. The authors would like to thank the 20 anonymous students who were interviewed as part of this study and other students who have provided critical reflections with their project write-ups in recent years. They would also like to thank the 2 reviewers for their constructive comments.

Disclosure statement

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