Developing trainee teacher practice with geographical information systems (GIS)

Abstract

There is general agreement that geographical information systems (GIS) have a place within the geography classroom; they offer the potential to support geographical learning, exploring real-world problems through student-centred learning, and developing spatial thinking. Despite this, teachers often avoid engaging with GIS and research suggests that the lack of GIS training in initial teacher education is partially to blame. In response to this, this article explores how 16 trainee geography teachers were supported to develop their use of GIS across a one-year, postgraduate teacher training course in England. The project, an interpretive case study underpinned by a constructivist epistemology, used questionnaires and interviews to elicit trainees’ understandings of the nature of GIS, and to explore their engagement with it across their training year. Results suggest a programme of embedded training developed in trainees a more nuanced understanding of the value of GIS for supporting geographical learning and, thereby, increased self-efficacy towards and engagement with it in their teaching practice. However, not all trainees embraced GIS as a pedagogical tool and the study raised several key issues for geography teacher education, including the knowledge culture within schools in the teacher training partnership, and the importance of trainee self-efficacy towards GIS.

Keywords:

• Geographical information systems (GIS)
• initial teacher education (ITE)
• geography
• spatial thinking

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank ESRI UK and Jason Sawle in particular for providing free licenses and ongoing training and support for our partnership schools which enabled us to develop GIS across the training programme. I would also like to thank the trainee geography teachers for the enthusiasm with which they responded to the research across their PGCE year, as well as their mentors in school for supporting them to work creatively with GIS in their classrooms. Finally, I am particularly grateful for the constructive comments that the anonymous reviewers and editor provided on an earlier draft of this article.

Notes

1. The National Curriculum for Key Stage 3 is mandatory for all maintained schools in England. At Key Stage 3, this relates to children at the start of their secondary schooling, aged 11–14.

2. GCSE examinations are sat by students at the age of 16, whilst A Level examinations are taken at the age of 18 in England.

3. The PGCE is a one-year higher education course in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which provides training in order to allow graduates to become teachers within maintained schools. Within it, trainee teachers spend time in both university and school settings.

4. ESRI is an international supplier of GIS software, web GIS and geodatabase management applications, and the owner of ArcGIS Online.