Abstract
This article explores teacher training in geographic information system (GIS) and hopes to uncover the necessary elements required for long-term and sustained use of GIS in the K-12 classroom. A variety of models have been proposed for successful GIS professional development including long-term teacher training lasting up to a year in length. Our study takes an additional step by following up with teachers over a full year after they have completed training to determine if they are continuing to teach with GIS and if so, how. We find there remains a disconnect between providing GIS teacher professional development and actually seeing long-term classroom implementation. We offer three recommendations for transformation in teacher practice: pre-service teacher geography and GIS intervention, continuous follow-up and coaching, and including GIS in Academic Standards.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to extend appreciation to the administration, teachers, and students of Saluda County Schools and Lexington County School District Three (South Carolina) for their support and participation in this project.
Disclosure Statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).