Designing GIS learning materials for K–12 teachers

Abstract

Although previous studies have proven the usefulness and effectiveness of geographic information system (GIS) use in the K–12 classroom, the rate of teacher adoption remains low. The identified major barrier to its use is a lack of teachers’ background and experience. To solve this limitation, many organisations have provided GIS-related teacher training using various GIS learning materials. However, most materials have been developed without much consideration for the ‘users’ of these materials. This article introduces a user-centred design (UCD) approach to design and develop GIS learning materials in collaboration with a group of teachers to assist teachers in learning about and implementing GIS effectively in their classrooms. To illustrate this approach, the author presents a case study that involves developing GIS learning materials for middle school social studies teachers in Colorado, USA. As a result, the majority of teachers reported that UCD-based materials were easy to learn and follow.

Keywords:

• GIS
• user-centred design
• teacher training

Notes

1. The learning materials can be found at GIS for Social Studies, http://www.westga.edu/~jhong/gisss.