Mapping Our School Site

Mapping Our School Site (MOSS) is a program in which students practice spatial cognition skills by field mapping and analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  Middle school students’ spatial ability was evaluated using a Spatial Experience Survey (SES) and the revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT: R). other sources of data included interviews, group presentations, individual written conclusions, and mapping analyses.  Students’ problem solving identification and ability dramatically improved as they collected, evaluated, reported, and synthesized environmental data.  The MOSS program combined an out of doors experience with an indoor experience on the computer.  This was found to be an effective approach to this type of field study

Mapping Bolivia’s socio-political climate: Evaluation of multivariate design strategies

This study investigated the effectiveness of multivariate mapping in displaying functional relationships using a case example of social and political data from Bolivia. The effectiveness of four approaches to multivariate mapping (combined sequential schemes, separable graduated circles, choropleth/proportional symbols, and pair of sequential schemes) in communicating these relationships was evaluated. A paper map survey in English and Spanish was administered to thirty-four participants in the United States and thirty in Bolivia using four multivariate maps and one control (separate maps). Significant results showed that viewing the datasets displayed in separate maps best transmitted the map message. The pair of sequential schemes approach received the highest scores when considering the multivariate mapping methods only. This approach also yielded higher scores from the Bolivian sample, suggesting that readers lacking map experience can benefit from this form of multivariate mapping. Cultural differences revealed among the two sample groups shows that when creating a study using a map based evaluation, it is best to fully investigate cultural characteristics that surround map reading prior to creating the evaluation tool. While this study did reveal benefits of certain approaches to multivariate mapping, these approaches should be further investigated based on regional and characteristic differences among groups

El Conocimiento Didáctico del Contenido en ciencias: estado de la cuestión

This paper gives a descriptive overview of the literature related to Pedagogical Content Knowledge - PCK - in the sciences. It is expected that this review can contribute to a better understanding of PCK, pointing out what has been investigated about this concept. Specifically, we analyze: a) how PCK is defined, what are its main features and how it has been appropriated by teachers; b) the relationship between PCK, knowledge of the contents to be taught and students learning; c) how PCK was actually used in teachers' training and teachers' evaluation; and, d) the scientific areas in which PCK has been studied. It concludes that PCK is an essential tool for improving the quality of teacher training

Mapping our school site Mapeando nossa escola

Mapping Our School Site (MOSS) is a program in which students practice spatial cognition skills by field mapping and analysis using Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Middle school students' spatial ability was evaluated using a Spatial Experience Survey (SES) and the revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R). Other sources of data included interviews, group presentations, individual written conclusions, and mapping analyses. Students' problem solving identification and ability dramatically improved as they collected, evaluated, reported, and synthesized environmental data. The MOSS program combined an out of door experience with an indoor experience on the computer. This was found to be an effective approach to this type of field study.<br>Mapeando Nossa Escola (MOSS) é um programa no qual estudantes praticam habilidades de cognição espacial com mapeamento de campo e análises usando o Sistema de Informação Geográfica (GIS/SIG). Habilidades espaciais de estudantes da segunda fase do Ensino Fundamental foram avaliadas usando o Levantamento de Experiências Espaciais (SES) e o teste de Visualização Espacial de Purdue (PSVT:R). Outras fontes de dados incluíram entrevistas, apresentação de grupos, conclusões escritas individualmente e análises de mapeamentos. A identificação e habilidade de resolução de problemas aumentaram dramaticamente entre os estudantes conforme eles coletaram avaliaram, relataram e sintetizaram dados ambientais. O programa MOSS combina experiências fora da sala de aula e dentro da sala com o uso de computadores. Esta abordagem foi considerada efetiva para este tipo de estudo de campo

GIS in Schools

Marsha Alibrandi (with A. Thompson and R. Hagevik) is a contributing author, Remaking History with Interdisciplinary GIS .https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/education-books/1038/thumbnail.jp