A new report by the National Research Council (NRC) underscores the goals of SESP's award-winning My World GIS software. The NRC, which is part of the National Academies of Science and Engineering, assembles panels of experts to advise the federal government on critical issues in science and technology. In this case, the NRC Committee on Support for Thinking Spatially has called for "a national commitment to the teaching of spatial thinking" in grades K-12, especially through the use of geographic information systems (GIS) integrated into the school curriculum. My World, developed by associate professor of learning sciences Daniel Edelson and his team of researchers, offers a uniquely effective tool for that purpose.
My World provides students as young as middle school with an easy-to-use GIS that brings visualization and data analysis of geographic data into the classroom. The innovative software fulfills NRC recommendations in that it permits students to perform investigations with data that have only been available to scientists until now. It is also designed to achieve national standards in science, geography and technology.
In addition to GIS software, SESP's My World project has developed several model standards-based curricula that incorporate spatial thinking. The most recently published is a high school environmental science course, Investigating Environmental Science: A Case-based Approach to the Study of Environmental Science, which features an inquiry-based approach where students take the role of environmental scientists probing real-world dilemmas.
A key component of the My World project is outreach, according to Edelson. The project has conducted numerous workshops across the country for teachers and has held two workshops for earth science and geography curriculum developers to help them learn to develop instructional materials that bring investigations with data into classrooms using My World.
"Spatial thinking can be learned and it can and should be taught at all levels of the education system," notes the NRC report, which recommends integrating spatial thinking into the existing curriculum rather than teaching it as a separate subject. "Underpinning success in math and science is the capacity to think spatially."
The NRC report also recommends fostering spatial literacy through practices such as linking with standards, innovative teaching methods, teacher training and assessment - all of which are components of the My World project.
"The unique strength of My World is not only that it makes GIS accessible even to middle schoolers but it also takes into account the needs of teachers and the constraints of school computing environments," notes Edelson. The development of My World was supported by the National Science Foundation's program in Instructional Materials Development.
Learn more about My World GIS at http://myworldgis.org/myworld
View the NRC report at www.nap.edu/catalog/11019.html
Last Modified: 8/14/09