Exploiting the Power of GIS to Enhance Spatial Thinking in STEM Areas

利用 GIS 的力量增强 STEM 领域的空间思维

• 批准号: 7941783
• 负责人: Amy Lobben
• 金额: $ 49.76万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-30 至 2012-09-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7941783
• 关键词: Address; Adult; Architecture; Area; Communities; Complex; Computer software; Data; Data Analyses; Development; Discipline; Education; Educational Curriculum; Empirical Research; Employment; Engineering; Evaluation; Evolution; Foundations; Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Future; Geographic Information Systems; Goals; Health Services Accessibility; Laboratories; Learning; Location; Mainstreaming; Maps; Mathematics; Methodology; Methods; National Research Council; Neurologic; Oregon; Plant Roots; Play; Population; Preventive Medicine; Process; Public Health; Publications; Recruitment Activity; Reporting; Research; Research Activity; Research Design; Research Personnel; Role; Schools; Science; Staging; Students; Tactile; Technology; Testing; Thinking; Time; Touch sensation; Underemployment; Unemployment; Universities; Validity and Reliability; Vision; Visual impairment; Washington; base; behavior test; blind; catalyst; design; efficacy evaluation; flexibility; haptics; instrument; public health relevance; response; sight for the blind; skills; statistics; theories; tool; usability; visual feedback; volunteer; way finding

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this project is to develop and evaluate a theory-driven pedagogic minimal Geographic Information Systems (mGIS) interface to enhance spatial thinking, analysis, and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines by students who are blind or low vision. Spatial thinking represents a type of powerful and pervasive thinking as important as mathematical or verbal thinking. The importance and potential impact of spatial thinking on STEM competencies has been addressed recently in a National Research Council's report (2006), Learning to Think Spatially. In that publication, the NRC unabashedly states that spatial thinking not only underpins National Standards for Science and Mathematics, but also permeates scientific discovery and understanding by providing a catalyst to conceive, identify, develop, and solve scientific problems. Geospatial technology and data are not the future; they are the present. As a result, spatial thinking plays, and will continue to play, a key role in the current and future information-based economy. But unfortunately, as the NRC report illustrates, the K-12 curriculum is woefully negligent in addressing the need to enhance spatial thinking, in spite of its importance in STEM education. The proposed research design is grounded in current spatial thinking and geographic education theory. Project deliverables include an mGIS as well as enhanced theory for spatial thinking and learning across STEM for all students (not just mainstream). A haptic (touch) soundscape (audio) minimal Geographic Information System (mGIS) will provide educators a first-ever pedagogic tool designed to enhance analytical spatial thinking (a building block of STEM competency). Currently, no such tool exists for students who are blind or low vision. The project builds on a large stable base of preliminary data, which informs the development of the mGIS, the haptic-soundscape interface, as well as spatial thinking skills and their effect on STEM competencies. Project activities will focus on three specific aims. Specific Aim 1 is to develop a framework for expanding and deepening spatial thinking theory. We will not only build on existing classroom-based empirical research, but also test a methodology for expanding the empirical research approach. Our methods include combination of robust behavioral testing and fMRI data gathering. Specific Aim 2 is to develop a haptic soundscape mGIS interface for promoting spatial thinking in STEM education for students who are blind or low vision. The mGIS will be developed as a pedagogic tool, not a fully-functioning GIS. While research has shown that GIS can be an effective approach to geospatial analysis, inquiry, and learning, researchers and educators have not investigated how GIS can be applied to the curriculum of students who are blind or low vision, nor what spatial thinking tasks are appropriate for enhancing spatial thinking in STEM related academic fields. These skills have been identified by previous researchers as well as through the PI's current ongoing research. The skills are built on the five levels of spatial concepts, beginning with spatial primitives of identity, location, magnitude, space/time then deriving more complex concepts. The pedagogic mGIS interface will be simplified, removing many of the advanced data analysis capabilities (and buttons) from the interface (i.e. a minimal GIS). Specific Aim 3 is to evaluate the efficacy of the mGIS. Formative evaluation of the educational efficacy of the mGIS will take place throughout the development process. The mGIS will be built on the empirical results of theory-driven research, conducted iteratively. The efficacy evaluation activities will involve recruitment and testing of blind or low vision students from local universities and project partner schools for the blind. Public Health Relevance: This project will develop, deliver, and evaluate the efficacy of the first-ever theory-driven pedagogic minimal Geographic Information Systems (mGIS) interface designed to enhance spatial thinking, analysis, and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines by students who are blind or low vision. The project will also contribute to the theoretical understanding of student spatial thinking skills.

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目的是开发和评估理论驱动的教学最小地理信息系统（MGIS）界面，以增强科学，技术，工程和数学（STEM）学科的空间思维，分析和学习的空间思维，分析和学习。空间思维代表了一种强大而普遍的思维，就像数学或言语思维一样重要。最近在国家研究委员会的报告（2006年）中解决了空间思维对STEM能力的重要性和潜在影响，该报告学会了空间思考。在该出版物中，NRC毫不掩饰地指出，空间思维不仅是国家科学和数学标准的基础，而且还通过提供催化剂来构思，识别，发展和解决科学问题，从而渗透了科学发现和理解。地理空间技术和数据不是未来。他们是现在。结果，空间思维会发挥作用，并将继续发挥作用，这是当前和未来的基于信息的经济中的关键作用。但是不幸的是，正如NRC报告所说明的那样，尽管它在STEM教育中很重要，但K-12课程在满足增强空间思维的必要性方面非常疏忽。 拟议的研究设计基于当前的空间思维和地理教育理论。项目可交付成果包括MGIS以及对所有学生的空间思维和学习的增强理论（不仅仅是主流）。触觉（触摸）音景（音频）最小地理信息系统（MGIS）将为教育工作者提供有史以来的第一个教学工具，旨在增强分析空间思维（STEM能力的基础）。目前，对于盲目或低视力的学生，尚无这种工具。该项目建立在大量稳定的初步数据基础的基础上，该数据为MGI的发展，触觉景观界面以及空间思维技能及其对STEM能力的影响提供了信息。 项目活动将集中在三个具体目标上。特定目的1是开发一个框架来扩展和加深空间思维理论。我们不仅将基于现有的基于课堂的经验研究，而且还测试了一种扩展经验研究方法的方法。我们的方法包括强大的行为测试和fMRI数据收集的组合。具体目标2是开发一种触觉景观MGIS界面，用于为盲目或低视力的学生促进STEM教育中的空间思维。 MGIS将作为教学工具开发，而不是完整的GIS。尽管研究表明，GIS可以是对地理空间分析，询问和学习的有效方法，但研究人员和教育工作者尚未研究如何将GIS应用于盲人或低视力的学生的课程，也不适合在STEM相关学术领域增强空间思维的空间思维任务。这些技能已由以前的研究人员以及PI当前正在进行的研究确定。这些技能建立在五个空间概念级别的基础上，从身份，位置，幅度，空间/时间/时间/时间的空间基本开始，然后得出更复杂的概念。教学的MGIS接口将简化，从接口（即最小GIS）中删除许多高级数据分析功能（和按钮）。具体目标3是评估MGI的功效。在整个开发过程中，将对MGI的教育功效进行形成性评估。 MGI将建立在理论驱动的研究的经验结果基础上，该研究迭代进行。功效评估活动将涉及招募和测试当地大学的盲目或低视力学生以及盲人项目合作伙伴学校。 公共卫生相关性：该项目将开发，交付和评估有史以来第一个以理论驱动的教学最小地理信息系统（MGIS）界面的功效，旨在增强科学，技术，工程和数学和数学学科（STEM）学科的空间思维，分析和学习。该项目还将有助于对学生空间思维技能的理论理解。