Interactive digital mapping platforms (NG Mapmaker, ArcGIS Online, Google Earth), and satellite imagery are powerful instructional tools that encourage inquiry-based learning. The Delaware Center for Geographic Education (DCGE), in partnership with the Delaware Department of Education and Social Studies Coalition of Delaware, has been inserting all forms of geospatial technologies into newly-developed, literature based and standards aligned social studies instructional materials. The primary goal of the geospatial technology-infused instructional materials is to make learning interactive and engaging and provide opportunities for student-centered inquiry. Secondary goals include: i) developing student knowledge of the power and potential of geospatial technologies, and ii) piquing student interest in potential college and career paths focused on the geosciences. Challenges to the adoption of these new instructional resources include developing teacher skills in the technology and supporting (particularly elementary) teachers in the adoption of inquiry based learning. DCGE’s partnership with DelawareView and the Delaware GeoEducation Committee has supported the development of a range of extra-curricular activities to support enhancing student and teacher learning through geospatial technologies. This presentation will share strategies for inserting geospatial technologies into news and existing elementary-level instruction and provide examples of how to increase student and education adoption of the technologies.
Early Childhood/Elementary | Geospatial Technologies
Joshua Tree
Mary Schorse is an environmental geographer whose primary expertise is in human-environment interactions, natural resource management, payment for ecosystem services (PES), and sustainability. She has extensive experience in multi-disciplinary stakeholder engagement in designing, implementing and assessing projects and initiatives. As a human geography, Dr. Schorse also dedicates her time to geography education and ensuring that K-12 educators are equipped and prepared to teach important geographic concepts as part of the K-12 social studies curriculum, and developing outreach programs for students and families to engage with geography and geospatial tools directly. Her work in geography education focuses heavily on identifying creative strategies for utilizing geospatial technologies such as GIS and satellite imagery as an instructional resource. in the K-12 classroom. Dr. Schorse has also engaged in utilizing GIS and spatial analysis in the examination of educational equity challenges in the state of Delaware.
