Summary
The Geospatial Semester is a unique and innovative project that connects high school students and geospatial technologies to bolster their spatial problem solving and open them up to the myriad careers across the many industries that use these technologies. Students earn dual enrollment credit from JMU and are required to do an extensive project of their own choosing. Since its inception in 2005, more than 10,000 students have participated. We have done a wide array of research to identify the key cognitive and behavioral gains afforded to participating students. In this short presentation, we’ll give a brief introduction to the Geospatial Semester, share examples of student work and discuss the key research findings. Most importantly, you’ll find out how you can bring this successful project to your school
Session Focus
Secondary/High School | Geospatial Technology | STEM
Conference Room
Reynolds Leadership Center
Meet the Presenters
Bob Kolvoord is a professor at James Madison University (JMU), where he also serves as Interim Provost. Bob is the co-creator (with Kathryn Keranen) of the Geospatial Semester, the award-winning dual enrollment program at JMU that brings GIS instruction and projects to students in Virginia. Bob is also the co-author of the Making Spatial Decisions series from ESRI Press. He is interested in how GIS use impacts students’ spatial thinking and problem solving abilities and has collaborated with colleagues at Northwestern, Georgetown, Dartmouth, American and Gallaudet to study this question.
