GIS Explorations of Earth
Our GIS-based curricula are designed for students and faculty who are GIS novices. The design grew out of research that shows that learning GIS skills is easier and more engaging while investigating a scientific problem than first mastering GIS skills and then tackling a scientific investigation.
This Teach with GIS rather than Teach about GIS approach has been successful in getting novice GIS users—both the instructors and their students—to explore current problems and issues in Earth system science using real data and powerful analysis tools.
We simplified, streamlined, and automated the command sequences of existing GIS tools. Students’ frustration is minimized, and their attention is focused on analyzing and interpreting the data and understanding the underlying science concepts, rather than the software.
The goal of our curriculum development is to provide accessible tools and problems that enhance learning about Earth systems and mastery of workforce skills in using Big Data. An early mastering of data analysis and visualization skills with a GIS is a gateway to geosciences careers—and a host of other careers—that use Big Data to solve important problems.