GeoInquiries (https://community.esri.com/groups/k12-instruction/projects/geoinquiries) are short, simple instructional packages (a map plus a 2-page set of instructions) for K-12 education, covering a wide range of content areas and grade levels. I've picked out a couple to highlight. Again, please open links in new tabs.
- Upper Elementary
- Environmental Science
- MegaCities
- Earth Science
- Fluid Earth: Winds and Currents
- Human Geography
- US History
- Underground Railroad
- World History
- Government
- Foreign Aid
- American Literature
- Mathematics
- Mapping Our World (ArcGIS.com materials to support the book of the same name)
- Thinking Spatially With GIS (ArcGIS.com materials to support the book of the same name)
- Level 2 GeoInquiries
After exploring the selected examples, discuss
- What was easy / fun / useful when using these instructional packages? What was hard / frustrating / confusing about them?
- Why do they come in two components: A map and a set of instructions? Why not just one component? Three or more components?
- What is Esri's purpose in creating these GeoInquiries? Is it the same as your purposes as a classroom teacher?
- Would you use one of these in your classroom? If so...
- Would you use it as-is or would you want to modify the map and/or the instructions?
- What background content might you want to bring up beforehand or afterwards?
- Would you want students to use these materials hands-on (working individually or in small groups) or only through a teacher-controlled, whole-class discussion?
- If you want students to use it hands-on, what introduction to the technology (interface, features, etc.) would be required?
- How would you assess students' learning from a GeoInquiry?
- GeoInquiries are a great example of (geospatial) Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge enacted. Assuming that you know this term, try to unpack one of the GeoInquiries
- What is the content addressed?
- What is the pedagogical strategy used?
- The technology used is obvious enough: an online GIS map and a text document. The interesting questions are...
- How does this technology – as applied to this topic – create or constrain students' opportunities to understand the content, compared to more traditional teaching strategies?
- How does this technology – again, as applied to this topic – create or constrain the teacher's pedagogical options, compared to more traditional teaching strategies?
- If you're feeling ambitious, think about the impact on the options for your assessment of students' learning!
- And reflect upon yourself: After seeing these GeoInquiries, do you have new understandings or new questions about...
- The technology used?
- The content addressed?
- Teaching strategies?
- Assessment strategies?