Geospatial tools workshop, day 3: August 15, 2019

Owned by Tom Hammond
Last updated: Aug 15, 2019
3 min read

Start time = 2:00 pm; will finish by 5:00 pm. (Tom should be in the lab starting at 12:00 if anyone wants to come in early)

Park in Visitor Lot; tell me your license plate number so I can pay for your parking.

Agenda for the afternoon:

  1. Housekeeping
    • To issue your stipend checks upon the completion of our full sequence, Tom needs SSNs and a mailing address. We'll do this via paper and keep it secure
    • Speaking of being all done: What everyone needs to finish by the end of the fall semester (but can extend to spring if needed) is...
      1. An implemented geospatial lesson using any mix of technology (ArcGIS Online, Story Maps, data collection services, etc.) and in any model (teacher-centered vs students' hands-on use, inquiry-oriented vs. didactic, etc.)
      2. A lesson plan in whatever format is expected at your school. If you would like a suggestion: Model your lesson materials on the GeoInquiries format. 
      3. A short written reflection on how things went during the lesson. This does not have to be fancy, and does not have to be long – a long-ish email will suffice. Some questions to use as starting points; don't need to address all of these!
        • In preparing the lesson, what was easy? What was hard?
        • When implementing the lesson, in what ways did the flow of events conform to your expectations? In what ways did it diverge? Did the students do or say anything that surprised you?
        • Reflecting afterwards: If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently? 
        • Comparing: If you had previously taught the same topic but WITHOUT geospatial tools, how did the two experiences compare? In which do you feel that students received a deeper / better experience with the content?
      4. A completed exit survey (the GS-TPACK instrument)
      5. Not required, but would be super-great: Tom would love a chance to observe the lesson or at least conduct a short interview (via Zoom is fine) about their experience learning and teaching with geospatial tools. 
  2. Check in: Let's go around the room and get a BRIEF (less than 2 minute) update from people on their work. Please have a map or something handy to show as a visual aid, but an early draft is OK.
  3. (Presentation) A suggested heuristic for teaching, particularly with geospatial tools: Giving (teacher supplies info, tells students what to make of it), Prompting (teacher supplies data, guides students through analysis), and Making (teacher supplies tools and data, students create a product or conduct an independent analysis). All three modes can and should be used and can be done in a variety of sequences...how do you think they will blend them in your lesson(s)? IF you want to read the source, see this article from 2009.
  4. Group time to discuss, based on whether you think your lesson will primarily focus on Giving, Prompting, or Making. (Basically, given the learning objectives you have in mind, are the students getting there through the part of the lesson that's a Give, a Prompt, or a Make?)
  5. Final (for now) sharing: This time, please show us some of the STUDENT materials to be used -- worksheet, directions, dataset, anything. Basically, how will you scaffold their work during the Give, Prompt, or Make? 
  6. Closing ceremony (for now) & final remindersÂ