Home > Science Seminar > Fall 2005 Seminar Schedule > Geographic Information Systems
The Science Seminar Series: September 15, 2005
Geographic Information Systems in the classroom: teachers and students working with complex software
Dr. Paul Vincent, Department of Physics, Astronomy, & Geoscience
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, GA, 31698
Room 1011 Biology/Chemistry BuildingTime: 4:00 -5:00pm
Over the last decade, geographic information systems (GIS) has become a widely taught university course. However, because this software is
so complex, there has been an on-going debate over the best methods of instruction. As it has matured as a university subject and as the sophistication of the technology has increased, there has been an increased awareness of the cognitive factors involved in the teaching, learning, and implementing GIS. Specifically, the cognitive factors of spatial ability, human-computer interaction, problem solving ability, and geographic attitude have been recognized as particularly relevant to learning GIS. The research presented in this talk examines the relationship between these cognitive factors and success of novices learning to use GIS.