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Geographic inquiry projects with GIS make geography education more relevant and challenging, and provide opportunities to stimulate in-depth knowledge about geography, increase higher-order thinking and develop a wide range of technology skills. Providing professional development that ensures teachers know how to use GIS to support geographic inquiry is necessary. The professional development experiences should take into account the various competencies teachers need to design and conduct geographic inquiry projects using geospatial technologies. The TPACK framework focuses on teacher competencies and is valuable when designing professional development. Considering the TPACK framework, a successful strategy for teacher training is a collaborative inquiry model. When applied to GIS, the collaborative inquiry model is designed to overcome the common barriers to using GIS such as the lack of curriculum, support, and data. The model highlights the successful implementation of geographic inquiry using GIS within a school or district based collaborative team. This chapter explores didactic models for integrating GIS in inquiry projects; frameworks for the competencies that teachers need to design and conduct such projects; and successful strategies for training these competencies.

The final project for students enrolled in Geospatial Technologies for the K-12 Classroom (GEOG 321) is the development of a lesson for their future classroom. An obstacle to implementing geospatial technologies in public classrooms is lack of relevant curriculum and data. After reviewing the limited existing curriculum, students design age-appropriate lessons for possible publication on the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance website. The objectives for this final project were: 1) students will determine age-appropriate skills that utilize geospatial technologies to support instruction in their intended discipline, 2) students will demonstrate the appropriate skills needed to design feasible lessons for the K-12 classroom, 3) students can integrate geospatial technology skills into a variety of disciplines and age levels, and 4) students can employ the geographic inquiry method in their lessons. Students presented their lessons to peers and outside reviewers to receive feedback. The students had the option to submit their lessons to the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance for pilot testing and dissemination to help fill the need for relevant curriculum and data.

The final project for students enrolled in Geospatial Technologies for the K-12 Classroom (GEOG 321) is the development of a lesson for their future classroom. An obstacle to implementing geospatial technologies in public classrooms is lack of relevant curriculum and data. After reviewing the limited existing curriculum, students design age-appropriate lessons for possible publication on the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance website. The objectives for this final project were: 1) students will determine age-appropriate skills that utilize geospatial technologies to support instruction in their intended discipline, 2) students will demonstrate the appropriate skills needed to design feasible lessons for the K-12 classroom, 3) students can integrate geospatial technology skills into a variety of disciplines and age levels, and 4) students can employ the geographic inquiry method in their lessons. Students presented their lessons to peers and outside reviewers to receive feedback. The students had the option to submit their lessons to the New Hampshire Geographic Alliance for pilot testing and dissemination to help fill the need for relevant curriculum and data.