Addressing Misconceptions, Threshold Concepts, and Troublesome Knowledge in GIScience Education

Bampton, Matthew

doi:10.1002/9781119950592.ch8

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Map projection is perhaps one the most challenging concepts for many beginning students to grasp and master when learning to use GIS technology due to its abstract conceptual density and technical complexity (Bampton 2012;Downs and Liben 1991). Good auxiliary teaching resources such as an explanatory textbook or a guide to map projection is important (Chang 2019;Kennedy and Kopp 2000;Lo and Yeung 2007;Maher 2010;McDonnell 1979;Shellito 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seven possible states of geospatial data with respect to map projection and definition: a novel pedagogical device for GIS education

Greco

2018

Geo-spatial Information Science

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Conceptually, the theory and implementation of "map projection" in geographic information system (GIS) technology is difficult to comprehend for most introductory students and novice users. Compounding this difficulty is the concept of a "map projection file" that defines map projection parameters of geo-spatial data. The problem of the "missing projection file" appears ubiquitous for all users, especially in practice where data is widely shared. Another common problem is inadvertent misapplication of the "Define Projection" tool that can result in a GIS dataset with an incorrectly defined map projection file. GIS education should provide more guidance in differentiating the concepts of map projection versus projection files by increasing understanding and minimizing common errors. A novel pedagogical device is introduced in this paper: the seven possible states of GIS data with respect to map projection and definition. The seven possible states are: (1) a projected coordinate system (PCS) that is correctly defined, (2) a PCS that is incorrectly defined, (3) a PCS that is undefined, (4) a geographic coordinate system (GCS) that is correctly defined, (5) a GCS that is incorrectly defined, (6) a GCS that is undefined, and (7) a non-GCS. Recently created automated troubleshooting tools to determine a missing map projection file are discussed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seven possible states of geospatial data with respect to map projection and definition: a novel pedagogical device for GIS education

Greco

2018

Geo-spatial Information Science

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“…engaging with data promotes active cognitive processing of spatial information (Schultz, 2012), which both the map reading exercises and the map making project supported. Bampton (2012) considers active learning to be particularly useful for counteracting misconceptions and subsequent under-performance. By intentionally applying threshold concepts (offering conceptual gateways), a qualitative shift in perspective can be achieved and thus new understanding of the material.…”

Section: Reflections On the Teaching Approach Takenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conveying map finesse: thematic map making essentials for today’s university students

Schaab

Adams

Coetzee

2020

Journal of Geography in Higher Education

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Maps have been used for centuries to depict the diverse facets of our environment.Thematic maps depict a specific theme and help in revealing geospatial patterns and relations. The study and practice of map making has led to established cartographic design rules. Ever increasing availability of high-quality geospatial data coupled with continuously changing technologies for map making imply that one has to find the right mix between age-old principles and state-of-the-art technologies and trends when teaching thematic cartography. This paper presents a proposal on how to stimulate the creativity of students' thematic map making by describing the teaching approach and results of a map assignment for a course presented to a group of postgraduate geoinformatics students. Based on a reflection of the teaching and learning experience and an assessment of the thematic maps produced by the students, recommendations are provided for teaching today's university students how to create convincing and appealing thematic maps. An infographics summarizes the most important guidelines. Additionally, the student maps, as well as the maps revised by a trained cartographer, are available and can be used by others for teaching.

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“…Regarding the latter, we selected the larger list of moods-rather than more terse taxonomies of affective or emotional experiences (e.g., Plutchik 1980;Feldman-Barrett and Russell 1998)-to give participants greater flexibility and precision in describing their emotional state; the moods were coded according to their valence (positive, neutral, and negative) for subsequent analysis. It is important to note that insight from the field of curriculum and instructional design suggests that students learn best when pushed towards the point of frustration, but without reaching this point (Bampton 2011). Thus, an overwhelming positive valence may not ref lect an optimal learning experience; however, an overwhelming negative valence likely does indicate a suboptimal learning experience.…”

Section: I a R Y S T U D Ymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Issue¹

2015

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Greetings to all NACIS Members and Cartographic Perspectives Readers, These are exciting times for NACIS. We had a successful and well-attended Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh in October 2014, board committees and members continue to push forward new initiatives, and Cartographic Perspectives continues to be a respected, widely-read, and informative platform for publishing cartographic content.As organizer for the Pittsburgh meeting, I know there were great talks and presentations for Practical Cartography Day, Geographic Data Collections Day, and for the main NACIS conference. I only wish I could have been present at more of them! I would like to offer a big thank you to all who attended and participated. It was a lively gathering for talking about maps, making new friends, and renewing contacts in the mapping community.Our opening and keynote presentations at the Pittsburgh meeting gave added insight to the city and of the theme of the conference. In his talk, "Taking the Measure of the Topographical City," Martin Aurand, of Carnegie Mellon University, discussed the unique physical position of the city of Pittsburgh at the forks of the Ohio River. Anne Kelley Knowles and two of her students from Middlebury College presented a thought-provoking talk titled, "Do Maps Really Tell Stories? The Problem of Narrative Time in Cartography." The conference theme of Time and Cartography was further explored in several sessions during the conference with presentations on "Treating Time in Atlases," "Why are Timelines Maps?," "Spatial-Temporal Displays of Daily Climate Data," and "1 Minute to 100,000 Years: Mapping The Out of Eden Walk Project."Well-established features such as the Map Gallery, the Student Map and Poster Contest, and Geo-Dweeb Geopardy were all successful parts of the conference. We were also happy to welcome a new event: the NACIS Fun Run.The current Vice President, Amy Griffin, and VP-Elect, Anthony Robinson, are busy preparing for the next meeting, in Minneapolis, and welcome any and all ideas for participation. The theme is Mapping Interactions.

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Addressing Misconceptions, Threshold Concepts, and Troublesome Knowledge in GIScience Education

Cited by 6 publications

References 46 publications

Seven possible states of geospatial data with respect to map projection and definition: a novel pedagogical device for GIS education

Seven possible states of geospatial data with respect to map projection and definition: a novel pedagogical device for GIS education

Conveying map finesse: thematic map making essentials for today’s university students

Download the Complete Issue (22.7 MB)

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