Repackaging the Revolution

Abstract

P lanning's "quiet revolution" in information technology (Godschalk and McMahon, 1992) may have finally come of age. Through the decade of the 1990s, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has evolved from a technological novelty distinguished by its operational complexities into a much easier to use, less expensive, and now seemingly indispensible tool of the planning profession. GIS skills that were once the special province of a select few are now an almost essential requirement for both current and prospective planning professionals.The evolution of the technology and this change in its revolutionary profile provide an opportunity for the reassessment of both the motivations and the methods of GIS instruction within planning programs. As the complexities of GIS technology continue to diminish, important substantive learning objectives that were once buried under the technology finally stand a chance of becoming the focal point of the instructional process, pushing GIS instruction beyond simple explanations of how toward a deeper understanding of why.This article explores the issues associated with reconstituting the nature and content of GIS instruction into a form matched to the pedagogical goal of planning education: helping students develop into informed, sophisticated planning professionals, savvy in the application and limitations of GIS as a tool of their profession. Whereas Drummond (1995) suggested that the crucial question for planning education is "how to integrate GIS technology into the traditional substantive areas of the (nonmethods) planning curriculum" (p. 280), I suggest that we can also do much more to integrate the substance of planning into the existing modes of GIS instruction. The account that I present draws on my own experiences in attempting to reshape the instructional emphasis of my teaching into a more "planning-relevant" form, discussing the issues and opportunities that I have encountered along the way.The article is presented in three parts. First, I survey the broad terrain of GIS pedagogy to reveal the form and nature of the prevailing modes of GIS instruction. GIS educators are fortunate in that the pedagogy of GIS is not only a subject of much interest across many disciplines but is also an apparent concern of the vendors that produce GIS software. As a result, educators have a wide array of instruction-related materials AbstractThis article explores the pedagogical issues associated with reconstructing Geographic Information Systems (GIS) instruction into a form more directly linked to the substantive heart of the planning discipline. It surveys the broad terrain of GIS pedagogy and reviews the fit of prevailing instructional modes with the pedagogical mission of planning. Drawing on the insights gained from this review, the article then discusses the key design challenges planning educators must confront to repackage GIS instruction into a more planning-relevant form. Outlining changes the author has made to his own classes, he demonstrates one form that this type of instruc...

Use of geodesign tools for visualisation of scenarios for an ecologically sensitive area at a local scale

“…The pedagogical value of content-focused and technology-focused instruction within a planning programme nevertheless presents an issue for educators in developing appropriate learning material for planning students (Montagu, 2001). With an elevated level of access to a variety of visualisation tools at the authors' university, the ability to reconstitute this material into the core planning courses presents a relevancy issue for planning educators.…”

Perspectives on geospatial information science education: an example of urban planners in Southern Africa

“…Therefore, there is need for ZIRUP to lobby planning schools to promote GIS education (both theory and practical), as well as listing it as a key competency in their application for membership. Consequently, as Montagu (2001) posited, there is an exigent necessity to develop new GIS pedagogy to ensure what GIS taught is relevant to urban planning, particularly in developing countries where the context is different from developed countries. GIS instruction in planning schools should enable students to simultaneously comprehend the substantive underpinnings of urban planning while comprehending the substantive underpinnings of GIS to investigate planning problems (Montagu 2001).…”

“…Consequently, as Montagu (2001) posited, there is an exigent necessity to develop new GIS pedagogy to ensure what GIS taught is relevant to urban planning, particularly in developing countries where the context is different from developed countries. GIS instruction in planning schools should enable students to simultaneously comprehend the substantive underpinnings of urban planning while comprehending the substantive underpinnings of GIS to investigate planning problems (Montagu 2001). This means that planners should be taught basic to advanced GIS skills that will enable them to attain spatial analysis skills for facing common developing country problems such as informality, spatial fragmentation, urban agriculture, poor land use management systems, disaster management, communal resource, and land management.…”

“…There is an urgent need to make GIS education relevant in urban and regional planning (Montagu 2001;Chatterji and Soni 2016). Montagu (2001) noted that the current GIS instruction is not very relevant for urban planning.…”

“…There is an urgent need to make GIS education relevant in urban and regional planning (Montagu 2001;Chatterji and Soni 2016). Montagu (2001) noted that the current GIS instruction is not very relevant for urban planning. GIS technologies should be ultimately integrated into the traditional and substantive areas of urban planning, such as land use planning (Drummond 1995).…”