Understanding and nurturing spatial literacy

Bednarz, Sarah Witham; Kemp, Karen

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.07.004

Cited by 47 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Though evidence supports that the baseline level of an individual's spatial ability is innate, spatial skills must be actively encouraged and practiced to promote student development (Jarvis, 2011). A comprehensive definition by Bednarz and Kemp (2011) describes spatial literacy as the ability of an individual to:…”

Section: Information and Geospatial Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(p. 19) There is growing recognition among geographers and in other disciplines that being able to think in, with, and through space (i.e., to be "spatially proficient") is necessary for success in geography and the geosciences (Andrews & Moon, 2005;Jones, 2009). Recent research reaffirms that spatial aptitude, measured by concrete two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization and critical reasoning tasks, is invaluable for success in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education (Bednarz & Kemp, 2011).…”

Section: Information and Geospatial Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many first-year Geography courses geospatial literacy is a core topic and is seen as an important aspect of an education in Geography (Bednarz & Kemp 2011). Ideally class material is developed to enhance learning from the modules through both quizzes and assignments.…”

Section: Course-tailored Modulesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exploring Local Level Factors Shaping the Implementation of a Blended Learning Module for Information and Geospatial Literacy in Ontario

et al. 2016

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The objectives of this research study were to examine local level factors shaping the implementation of a blended pedagogical approach for geospatial- and information-literacy, and to understand implementer satisfaction. As such, we addressed the following research questions: What local-level factors shape the implementation of the blended learning model? and How satisfied are implementers (faculty, administrators and library instructional/support staff) with the new blended learning model for geospatial and information fluency? Focus groups (n=7) plus one interview (total n=22) were conducted with key stakeholders (e.g., staff, faculty, administrators) to better understand facilitators, barriers, and/or issues related to module development, in addition to perceptions about how the modules are utilized by teaching assistants (TAs), instructional assistants (IAs), and instructors. Participants were identified according to their status as either discipline-specific instructional staff (i.e., instructor, TA, IA) or staff who supported the development of modules (i.e., library instructional staff, library management, administrators). From an ontological standpoint that privileges an individual perspective on the nature of reality, while epistemologically seeking to understand the relationship between the “knower” and what can be known, we adopted a theory of constructivism to support this inquiry. Transcripts were imported into a qualitative analysis software package (NVivo 8.0) for organization, coding and analysis. Instructors found value in the online modules, particularly in a blended learning setting. Instructors felt that having the material in advance, in-class time could be better focused on interaction, assignments, and assessments and resulted in reduced anxiety in busy lab environments. Several key themes emerged, including: (a) instructor expectations (time constraints, sustainability, and collaborative nature of development process) and assessment (student grades and performance); (b) implementation benefits (course content consistency, more lab time devoted to instructor support, provision of additional course resources, and opportunities for student reflection; (c) implementation challenges (inadequate support for information literacy, perceptions of an increase in student workload, and definitional issues surrounding blended learning); (d) course-tailored modules (dichotomy of needs – course tailored vs. generic modules, value in a quiz component, and changing context of lab environment); and (e) key areas for improvement. Focus group respondents illustrated the importance of engaging students in the process of blended learning model development. Future iterations of blended learning modules should explicitly incorporate student feedback through focus groups during their development. Les objectifs de la présente étude de recherche étaient d’examiner les facteurs au niveau local qui affectent la mise en oeuvre d’une approche pédagogique hybride pour l’acquisition des connaissances en littératie géospatiale et en littératie informationnelle, et de comprendre la satisfaction de ceux qui exécutent cette approche. À cette fin, nous avons examiné les questions de recherche suivantes : Quels sont les facteurs au niveau local qui affectent la mise en oeuvre du modèle d’apprentissage hybride? Et : Dans quelle mesure les personnes qui exécutent ce modèle (les professeurs, les administrateurs et le personnel enseignant et de soutien de bibliothèque) sont-elles satisfaites du nouveau modèle hybride d’apprentissage pour en arriver à la maîtrise de la littératie géospatiale et de la littératie informationnelle? Des groupes de discussion (n=7) plus une entrevue (total n=22) ont été organisés avec les acteurs principaux (personnel, professeurs, administrateurs) afin de mieux comprendre les facilitateurs, les barrières et/ou les problèmes liés au développement des modules, ainsi que les perceptions sur la manière dont les modules sont utilisés par les chargés de cours, les assistants pédagogiques et les instructeurs. Les participants ont été identifiés selon leur statut : personnel enseignant spécifique à une discipline (c’est-à-dire instructeurs, chargés de cours, assistants pédagogiques) ou personnel qui soutient le développement des modules (c’est-à-dire personnel enseignant de bibliothèque, gestionnaires de bibliothèque, administrateurs). D’un point de vue ontologique qui privilégie une perspective individuelle sur la nature de la réalité tout en recherchant de façon épistémologique à comprendre la relation entre celui qui « sait » et ce qui doit être su, nous avons adopté une théorie de constructivisme pour aider à mener à bien cette enquête. Les transcriptions ont été importées dans un logiciel d’analyse qualitative (Nvivo 8.0) pour l’organisation, l’encodage et l’analyse. Les instructeurs ont apprécié la valeur des modules en ligne, en particulier dans le cadre d’un apprentissage hybride. Les instructeurs ont déclaré que le fait d’avoir accès à la documentation à l’avance permettait de mieux utiliser le temps passé en classe pour l’interaction, les devoirs et les évaluations et que cela avait eu pour résultat une diminution de l’anxiété dans les laboratoires débordants d’activité. Plusieurs thèmes clés ont été identifiés : (a) attentes des instructeurs (contraintes de temps, durabilité, nature coopérative du processus de développement) et évaluation (notes et résultats des étudiants); (b) avantages de la mise en oeuvre (uniformité du contenu des cours, davantage de temps en laboratoire consacré au soutien par les instructeurs, ressources de cours supplémentaires, opportunités de réflexion pour les étudiants); (c) défis présentés par la mise en oeuvre (soutien inadéquat pour l’acquisition des connaissances en littératie informationnelle, perceptions d’une augmentation de la charge de travail des étudiants et problèmes de définition concernant l’apprentissage hybride); (d) modules conçus spécifiquement pour des cours donnés (dichotomie des besoins – cours conçus spécifiquement versus modules génériques, valeur apportée par les tests de contrôle, contexte changeant dans les laboratoires); et (e) domaines clés pour l’amélioration. Les répondants des groupes de discussion ont illustré l’importance d’engager les étudiants dans le développement du processus d’apprentissage hybride. Les éditions futures des modules d’apprentissage hybride devraient explicitement incorporer la rétroaction des étudiants par le biais de groupes de discussion pendant la phase de développement.

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Section: Information and Geospatial Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Information and Geospatial Literacymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Exploring Local Level Factors Shaping the Implementation of a Blended Learning Module for Information and Geospatial Literacy in Ontario

et al. 2016

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“…As observed in the literature, spatial thinking is thinking in, about and with space (Bednarz and Kemp, 2011). Wakabayashi and Ishikawa (2011) notes that spatial thinking is an interdisciplinary subject ranging from psychology and pedagogy to GIScience, and that no clear consensus yet exists concerning its definition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Observation in the literature shows that spatial thinking is at the heart of many great discoveries in science, that it underpins many of the activities of the modern workforce, and that it pervades the everyday activities of modern life (Bednarz and Kemp, 2011;NRC, 2006). Bednarz and Kemp (2011) notes that to geographers and other scholars engaged in "the spatial turn," being able to think in, with, and through space, that is, to be spatially proficient, is increasingly valuable and generative (Cosgrove, 2004;Fujita et al, 2001;Goodchild and Janelle, 2010). In the literature spatial thinking/literacy is featured through "the spatial 'whereness' -embodied in specific questions such as, where is it?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Exploratory Study of Civil Servants Spatial Thinking, Awareness and Use of Maps in Africa-Nigeria

Asiyanbola

2018

Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

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ABSTRACT:The paper is an exploratory study of spatial thinking, awareness and use of maps among civil servants in Nigeria with a view towards enhancing capacity building in the development and use of global mapping and geospatial information technologies products and services. The data used in the paper was from administration of 152 questionnaires to civil servants in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria between February and August, 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. The study shows among others that majority of the civil servants had situations in their daily lives or specialty that require spatial thinking; the three top situations in their daily lives or specialty that require spatial thinking were identification of places, wayfinding and walking; majority of them asked from people information about location, direction, distances and other needed information about places they do not know; majority of them were aware of maps; majority of them could read maps; majority of them had interest to learn more how to read maps and were willing to pay for the training.

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