Conclusion
Today's public school teachers
contend with a wide variety of new demands including high stakes state
and federal assessments. Information teachers do not perceive as absolutely
essential is hence eliminated from their daily teaching. Social studies
teachers in New York identify the history curriculumas essential (Palmer-Moloney
and Bloom 2001, 641-642). We believe that the way geography can survive
this turn of events is to give it an integral role in supporting the
history curriculum standards. As a by product, a wider population of
learners are reached by harnessing their spatial intelligence through
the incorporation of GIS technology.
Infusing middle level social
studies classrooms with GIS-based activities provides an avenue by which
young students are introduced to geospatial technology. Today’s
public school students do not typically encounter GIS technology before
college or even in graduate school (Alibrandi and Palmer-Moloney 2001).5
The GIS modules presented here allow students to gain exposure to technology
that may have practical application to future careers.
Successful transfer between
spatially-based performance and performance on standardized testsremains
to be empirically validated. What we do know is that the possibilities
for developing social studies modules based in GIS technology are endless.
Notes
- Someone
with little artistic ability in modern Western culture is not designated
as disabled in any way. However, individuals with limited linguistic
and logical/mathematical intelligences are typically categorized as
learning disabled.
- The No
Child Left Behind Act requires that states use science, math
and English language arts as indicators of achievement. This leaves
geography in an even more tenuous position. Emphasis on reading and
writing in social studies classes to support English language arts
requirements implies that an already heavy emphasis in this area will
become even heavier.
- The current
NYS standards for learning in the social studies formally confer geography
an equal place along side history, economics, history, and government.
An abrupt disconnect exists between geography's place in NYS standards
and its representation on the NYS 8th grade social studies assessment.
Geography is relegated to the role of historical illustration, not
as a discrete entity worthy of attention. In the NYS pilot test and
in the first three implementation years (2001, 2002, and 2003), no
questionsseriously addressed geographic knowledge, understanding,
or applications.
- Following
the presentation of the Underground Railroad module at the 2002 GeoTech
conference at Bishop Dunn High School in Dallas, TX, the module was
added to ESRI’s ArcLessons available for free download off of
the internet site (http://gis.esri.com/industries/education/arclessons/arclessons.cfm).
- Many
states, NY among them, have begun incorporating technology standards
and requirements into education programs. In addition, schools are
recognizing that technology education is most effective when it is
applied across the academic content areas. The use of computers in
the social studies class is a natural fit.
Standard 2, Information Systems, of the NYS Technology Standards requires
that middle level students “will access, generate, process,
and transfer information using appropriate technologies” (See
NY State Technology Education Standards, http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/mst/mstls.html).
About
the Authors
Elizabeth Bloom
is a social studies teacher at Oneonta Middle School. She works extensively
on community-based and hands-on learning opportunities for her students
including coordinating a comprehensive service learning program for
her school. She is currently on leave and is pursuing her doctorate
in Education Theory and Practice at Binghamton University.
elizabethabloom@yahoo.com
L. Jean Palmer-Moloney
is an Assistant Professor of Geography at SUNY-Oneonta, where she was
awarded the college’s prize for Academic Excellence in 2002. In
addition to multiple sections of Introductory Geography, Dr. Palmer-Moloney
teaches undergraduate courses in Historical Geography, Political Geography,
and Urban Geography at SUNY. She has 11 years of experience as a high
school geography teacher and is an ESRI certified K-12 GIS trainer.
palmerj@oneonta.edu
