Designing GIS & Remote Sensing Courses, Modules, & Activities for Teaching Geoscience Students Audio access: Call in Access code: Please mute your phone by pressing *6 Alternate number: (not toll-free) Technical problems? Contact John at After break, call in at 3:30 pm Please bookmark the workshop program at 011/program.html

Link between course goals assignments  Course goals – things that we want students to be good at doing by the end of the course  Students need repeated practice  Timely feedback  Increasing independence  Assignments/activities are an important part of that practice

Role of effective assignments/activities  What do we want?  That students make progress toward the goal(s)  That students learn from the assignment/activity  That we can determine what students have learned  Design of the assignment or activity is crucial to both

What makes an effective assignment/activity?  Students learn best when:  They have a context for new knowledge and new experiences  Example  Intro to ArcMap by lecture on file structure and tutorial on how to open ArcMap, add data, etc. etc. vs.  Consider what students know about maps and map elements; create activity that showcases what ArcMap can do.

What makes an effective assignment/activity?  Students learn best when:  Their interest is captured (hook)  Example  Activity that launches directly into how to do buffers in ArcGIS. vs.  Activity that incorporates an introduction that sets the stage for why buffers are important, focusing on a problem of interest and/or relevance to students.

What makes an effective assignment/activity?  Students learn best when:  They use what they know to tackle problems and think independently  Example  Activity designed to teach students how to composite image bands, with answers to leading or nuts-and-bolts questions. vs.  Activity that teaches the above but also provides opportunity for independent analysis, work on open-ended questions, application to solve a problem. “What does it mean, not just what did you do?”

What makes an effective assignment/activity?  Students learn best when:  They have the opportunity to synthesize, reflect on what they have learned, explain what they know  Example  Activity that ends after students have answered questions on a worksheet. vs.  Activity that asks students to step back, think about what they know, write a workflow for a new analysis, talk about “aha” insights, explain it to a particular audience (e.g., write an Aunt Tillie statement; make a concept sketch)

Can you explain it to your Aunt Tillie in 4 sentences?  Born: 1920  Education: B.S., 1942, Chemistry, Simmons College  M.S., 1944, Chemistry, Vassar College  Career: organic chemist at Eastman Kodak Company  Smart, very smart. Loves to learn new stuff. Reads a lot but allows as how she rarely reads novels. Says she’s getting old and figures there’s too much nonfiction out there for her to learn from to waste the time she has left on reading novels. Apt to point out bad grammar, even in your s. Can’t wait to read your statements.

Concept sketches  More than a labeled sketch  Includes processes, concepts, observations, interpretations, interrelationships

Using concept sketches  Any central graphic object will work  Diagram or illustration  Satellite image  Existing map  Attribute table  Metadata listing  ArcMap or ENVI dialog box  Homework/lab prep, in-class activity, exams, field work

Value of concept sketches  Students have to organize their knowledge and convey it to others  Have to do more than paraphrase and parrot back  Easy to tell whether students know what they’re talking about  Quick to grade

What makes an effective assignment/activity?  Students learn best when:  They are motivated.  Example  Assignment to make a portfolio of work. vs.  Assignment to make a portfolio specifically designed to be useful for the future (e.g., contains more than final products, has data source spreadsheets, techniques matrix)

What makes an effective assignment/activity?  An effective assignment also has an adequate mechanism for determining what students have learned  Can you verify what students have learned, not just what they have done?  Can you assess the progress that they have made toward the goal(s)?

Summary: what makes an effective assignment/activity?  Maximizes student learning  They have a context for new knowledge and new experiences  Their interest is captured (hook)  They use what they know to tackle problems  They have the opportunity to synthesize and reflect on what they have learned  They are motivated.  Allows instructor to determine what students have learned

Individual work  Leave Elluminate on; hang up phone.  Take 20 minutes to write down ideas about how you might use these ideas to design activities/assignments for your own course  Call back in by 4:20.  at 4:20, using access code

Small group discussions on assignment/activity design  Topics based on your goals statements and ideas  Each group has a specific assignment (links on Program page)  As you discuss, don’t forget the hallmarks of a good activity:  Context for new knowledge?  A hook?  Analysis (not just keystrokes)?  Opportunity to synthesize, reflect, extend?  Mechanism for determining what students have learned?

Small-group discussion on assignment/activity design  Leave Elluminate on; hang up phone.  Go to the Workshop Program page, and call back in using your group’s code.  Group task:  Assign a time keeper and a recorder.  Discuss your group topic on designing, implementing, and assessing GIS and RS assignments  Post questions to Elluminate chat, if you like.  Groups finish by 5:15.  Call back in to at 5:15, using access code

Reports from groups  Each group has 4 minutes to give us a snapshot of their best ideas!  Topics:  1: Impact of ground truthing data on remote sensing imagery analysis (Sarah Robinson)  2: Incorporating independence - learning GIS "on the job" (Amanda Schmidt)  3: Framing a course around GIS case examples involving current events/risk (Tom Mueller)  4: Threading critical analysis of maps and data throughout a course (Wendy Miller)  5: Using thought experiments/workflow charts to plan and to extend analyses (Kevin Williams)  6: Threading GIS/RS aspects throughout a geo course that has only one main module in GIS or RS (Justin Grigg)  7: Threading reflection and metacognitive assignments throughout a course (Adrienne Goldsberry)

Assignment for May 7  HW is also listed on Workshop Program page and on the Assignment #2 page.  Complete the daily road check by Mon noon.  Read all group assignment/activity design pages and add comments.  Outline an activity for your course; enter the info on your activity workspace by Weds. April 28.  Read and comment on others in your group by Weds. May 4; revise your outline by Fri. May 6.  Add to the disc thread on what is different about GIS/RS in the geosciences.  Read and contribute to other discussion threads.

Thank you for your hard work today!  We are all looking forward to working with you over the next six months.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send an .

Info on teaching strategies  ws/index.html ws/index.html ws/index.html  ywalk/index.html ywalk/index.html ywalk/index.html  ops/coursedesign/tutorial/strategies.ht ml ops/coursedesign/tutorial/strategies.ht ml ops/coursedesign/tutorial/strategies.ht ml  ops/coursedesign/tutorial/index.html ops/coursedesign/tutorial/index.html ops/coursedesign/tutorial/index.html