HERODOT GIS Expert Group Meeting 29th-1st June 2008 Madrid

Introductory Session KD opportunity to capture expertise from all europe EUGISES – Education (opportunity for collaboration) Remit from EU – look at Bologna and look at comparability between programmes. This cannot occur if we do not look at SCHOOLS. Establish a foundation consultation document we agree on, on benchmark statement of what a geographer should have done (should be able to…) In creating new programmes, what is the baseline competence of the geographer? Common standards of how to structure and present the document.

Aim of meeting Similar statements to the employability and interdisciplinary Documents which require wide acceptance and used to promote geography dept. and geographers. GIS will be the third of such statements. Each group will produce a paper (think about audience… primary & secondary and higher educ)

Groups Primary and Secondary – Higher Education – Grad – Post-Grad Target geographers, politicians on geography, academics on geography, applying GIS (issues of integration and interdisciplinarity… Spatial thinking with ICT…

Statement (intro) on GIS, its opportunity, its potential for all subjects. Focus then on geography. DS raised the issue of where, in HE is GIS going? – Land surveying (geodesy-geoinformatics) – Geographers – IT

Target of the Network is the academics in Geography in Higher Education…. We need to establish the guidelines for geographers first and then present it as a skill of geography.

The importance of ICT in learning GIS in spain employment is very high Because of GIS spread there are other subjects (e.g. IT) but geography is important. Geographers with GIS skills are more employable! Geography is the catalyst for integration of process, analysis and application.

Geographers need to be promoters of the POTENTIAL of GIS – Not to allow just a computing perspective (databases, visualisation, etc.) – Recommendations on how you believe a particular age group needs to adopt the fundamentals – Start with pen and paper spatial analysis (start with a concept course) and then go on to using a particular software.

Master´s level GIS programmes bringing together undergraduates from various fields (having had intro courses on GIS/spatial analysis. Networking of experiences (MF to provide links) The need for the appropriate tool and the data….?

Aspects of Spatial Thinking Comparison – how are places similar or different Aura (influence) – what effest does a feature have on nearby areas Hierarchy – where does this place fit in a hierarchy of nested areas Transition – is the change between places abrupt Analog – what distant places have similar siuations and therefore may have similar conditions Pattern – are there clusters, strings, runds, waves other non-tandom arrangements of features Association – do features tend to occur together (have similar spatial patterns)

Caution on our understanding of what yr olds can do versus what we think they can do. Especially with the digital exposure of children today. Students can pick up skills very quickly but they cannot apply them very effectively. Diversity of situations Click-type methods not advisable

BK How do we get students to solve spatial problems but not telling them that they are doing geography? (in schools) Embed geography in real-world problems What is a 12yr old supposed to know about ´spatial´ problem solving The conflict between education and employment (the case of geographers who are required to learn more computer skills)

What are the level descriptor s for the various levels – By age (Secondary, primary perspective) – By qualification (Bachelor, Master perspective) What are the threshold learning outcomes that one would expect to achieve at the various levels? Two groups schools ((primary) secondary and teacher training) higher education (undergraduate with a view to Master´s)