Learning to Think Spatially (2006) / Chapter Skim
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PART III: SUPPORTING SPATIAL THINKING IN THE FUTURE--10 Conclusions and Recommendations
PART III: SUPPORTING SPATIAL THINKING IN THE FUTURE--10 Conclusions and Recommendations
Pages 227-236
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Part III Supporting Spatial Thinking in the Future
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We must foster a new generation of American students who are equipped to think spatially. Chapter 11, therefore, paints a picture of spatial thinkers at work, in this case eighth-grade students who are using GIS as a support system to help answer questions about the causes of high infant mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
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After coming to appreciate the fundamental importance of spatial thinking and realizing that it was not just undersupported, but underappreciated, undervalued, and therefore underinstructed, the committee came to a new understanding of the charge. The two original questions about the current role and future development of GIS as a support system could be answered satisfactorily only after two additional questions were addressed, one about the need for spatial thinking and the other about the ways in which we learn to think spatially.
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. · While transfer of spatial thinking skills from one domain of knowledge to another is neither automatic nor easy, appropriately designed curricula that encourage infusion across school subjects can facilitate transfer (see Chapter 4)
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As the educational saying goes, "We assess what we value and we value what we assess." There are neither content standards nor valid and reliable assessments for spatial thinking. Without such standards and assessments, spatial thinking will remain locked in a curious educational twilight zone: extensively relied upon across the K12 curriculum but not explicitly and systematically instructed in any part of the curriculum.
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It will necessitate the development of innovative teaching methods and programs to train teachers, together with new ways to assess levels of spatial thinking and the performance of educational support programs. There should be a national commitment to the systemic educational efforts necessary to meet the goal of spatial literacy.
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Taken alone, GIS is not the answer to the problem of teaching spatial thinking in American schools; however, it can play a significant role in an answer. For GIS to be able to play that significant role, the committee identified a set of five recommendations.
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or a private philanthropy, a research program should be developed to see whether or not an understanding of GIS improves academic achievement across the curriculum. Without credible assessment of results, the value of GIS and other support systems for spatial thinking cannot be evaluated.
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The committee does not view spatial thinking as one more piece to be added on to an already overburdened curricular structure. In contrast, spatial thinking is viewed as an integrator and a facilitator for problem solving across the curriculum.
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