using an internet-based help site with gis-generated images to enhance student understanding of...
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Using an Internet-Based Help Site with GIS-Generated Images to
Enhance Student Understanding of Laboratory Exercises
Mike Phillips
Illinois Valley Community College
This project was initiated as part of the GIS Access workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Physical Geology
Introductory science course for college freshmen.
Spring 2001 student background66% of the students had not had a college lab science course
84% of the students had not had a geology course
Lab portion of course is “open,” students must visit the lab on their own time and complete the labs with limited assistance.
ConcernsLow course grade correlates strongly with low lab completion ratesLab completion rates are effected by:
Students’ ability to manage timeStudents’ perception of lab’s value
• Point value of exercise• Value for test preparation
Students’ ability to understand the lab• Students stop work on a lab if they reach a point where they
feel they cannot answer or do not understand a question
Understanding the Lab Exercises
Solution: Create a web-based help site to guide student inquiry.
Use text to clarify key points and direct students to resources
Use GIS to annotate maps and aerial images
Understanding the Lab Exercises
Students working at home or in the lab will be able to access information that will help them through material that has caused confusion for other students in the past.
Lab Help Site: http://www.ivcc.edu/phillips/courses/gel1008/lab_help/map-plab.htm
Development Model
Identify difficult questionsUnclear wording
New concepts
Poor student performance
Identify key “sticking points”
Develop lab help page content
Types of pagesGuided practices
Series of figures with textGuides students through difficult areaBased on exercise or similar examples
Annotated figures & textIdentify key features on maps and imagesIndicate features to be identified for exercises (to overcome difficultly worded text)Direct students to other resources (esp. textbook)Clarify meaning of questions (i.e. When the question asks for the name of a “landform.”)
Guided Practice:Delineation of a Drainage Basin
Map-based exercise.
Guide students through a portion of the lab exercise. (organized in steps)
The remainder to be completed by the student.
Annotated Figures & Text:Coastal Features and Processes
Highlight key features on maps and images
Clarify terminology used in text
Refer students to supporting materials in the textbook
Development of images
Map or image scanned in as a JPEG file
Each overlay drawn as a theme
Layouts used to set up imagessteps displayed as a sequence of layouts
Layouts exported from GIS as JPEG files
JPEG files were placed on the web pages
Future Goals
Develop more help pagesConvert some help documents to an internet map server
Allows for more active inquiryStudents will be able to click on question-related themesFewer pages necessaryEasier access to specific help topics