Linking digital geo-media and natural/environmental sciences for integrative assessments. Applications for teacher training programs (GIS4Nature)

Prof. Dr. Alexander Siegmund

The use of remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and other digital geo-media is an inherent part of the German formal school curriculum. Nevertheless, they are still rarely applied in practical school teaching. Also the necessary interdisciplinary consideration of most recent research questions, that connects ecological, economic, and social sciences, needs to be more focused. The lack of interdisciplinary analyses can be specifically observed for natural and environmental topics. Within the framework of education for sustainable development, these aspects are thus supposed to be strengthened mainly by focusing on teacher training programs.

Aim of the project is to offer specific courses for the implementation of digital geo-media within school teaching to students of the Heidelberg University of Education and Heidelberg University. These courses exceed regular university courses and will be connected with practical training. Via project seminars and practical courses, the students will be introduced to a more intense and improved application of digital geo-media for natural and environmental research questions. For this purpose, the GIS-Station infrastructures will be linked to experimental and laboratory analyses of the Geco-Lab, both part of the Department of Geography – Research Group for Earth Observation (rgeo). Within the joint project of the Heidelberg University of Education and Heidelberg University, the “Heidelberg School of Education”, education programs for teaching students for all types of schools can be established. This collaboration enables furthermore the integration of didactical science with subject-specific sciences. This will in particular strengthen the use of digital geo-media like remote sensing, GIS, and mobile geo-tools for the interdisciplinary assessment of natural and environmental research questions, as well as didactical concepts, and the application of related teaching-learning-formats under scientific assistance.

 

The project is funded by the Klaus Tschira Stiftung.

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