SPrEaD: Spreading the Geospatial Semester into New Territory
This Successful Project Expansion and Dissemination (SPrEaD) project builds upon the successful Geospatial Semester (GSS) high school course developed by James Madison University by adapting and implementing GSS in six Career and Technical Education (CTE) clusters in the Chicago Public Schools. GSS focuses on developing geospatial problem-solving skills using state-of-the-art GIS software and applying those skills to extended local problems chosen by the students. At the core of GSS is the development of spatial thinking, which plays a very important role in the learning and practice of STEM and CTE. Spatial skills are strongly predictive of achievement, persistence, and attainment in STEM fields. In this project, researchers investigate the strategies for successful spreading GSS, focusing on two main research questions. First, how can large urban school districts develop the necessary infrastructure to implement Geospatial Semester without the direct support of the developers? Second, can we develop classroom-based assessments of spatial reasoning that have convergent validity with the research-based measures used in past research? Expanding the GSS to the CTE program in Chicago will infuse a powerful STEM tool into career education and has the potential to substantially contribute to the broadening of participation by members of underrepresented groups.