Learning to Think Spatially

This volume examines how spatial thinking might be incorporated into existing standards-based instruction across the school curriculum. A geographic information system (GIS) offers one example of a high-technology support system that can enable students and teachers to practice and apply spatial thinking in many areas of the curriculum.

Spatial thinking must be recognized as a fundamental part of K–12 education and as an integrator and a facilitator for problem solving across the curriculum. With advances in computing technologies and the increasing availability of geospatial data, spatial thinking will play a significant role in the information-based economy of the twenty-first century. Using appropriately designed support systems tailored to the K–12 context, spatial thinking can be taught formally to all students.


Contents
Preface
Executive Summary
1 Introduction
Part I The Nature and Functions of Spatial Thinking
2 The Nature of Spatial Thinking
3 Spatial Thinking in Everyday Life, at Work, and in Science
4 Teaching and Learning About Spatial Thinking
5 Responding to the Need for Spatial Thinkers
6 Tools for Thought: The Concept of a Support System
Part II Support for Spatial Thinking
7 High-Tech Support Systems for Spatial Thinking
8 An Assessment of GIS as a System for Supporting Spatial Thinking in the K—12 Context
9 GIS as a Support System for Spatial Thinking
Part III Supporting Spatial Thinking in the Future
10 Conclusions and Recommendations
11 The Spatial Thinker
References
Appendixes
Appendix A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members and Staff
Appendix B Oral Presentations and Written Statements
Appendix C Individual Differences in Spatial Thinking: The Effects of Age, Development, and Sex
Appendix D The Role of Spatial Representations in Learning, Problem Solving, and Transfer
Appendix E Software Descriptions and Resources
Appendix F What is GIScience?
Appendix G The Introduction of GIS into K-12 Education
Appendix H Seasonal Differences: A Customized Eighth-Grade GIS Module
Appendix I List of Acronyms
Index