GIS in the Classroom Blog 1: Why should we be using GIS in our lessons?

In a University Challenge 2022-23 quarter final on 13th March, Jeremy Paxman asked this question:

‘Which English physician is noted for his investigations of cholera in nineteenth century London, including the Broad Street pump study?’

Bristol University gave the correct answer ‘John Snow’ and won the contest.

Our geography students should know about John Snow too. He provided the foundation for geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial epidemiology. The story of his work is an excellent GIS case study including valuable disciplinary knowledge for geography, science and history.

London cholera epidemic 1854 (John Snow data) (Web map by Brendan Conway)

There are other important reasons for using geographical information systems (GIS) in our lessons, incorporating ‘geospatial’ resources including aerial and satellite imagery (remote sensing).

To help visualise spatial data and respect cognitive load

GIS can visualise landscapes and data very efficiently. Conventional map resources such as atlas maps are great, but can sometimes create cognitive overload, called ‘map shock’. GIS maps can help to manage this by judicial use of well-chosen basemaps and switching on layers (known as ‘toggling) to support stepped explanations. Spatio-temporal GIS resources such as timelapses can also provide a powerful way ‘see geography happen’.

It's becoming easier and more accessible

Access to GIS is now largely browser-based and very accessible. For example, ArcGIS Online is free to all schools along with lots of ready-made GIS resources and useful data sets. Digimap for Schools is well worth its annual subscription, providing access to up-to-date Ordnance Survey maps for most scales. Both have the capacity to compare with historical maps and aerial imagery.

‘Because we have to!’

GIS is rightly a curriculum imperative, having been part of the National Curriculum for well over a decade, including KS1 and KS2, since September 2013:

Geography programmes of study: key stages 1 and 2 (National curriculum in England DfE 2013)

In 2021, Ofsted emphasised that GIS should be integrated throughout the curriculum rather than as an add-on. GIS needs to become ‘part of the furniture’, making a vital contribution to students’ capacity for ‘spatial thinking’:

‘GIS is also a useful resource in developing pupils’ spatial ‘literacy’, in helping them navigate locally and globally, and in combining datasets to identify relationships between them.

The curriculum should incorporate opportunities to teach and make use of GIS throughout topics. This contextualises pupils’ learning.’

Ofsted Research review series: geography (2021)

Explosion of geographical career opportunities

Furthermore, the rapid increase in the need for geospatial information in industry, government and non-governmental organisations means that there is an explosion of career opportunities using GIS. It has always been the case that geographers are very employable in a wide range of careers, but now there are unprecedented direct pathways opening up for geography specialists.

Governments have recognised this for some time. In the UK, The Geospatial Commission was established in 2018 as an independent, expert body within the Cabinet Office, responsible for setting the UK's geospatial strategy and coordinating public sector geospatial activity. Within the UK civil service, there is a significant and growing sector known as the Government Geography Profession, with its own head of geography!

Esri UK provide free access to professional level GIS tools and resources for schools in the UK and many other countries via ArcGIS Online. Esri UK and The Royal Geographical Society (RGS) have provided very useful guidance about geospatial career opportunities:

Where can geography and GIS take you? A guide for school students, teachers and parents

Esri UK creates new Teach with GIS resources

Use geography: careers in mapping, GI and data science