Rethinking <scp>GIScience</scp> Education in an Age of Disruptions

ABSTRACT GIS and GIScience education have continually evolved over the past three decades, responding to technological advances and societal issues. Today, the content and context in which GIScience is taught continue to be impacted by these disruptions, notably from technology through artificial intelligence (AI) and society through the myriad environmental and social challenges facing the planet. These disruptions create a new landscape for training within the discipline that is affecting not only what is taught in GIScience courses but also who is taught, why it is being taught, and how it is taught. The aim of this paper is to structure a direction for developing and delivering GIScience education that, amid these disruptions, can generate a capable workforce and the next generation of leaders for the discipline. We present a framework for understanding the various emphases of GIScience education and use it to discuss how the content, audience, and purpose are changing. We then discuss how pedagogical strategies and practices can change how GIScience concepts and skills are taught to train more creative, inclusive, and empathetic learners. Specifically, we focus on how GIScience pedagogy should (1) center on problem‐based learning, (2) be open and accelerate open science, and (3) cultivate ethical reasoning and practices. We conclude with remarks on how the principles of GIScience education can extend beyond disciplinary boundaries for holistic spatial training across academia.

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Publication Details

Journal
Transactions in GIS
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/tgis.70048
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Geographic Information Systems Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
6.72

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article

Rethinking GIScience Education in an Age of Disruptions

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1 citations
Transactions in GIS
Geographic Information Systems Studies
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article

Rethinking GIScience Education in an Age of Disruptions

Michael F. Goodchild, Rachel S. Franklin, Francisco Rowe, Carmen Cabrera-Arnau, Amy E. Frazier, Sergio Joseph Rey, John P. Wilson, Seda Şalap‐Ayça, Justine I. Blanford, Joseph Holler, Christophe Claramunt, Harvey J. Miller, Lauren Bennett, Eric Shook, Trisalyn Nelson, A G VAUGHAN LEE, Taylor M. Oshan, Wenfei Xu, Somayeh Dodge, Grant McKenzie, Bo Zhao, Seth Spielman, Peter Kedron, Caglar Koylu, Steven M. Manson, Alan T. Murray, Sarah E. Battersby
article en
1 citations

Abstract

ABSTRACT GIS and GIScience education have continually evolved over the past three decades, responding to technological advances and societal issues. Today, the content and context in which GIScience is taught continue to be impacted by these disruptions, notably from technology through artificial intelligence (AI) and society through the myriad environmental and social challenges facing the planet. These disruptions create a new landscape for training within the discipline that is affecting not only what is taught in GIScience courses but also who is taught, why it is being taught, and how it is taught. The aim of this paper is to structure a direction for developing and delivering GIScience education that, amid these disruptions, can generate a capable workforce and the next generation of leaders for the discipline. We present a framework for understanding the various emphases of GIScience education and use it to discuss how the content, audience, and purpose are changing. We then discuss how pedagogical strategies and practices can change how GIScience concepts and skills are taught to train more creative, inclusive, and empathetic learners. Specifically, we focus on how GIScience pedagogy should (1) center on problem‐based learning, (2) be open and accelerate open science, and (3) cultivate ethical reasoning and practices. We conclude with remarks on how the principles of GIScience education can extend beyond disciplinary boundaries for holistic spatial training across academia.

Transactions in GISVol. 29(2)
University of Southern California (US), University of Iowa (US), Microsoft (United States) (US), Environmental Systems Research Institute (United States) (US), University of Minnesota (US), University of Liverpool (GB), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), Middlebury College (US), University of Washington (US), Cornell University (US), San Diego State University (US), Brown University (US), Institut de Recherche de l’École Navale (FR), Brown Foundation (US), McGill University (CA), The Ohio State University (US), Seattle University (US), University of Maryland, College Park (US), University of Twente (NL)
Arizona State University, University of California, Santa Barbara
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Geographic Information Systems Studies
6.72
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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