Effect of hybrid teaching approaches on students’ learning and engagement with key geographic information science content knowledge

This study reports on and discusses the use of hybrid teaching approaches in an introductory GIS course with the key aim of enhancing the learning and engagement of diverse students for difficult-to-understand but essential content knowledge. The approaches included the use of digital technologies, a 3D CAVE2 virtual environment, a flipped classroom, physical models, face-to-face and online student collaborations, and an assessment-feedback cycle. The study helps fill a gap in the GIS education literature by applying hybrid methods to teach key content, including earth models, datum types, coordinate systems, and map projections. The performance of this approach was evaluated by analysing students’ level of understanding of key content knowledge in both individual and group assessment tasks, as well as analysing feedback on student preferences and experiences concerning the different learning activities. The teaching team was able to identify key content knowledge that proved most troublesome for students to understand, in this case, the datum and properties of map projection, leading to the course design being modified in subsequent semesters. Results also supported previous studies on hybrid teaching in GIS, where it has been observed that online, virtual and traditional in-class teaching methods are effectively used as complementary activities.