Using Web-based GIS For Earth and Environmental Systems
Education
Alec M. Bodzin
College of Education and Human Services, Lehigh University, A113 Iacocca Hall,
Bethlehem, PA 18015, amb4@lehigh.edu
David Anastasio
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lehigh University, 31 Williams
Hall, Bethlehem, PA 18015, dja2@lehigh.edu
ABSTRACT
Web-based inquiry educational modules using
Geographic information system (GIS) maps are ideal for
earth and environmental systems education. GIS maps
display and manage a rich array of spatially referenced
data, which can be combined in user- defined ways to
study most natural systems. The maps can be served
over the Web to create flexible and portable educational
modules for science education. We describe the use of
GIS maps for an ongoing pre-service teacher graduate
education course at Lehigh University and show
applicability to other traditional disciplinary courses
taught in many secondary and introductory college
classrooms. Like Earth system science, use of GIS maps
transcends traditional natural and social science
disciplinary boundaries. GIS can be used to track how
natural systems are functioning and changing in
response to human activities. Similar to Earth system
science, GIS maps provide a framework for integration of
environmental data across a range of temporal and
spatial scales. Instructional use of GIS helps students
integrate disciplinary perspectives to appreciate a
broader, systems viewpoint. The implementation of
Web-based GIS in conjunction with other content
materials enables learners to analyze and synthesize
large amounts data that would be much more difficult in
other formats.
INTRODUCTION
According to the NSF report, Complex Environmental
Systems Synthesis for Earth, Life, and Society in the 21st
Century (Pfirman and AC-ERE, 2003), in the coming
decades, the public will be called upon more frequently
to understand complex environmental issues, evaluate
proposed environmental plans, and understand how
individual decisions affect the environment at local to
global scales. The report calls for raising the
environmental literacy of the general public by
providing quality environmental education and training.
Learning about the environment and its implications for
society is not a simple task. Environmental problems
have multiple causes and multiple effects. Such
problems include complex issues such as global climate
change, resource management, and pollution. Viewing
any one portion of an environmental problem without
consideration of broader systems interaction increases
the likelihood of misunderstandings and unrealistic
solutions. An Earth system science approach to learning
advocates the use of rich and highly interrelated data sets
that learners can explore repeatedly, each time coming at
the data from slightly different perspectives. This creates
what is known as "cognitive flexibility" and helps reveal
the true complexity of the problem under study (Spiro
and Jehng, 1990). Addressing such complex issues
requires the collection and analysis of a variety of
different types of geographical information and spatial
data. As a result, the rapidly growing technology of
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have proven to
be a valuable tool in the process of understanding the
environment and of making responsible environmental
decisions (Carrarra and Fausto, 1995; Heit et al., 1991;
National Research Council, 2005).
Recent Earth and environmental sciences reform
initiatives such as the National Science Education Standards
(National Research Council, 1996) and the North
American Association for Environmental Education's
Guidelines for Learning (2000) emphasize the significance
of developing thinking skills, data analysis skills,
understanding real-world applications, and utilizing the
power of technology in teaching and learning. GIS
applications provide a platform for effectively achieving
these science education goals (Barstow, 1994; National
Research Council, 2005). GIS, like Earth system science,
transcends
disciplinary
boundaries,
integrating
processes and data from the natural and social sciences.
When using the Web and GIS maps in inquiry-based
investigations, learners use evidence and practices in the
same manner as scientists. The study of Earth system
science relies on environmental data. GIS provides an
ideal context for the management and presentation of
such data. GIS can be used to collect, organize, and
analyze spatially referenced data. Activities that use GIS
can be designed to require independent learning and
flexible reasoning, an essential component of scientific
education. Yet, GIS classroom applications have not
gained much momentum or enthusiasm for its
implementation in secondary schools and in
introductory-level courses at universities (Bednarz and
Audet, 1998). Like most software applications, barriers to
GIS implementation in instructional settings likely occur
due to access to required hardware and software, the cost
of the software application, access to relevant and
accessible data, lack of adequate professional
development to implement GIS in instructional settings,
and technical support issues at one's institution (Audet
and Paris, 1997; National Research Council, 2005).
We have addressed these implementation barriers,
in a prototype project of the Lehigh River watershed, PA,
by designing a series of Web-based GIS maps to support
the process of spatial thinking with inquiry-based
approaches to learning. A watershed is an ideal way to
segment the environment for analysis. Watersheds are
scalable, topographic and hydrologic basins that lend
themselves to systems analysis. Our approach uses
driving questions to guide learner exploration of data
layers of specific GIS maps to address environmental
decision-making. In our instructional activities, analysis
consists of comparing and contrasting data layers against
one another. Existing data layers can be recombined into
previously unknown patterns, providing learners the
capacity to manipulate the way map data is represented
into a new visualization. In conjunction with fieldwork,
watershed GIS maps allow students to monitor a wide
Bodzin and Anastasio - Web-based GIS For Earth and Environmental Systems Education
295
range of biogeochemical processes and track the human
dimension of environmental change with long-term
studies. In this article, we present our design and
development work, and discuss how the use of
Web-based GIS may be used to promote inquiry-based
approaches to local environmental investigations in
which learners understand concepts in sufficient detail
that may apply their understandings to larger and more
complex environmental problems in other geographical
areas.
GIS DEFINED
A GIS consists of spatially explicit information, a
database, and a computer interface that ties them
together to create a visualization tool for spatial analysis.
A GIS is commonly regarded as a computer system that
can capture, store, query, analyze, and display
geographical information of two types, vector or raster.
GIS allows users to select different layers of information
to construct a map. The map then is displayed on a
computer screen and the data and information can be
examined spatially. Maps could include political
boundaries, rivers and streams, bedrock geology, soil
coverage, topography, water quality, or census data to
support multidisciplinary Earth and environmental
science education.
Much of the information we have about our world
contains a location reference, relating that information at
some point on the globe. For example, when point source
pollutant discharge information is collected, it is
important to know where the discharge is located. This is
done by using a location reference system, such as
longitude and latitude, and perhaps elevation.
Comparing the discharge information with other
information, such as the location of marshes that may
serve as breeding grounds for shellfish, shows that
certain marshes receive levels of pollutant discharges
that may not be beneficial for the survival of newly born
shellfish. This inference can help us make the most
appropriate decisions about how pollution discharge in
the marsh might be regulated. A GIS, therefore, can
facilitate data analysis that may lead to new insights for
better decision-making.
Many computer databases that can be directly
entered into a GIS are being produced by Federal, State,
tribal, and local governments, private companies,
academia, and nonprofit organizations. Different kinds
of data in map form can be entered into a GIS. A GIS can
also convert existing digital information, which may not
yet be in map form, into forms it can recognize and use.
For example, digital satellite images can be analyzed to
produce a map of digital information about land use and
land cover. Likewise, census or hydrologic tabular data
can be converted to a maplike form and serve as layers of
thematic information in a GIS.
River watershed. Course instruction uses a hybrid
approach that includes field trips, Web-based learning
modules and face-to-face instruction. In a face-to-face
session, students are introduced to a variety of topics
including EE learning theories, education standards and
frameworks, GIS use in Earth and environmental science
curricula, and data collection with Pasco probeware.
Students then complete a series of Web-based modules
and meet weekly for all-day field trips to areas of
environmental concern. The Web-based modules consist
of the following topics: teaching and learning about
environmental issues; GIS in environmental education;
implementing water quality curricular projects;
environmental laws and regulations; environmental
education essentials; and designing activities for
environmental education. The Web-based modules take
advantage of many instructional materials we have
developed to promote the teaching and learning of
environmental issues. These materials are housed on the
Lehigh Earth Observatory EnviroSci Inquiry Web site
(http://www.leo.lehigh.edu/envirosci). Since these
materials are interdisciplinary and Web-based, they are
both flexible and portable to use in other disciplines in
select secondary and college level courses that include
geology,
geography,
environmental
science,
environmental studies, Earth system science, or ecology.
Select materials include the following.
Stockertown Sinkhole Dilemma (http://www.leo.
lehigh.edu/envirosci/enviroissue/sinkholes) - In the
intended use of this activity, students learn about the
Stockertown sinkholes and decide who should be
responsible for compensating property damage caused
by a sinkhole. Students read a description of a
stakeholder's role and access a variety of resources that
they will use to develop a position statement about who
should be responsible for the investigation and
remediation of the sinkholes. They decide what should
be done to solve the sinkhole problem, what might be
causing the sinkholes, and what new policies should be
created to protect the interest of homeowners affected by
sinkholes. In this activity, students are responsible for
presenting a long-term action plan to prevent and/or
remediate sinkhole destruction in class during a
simulated town hall meeting. The instructional use of
this activity's materials and resources may be
customized to emphasize the geologic occurrence of
sinkholes and its implications for geoenvironmental
engineering.
Abandoned Mine Drainage in Pennsylvania (http://
www.leo.lehigh.edu/envirosci/enviroissue/amd/)
Abandoned Mine Drainage in Pennsylvania is a
science-technology-society
role-playing
debate
simulation. In this activity, learners investigate the
abandoned mine drainage (AMD) issue from differing
perspectives. In their investigation, they identify AMD
problems, search for a solution, evaluate options, and
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES COURSE
decide on a course of action to treat and clean up AMD in
EDUC 394, Special Topics in Environmental Education: Pennsylvania.
Environmental Issues, at Lehigh University takes
advantage of using Web-based inquiry activities and GIS Lehigh River Photojournal (http://www.leo.lehigh.
maps to promote learning. Environmental Issues was edu/envirosci/watershed/pjournal/) - This virtual
designed to meet Pennsylvania Department of photojournal of the Lehigh River watershed contains
Education program standards for environmental digital images and panoramas to explore the watershed.
education
(EE)
certification
and
preparation Historical information is provided for many locations.
competencies. The course primarily focuses on an
in-depth study of environmental issues in the Lehigh
296
Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, n. 3, May, 2006, p. 297-300
Figure 1. GIS map of the Lehigh River watershed
showing land cover patterns, the location of
population centers and industries along the Lehigh
River and its major tributaries. Shaded colors
illustrate the different geology types.
Geology of the Lehigh Gorge (http://www.leo.
lehigh.edu/envirosci/geology/gorge/) - This Web site
includes interactive maps with picture links, surface and
aerial pictures of the Lehigh River and its tributaries, a
stratagraphic column, geologic map, digital shaded relief
map and a 3D flyby through the Lehigh Gorge. The
laboratory section contains several activities designed
for learners to investigate the geologic formations of the
Lehigh Gorge, relationships between rock types,
topography, and river morphology.
The course field trips consist of site visits to abandon
mine drainage and remediation sites to discuss issues
pertaining to remediation efforts, a cement plant to
discuss legislative issues involved in obtaining permits
for recycling use in a manufacturing process, a state park
to look at issues involved with land use planning and
management practices, an area experiencing sinkhole
problems to discuss who is responsible for the
remediation of sinkholes, and a canoe trip through ten
miles of the Lehigh River to gather water quality data
and discuss pollution and water quality issues.
GIS FOR LEHIGH WATERSHED
INVESTIGATIONS
Given the emphasis on incorporating inquiry teaching
and learning in Earth system science education, it is
important that our students gain a theoretical and
practical understanding about how to take advantage of
Web-enhanced instructional materials and approaches
to promote inquiry learning. The Web can provide access
to GIS maps, interactive images that are information-rich
(they include layers representing various types of
information) and dynamic (learners can explore them by
observing spatial patterns and by selecting more or less
detail). For this reason, we have developed a series of
Web-based GIS maps to use to promote scientific inquiry
and environmental literacy using a watershed theme for
use in the environmental issues course. The GIS maps are
disseminated over the Web using an Arc IMS server. The
Web-based interface is designed well and is intuitive to
use. No special software is needed to view these maps
other that a Web browser with an Internet connection.
We use four main topic areas to help learners
understand the complex networks of interactions and
dependencies within watersheds: underlying science,
human resources, people centers, and human impacts.
Underlying science focuses on the interdisciplinary study
of the complex and interconnected issues of natural
watershed processes, natural resources, populations,
and pollution. Human resources addresses materials
consumed or reused by humans to meet their needs,
including air, water, minerals, fuels, building materials,
and open space. People centers deals with societal needs
for human activities, including housing, transportation,
agriculture, industry, and recreation; while human
impacts attends to how human activities affect both biotic
and abiotic conditions of the environment.
As a way of illuminating these interactions and
complexities, we have developed a series of specific GIS
maps each organized to promote inquiry with driving
investigative questions about a particular aspect of the
Lehigh Valley watershed. We have designed our
inquiry-based activities to incorporate two main
properties: scalability and portability. Scalability refers to
the need for the problems addressed by the learner to be
small enough that they can derive conclusions in a
reasonable length of time, but also of sufficient detail that
in completing them will understand concepts that apply
to larger and more complex environmental problems.
Portability means the problems addressed in our
activities should involve concepts and practices that
apply to diverse locations and situations, allowing
learners to extrapolate their derived understandings to
problems other than those to which they were exposed.
Select investigative questions and GIS maps are
described below. The GIS maps are available online at:
http://www.leo.lehigh.edu/envirosci/watershed/gis/
investigations.html
Where have people concentrated their settlements and
conducted their activities during human history in the
Lehigh River watershed?
This GIS map (see Figure 1) enables learners to examine
the location of cities, towns, and major industries in
relation to the Lehigh River. A map that displays these
data layers shows a pattern of settlements along the
Lehigh River. With the addition of the geology layer to
this map, learners may observe that many industries are
located on carbonate rock more so than any other rock
type in the watershed.
Which part of the Lehigh River watershed is the best
place to build your new home?
This GIS map (see Figure 2) provides learners with a
variety of different data layers one may wish to examine
when selecting a site to build a new home. Learners can
display land use types to determine locations of urban,
forested, and agricultural areas in the watershed. Map
layers of major, state, and local roads can be shown to
determine transportation patterns throughout the
watershed. The map also contains data about sites that
may be prone to natural hazards. A limestone data layer
may be displayed to consider locations that may be
Bodzin and Anastasio - Web-based GIS For Earth and Environmental Systems Education
297
Figure 2. GIS map of the Lehigh River watershed Figure 3. GIS map of the Lehigh River watershed
displaying the location of recreational and preserved displaying the location of canal and railroad
lands, limestone areas, and industries discharging transportation routes from coal fields to cities.
toxic chemicals.
shed/history/) provides learners with the opportunity
to understand the limitations of the use of a canal route to
transport anthracite coal from the coal fields in the
northwest area of the watershed to the confluence of the
Lehigh River with the Delaware River. Displaying both
inactive railroads and active railroads on the map
illustrates the importance of using railroad
transportation to connect cities and towns that contain
major industries in the watershed area. The zoning layer
(see Figure 4) illustrates how land is designated for use
today. A careful examination of this portion of the
watershed shows predominantly residential and
commercial land uses located near the Lehigh River,
especially in the southern areas of this map display.
Agricultural areas surround this area to the north and
What are some natural processes in the Lehigh River west and a tract of land designated as open space is
watershed and how do human actions modify them?
observed along the northern tract of this map section.
prone to sinkhole occurrences, and a flood plains data
layer may be viewed to identify areas where flooding
may occur. Industries that release regulated toxic
chemicals into the environment can also be located. The
toxic chemical release inventory data layer provides the
name, address, and location of the industry and a
complete list of chemicals that the site discharges.
Recreational and preserved land areas including County
and PA State Parks and State Game Lands areas may also
be displayed. Census data for each municipality in the
watershed for the years 1990 and 2000 are included and
can be explored to determine population growth trends
in the area.
The GIS map for this driving question provides learners
with opportunities to see how people over time have
altered the natural landscape of the watershed by
establishing urban and agricultural areas, and building
transportation routes that include roadways, railroads,
and canals. For example, in the Little Lehigh Creek
catchment, agricultural land cover decreased by 48% and
urban land cover increased by 700% between 1947 and
1999. Differential effects of land cover change
throughout the Lehigh River watershed provide a
natural laboratory for GIS-based Earth system science
research and education.
What environmental issues should planners consider
when designing and locating a site for a new information
technology company that will create jobs for 7000 new
workers in the Lehigh River watershed? Build a case for
the site you think will do the least damage to the
watershed.
This driving question is an authentic issue that faces the
Lehigh River watershed today. This GIS contains all map
layers previously discussed. When examining these map
layers, learners must consider the anthropogenic effects
of a significant population increase in a watershed area.
Issues of resource management and use of available
In what ways are different parts of society in the Lehigh space must be considered for environmental decisionRiver watershed economically interdependent today? making.
What role do science and technology play in this
interdependence? How would this interdependence have SPRAWL IN THE LEHIGH RIVER
been different 150 years ago?
WATERSHED ACTIVITY
This GIS map (see Figure 3) used in conjunction with the
historical background provided on the LEO EnviroSci Land use and development in the form of urban or
Web site (http://www.leo.lehigh.edu/envirosci/water- suburban sprawl has always been a problem in the
minds of many people. We have developed an activity
298
Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 54, n. 3, May, 2006, p. 297-300
Figure 4. GIS map displaying land use zoning in a
subsection of the Lehigh River watershed.
available online at http://www.leo.lehigh.edu/envirosci/enviroissue/sprawl/ that uses Web-based GIS maps
to explore sprawl issues in the Lehigh River watershed.
Learners are first introduced to historical population
growth patterns in the Lehigh Valley watershed. Next,
they are prompted to use a GIS map to explore trends in
population change in the watershed area. The impacts of
zoning laws created by multiple municipalities are then
presented. Learners are prompted to use a GIS map to
explore the effects of transportation infrastructure on
land use. Information on the effects of sprawl on human
and environmental health is then presented in the
activity. Environmental issues that include pollution,
effects of creating impervious surfaces, deforestation of
riparian buffers, and the reduction of open spaces and
farmlands are discussed. Learners are then guided to use
GIS maps to examine patterns of land use and population
centers. Best practices in land use including smart
growth initiatives, brownfield redevelopment, and the
creation of conservation easements are discussed. As a
culminating activity, learners are presented with two
differing viewpoints about creating a new highway
extension in the area. They are prompted to select a
viewpoint and write a position statement with
supporting facts if the highway extension should be
constructed or if the land should be preserved.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
In the activities and ideas described in this article,
students learn spatial concepts and data analysis skills
essential for disciplinary science and Earth system
science education using inquiry-based instructional
methods. Investigating driving questions about one's
immediate environment promotes a sense of personal
involvement in understanding authentic issues in one's
geographical area. When learners critically examine a
local environmental issue with inquiry-based methods,
they develop conceptual understandings and practices
that can be transferred to related issues in different
geographical areas. We contend that the use of the
materials and activities described in this article are
portable; they can be used by other instructors at
universities and in secondary school settings in different
geographic locations to understand associated issues.
For example, the concepts and understandings one
learns from the Stockertown Sinkhole Dilemma can be
transferred
to
understand
geoenvironmental
engineering and policy issues in other areas of the United
States that contain limestone geology that might be
prone to sinkhole occurrences.
The use of Web-based GIS in conjunction with other
content materials enables learners to analyze and
synthesize large amounts of data that would be much
more difficult in other formats. Implementing
instructional practices that emphasize inquiry nurtures
research creativity important for scientific training.
Instructional activities that incorporate GIS maps can be
effective for learning about interdisciplinary connections
among the Earth and environmental sciences, providing
a broader systems view of an area under study. Using
Web-based GIS provides learners with opportunities to
explore spatial concepts and participate in real-world
environmental problem solving. Integrating GIS maps
into course instruction can be used to establish boundary
conditions for field based data collection. Such data
collection can generate longitudinal environmental data,
capable of elucidating human impacts on environmental
change. We have embraced this idea and are now in the
process of reformatting our introductory Earth and
environmental science laboratory program to be more
inquiry-based using varied data sets, and providing
learners with spatial mapping tools that will allow them
to manipulate these data in ways that help to illuminate
complex interrelationships.
We believe our instructional methods have had a
positive impact on our students' understanding on how
to use Web-based GIS maps and related spatial mapping
tool resources appropriately to promote inquiry-based
learning. Some of our students during their intern
teaching field placements in secondary schools
facilitated a Web-based inquiry process by presenting
their students with a driving question to investigate a
particular phenomenon. They provided their students
with available Web-based data to analyze using GIS
mapping tools. Web-based data sources included using
the EPA EnviroMapper Window to My Environment
interactive mapping tool (http://www.epa.gov/enviro
/html/em/) to learn about different industries that
contribute pollution discharges within a 5 mile radius of
a school, using the NOAA's nowCOAST Web mapping
portal (http://nowcoast.ncd.noaa.gov/) and Web-based
map data from the National Data Buoy Center
(http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/) to investigate why water
temperature changes so rapidly on the Outer Banks of
North Carolina, and using the National Atlas of the
United States (http://nationalatlas.gov/) and the
Journey North interactive maps (http://www.learner.
org/jnorth/) to investigate the monarch butterfly
migration cycle. These examples illustrate anecdotal
evidence that the instructional use of Web-based GIS in
our environmental education course may have assisted
our preservice teachers with understanding a design
process for using appropriate GIS mapping resources to
support the process of spatial thinking with
inquiry-based approaches to learning.
Bodzin and Anastasio - Web-based GIS For Earth and Environmental Systems Education
299
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Collaboration between the authors was fostered by a
curricular
development
sub-agreement
from
USRA/ESSE21,
(Prime
Agency
NASA,
grant
NNG04GA82G), awarded to Anastasio, Bodzin and
Windham, which also supports ongoing GIS map
development.
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