Remote Sensing as a Tool for Phenomenon-Based Teaching and Learning at the Elementary School Level: a Case Study for the Urban Heat Island Effect
Satellite remote sensing has been largely adopted in all kinds of environmental applications as it has proved to be an excellent tool for research and.
- Pub. date: August 15, 2020
- Pages: 517-532
- 977 Downloads
- 1462 Views
- 5 Citations
Satellite remote sensing has been largely adopted in all kinds of environmental applications as it has proved to be an excellent tool for research and decision-making purposes. It has also been recognized as an important educational tool in the past years. However, it has been insufficiently incorporated in school practice, especially at the elementary level. This article describes the use of remotes sensing as a tool to present science topics in the elementary classroom. A phenomenon-based approach was adopted to introduce the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI) to eighty-one second and third-grade students. The students’ experiences in their learning environment were collected with the use of a questionnaire developed for that purpose. The pedagogical approach encouraged the students’ critical thinking and individual observations to try to explain the phenomenon working with the other students and the adults in the class- room. The phenomenon-based approach, along with the powerful visualizations of the remotely sensed data kept the students motivated and active. Seventy-one percent of the students reported that this was an engaging activity, and seventy-eight percent said that they would like to participate in similar activities in the future. The rest of the responses were neutral. None of the students were previously familiar with remote sensing or the UHI. This experience showed that it is critical to have adequate and appropriate resources readily available, as well as efficient facilitation in order to tackle this pedagogical approach. The activity was organized for Earth Observation Day (EOD), 2016, in the framework of a West Virginia View funded project. EOD is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) educational outreach event that occurs yearly and during which scientists, all of whom are experts in remote sensing and related geospatial technologies, are available to support teachers in their respective states.
Keywords: Remote sensing, urban heat island, phenomenon-based learning, STEM.
References
Beckel, L., & Winter, R. (Eds.). 1989. Satellitenbilder im Unterricht. Einfuhrung und Interpretation [Satellite images in the classroom. Introduction and interpretation]. Orbit-Verlag Reinhard Maetzel.
Bednarz, S. W., & Bednarz, R.S. (2015) Brave new world: Citizenship in geospatially enriched environments. GI Forum, 5, 230-240. https://doi.org/10.1553/giscience2015s230
Bobrowsky, M., Korhonen, M., & Kohtamaki, J. (2014). Using physical science gadgets and gizmos, grades 6-8: Phenomenon-based learning. National Science Teachers Association - NSTA Press.
Bridgeland, J. M., DiIulio Jr, J. J., & Morison, K.B. (2006). The silent epidemic: Perspectives of high school dropouts. Civic Enterprises.
Buckenmeyer, J. A. (2010). Beyond computers in the classroom: Factors related to technology adoption to enhance teaching and learning. Contemporary Issues In Education Research, 3(4), 27-36. https://doi.org/10.19030/cier.v3i4.194
Environmental Protection Agency. (n. d.). Heat island effect. EPA. https://www.epa.gov/heat-islands
Gerber, W., & Reuchenbach, M. (2005). Fernerkundung im Unterricht [Remote sensing in the classroom]. Geography Today/ Geographie Heute, 26(235), 2-9.
Golden, J. S., (2004). The built environment induced urban heat island effect in rapidly urbanizing arid regions – a sustainable urban engineering complexity. Environmental Sciences, 1(4), 321-349.
Filhoa, W. L., Icazab, L. E., Nehtc, A., Klavinsd, M., & Morgane, E. A. (2017). Coping with the impacts of urban heat islands. A literature-based study on understanding urban heat vulnerability and the need for resilience in cities in a global climate change context. Journal of Cleaner Production, 171, 1140-1149.
Hedley, M. L, Czajkowski, K., Benko, T., Landenberger, R., Shellito, Munro-Stasiuk, B. M., & Struble, J. (2008). SATELLITES: A Geospatial Technology Program for Teachers and Students. The Earth Scientist, 27, 11-13.
Hulleman, C. S., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2009). Promoting interest and performance in high school science classes. Science, 326, 1410-1412.
Jahn, M., Casper, M., & Siegmund, A. (2011). Glokal change: Geography meets remote sensing in the context of the education for sustainable development. European Journal of Geography, 2(2), 21‐34.
Kirman, J. M. (2011). Remote sensing and the elementary child. Geocarto International, 15(4), 71-74. https:/doi.org/10.1080/10106040008542174
Kivelo, A. (2015). Phenomenon-based learning as a tool for promoting activity and participation among youth. (Unpublished master’s thesis). HUMAK University of Applied Sciences.
Marks, H. M. (2000). Student engagement in instructional activity: Patterns in the elementary, middle, and high school years. American Educational Research Journal, 37, 153-184.
Moilanen, P. (2015). A phenomenon-based curriculum for teacher education. In G. Pusztai & T. Cegledi (Eds.), Professional calling in higher education: Challenges of teacher education in the Carpathian Basin (pp. 12–18). Partium Press.
National Research Council. (2006). Learning to think spatially: GIS as a support system in the K-12 curriculum. National Academy Press.
Naumann, S., Siegmund, A., Ditter, R., Haspel, M., & Jahn, M. (2009). "Remote sensing in school–Theoretical concept and practical implementation" E-Learning Tools, Techniques and Applications, edited by G Konig & H Lehmann (ISPRS, Potsdam).
Newcombe, N. (2016) Thinking spatially in the science classroom. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 10, 1-6.
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2015). PISA 2015, Results in Focus. https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015- results-in-focus.pdf
Reid C. E, O'Neill M. S, Gronlund, C. J, Brines, S. J, Brown, D. G, Diez-Roux, A. V, & Schwartz, J. (2009). Mapping community determinants of heat vulnerability. Environmental Health Perspective, 117(11), 1730-1736. https://doi.org/ 10.1289/ehp.0900683
Sahlberg, P. (2015). Finland’s school reforms won’t scrap subjects altogether. The Conversation. http://theconversation.com/finlands-school-reforms-wont-scrap- subjects-altogether-39328
Siegmund, A., & Menz, G. (2005). Fernes nah gebracht – Satelliten- und Luftbildeinsatz zur Analyse von Umweltveranderungen im Geographieunterricht [The distance brought close - use of satellite and aerial photographs to analyze environmental changes in geography lessons]. Geography & School / Geographie & Schule, 27(154), 2-10.
Siegmund, A., (2011). Satellitenbilder im unterricht – eine Landervergleichsstudie zur Ableitung fernerkundungs didaktischer Grundsatze [Satellite images in the classroom - an internationale comparison study for the deduction of basic principles of a remote sensing didactic] [Doctoral dissertation, University of Education Heidelberg]. Publication Server of the University of Education Heidelberg. http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bsz:he76-opus-75244.
Silander, P. (2015). Phenomenon based learning. Phenomenal education. http://www.phenomenaleducation.info/phenomenon- based-learning.html
Spiller, P. (2017). Could subjects soon be a thing of the past in Finland? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39889523
Symeonidis, V., & Schwarz, J. F. (2016). Phenomenon-based teaching and learning through the pedagogical lenses of phenomenology: The recent curriculum reform in Finland. Forum Oswiatowe, 28(2), 31-47.
US Department of Education. (n.d.-a). Use of technology in teaching and learning. https://www.ed.gov/oii-news/use- technology-teaching-and-learning.
US Department of Education. (n.d.-b). Science, technology, engineering, and math, including computer science. https://www.ed.gov/stem
Uttal, D. H., & Cohen, C. A. (2012). Spatial thinking and STEM education: When, why, and how? Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 57, 147-181.
Verdine, B. N., Golinkoff, R. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Newcombe, N. S. (2017) Spatial skills, their development, and their links to mathematics. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82(1), 7-30.
Wang, J., Sheng, Z., & Yu, J. (2014). Popularization of remote sensing education and general course construction in undergraduate education. IOP Conference Series Earth and Environmental Science, 17(1), 1-5. http://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/17/1/012262