Expanding GIS and GPS Applications in an Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies Program

Colby-Sawyer College, New London NH

Investigators

Abstract

Interdisciplinary (99) This project is expanding opportunities for undergraduate student learning and research with GIS and GPS technologies by adapting the "Problem-Based Learning" approaches of an initiative at the University of Maine Farmington. Emphasis is being placed on the development of curricular initiatives for conventional GIS analyses in biology and environmental studies as well as problems in economics, political science, and sociology. The project is having local, regional and national impacts through numerous external collaborations via class projects, internship experiences, training programs, and independent research projects. Following the initial stage of planning curriculum integration, developing an evaluation strategy, and purchasing additional equipment to augment existing GIS and GPS facilities a dedicated spatial ecology laboratory is being developed for maximizing student access to GIS technology.