Case study:
Using OS Meridian data as a spatial framework in the construction of a
GIS of the built environment
Assistance, reflections and evaluations
1. Assistance
The project was undertaken in a workshop
environment where the students worked in groups but one-to-one help was
also available when needed. This allowed the tutor to talk to a small
number of students at a time rather than to the whole class, encouraging
a greater degree of student participation.
2. Evidence of reflection: students
Students were asked to reflect on their
learning experiences at different stages of the exercise. There were required
to demonstrate the GIS to the tutor and discuss any problems that they
encountered during its construction. They were required to write a short
report concerning the construction of the GIS and try and link what they
had experienced in practice with what they had been taught in the lectures
about data integration and management problems. They also had to complete
evaluation forms relating both to the content of the case study and also
the quality of the teaching. A summary of these evaluations can be found
below.
3. Student evaluation of session
3.1 Overall, I found the group project:
Very easy
Easy
Moderate
Difficult
Very difficult
0
3
12
5
4
The majority of students found the project
moderately easily, with only a small number of students experiencing difficulties.
3.2 I found the students' handout:
Very easy to understand
Easy to understand
Moderate to understand
Difficult to understand
Very difficult to understand
1
15
6
2
0
The handouts were regarded as being easy
to understand by the majority of students. Few found them difficult to
follow.
3.3 I found the workshops:
Very informative
Informative
Moderately informative
Not very informative
Not informative
3
13
7
1
0
The workshops were seen as informative
or very informative by two thirds of the students. Very few students found
them not to be informative.
3.4 The best bits about the group project
The students liked the fact that they were
constructing a GIS from scratch since it gave them valuable insight into
the procedures and problems discussed in the lectures. Some students mentioned
how it contributed to their transferable skills and also how it could
help them in their own dissertations.
3.5 The worst bits about the group project
Most students commented upon the laborious
nature of extracting the data and building the GIS although they did appreciate
that this is a reflection of how GIS are constructed. Some complained
that the GIS 'did not do much' after putting the effort into constructing
it although these students tended to be in groups who had chosen suburban
study areas that were quite homogeneous and so had little variation in
the attribute data (see comments below).
4. Evidence of reflection: tutor
Overall, I was happy with the way the exercise
went. Obviously, different groups achieved different degrees of success,
reflecting the mix of abilities and characteristics of the students in
each group. A general discussion on problems encountered in the exercise
and how these can be remedied can be found in the teachers' notes, and
so only a brief outline will be made here. The main determinant to the
success of the exercise appeared to be the study area chosen by the students.
Students who chose heterogeneous, inner-city study areas seemed to have
a greater degree of geographic variation in their data than those groups
that chose suburban locations. The outcome was that the former students
built a more interesting GIS and produced more varied results.
There was also the potential problem of
keeping the students interest during the four workshops. Constructing
a GIS is not interesting at the best of times, and students found some
of the tasks laborious, particularly extracting the data from the websites.
The students who managed this best were the ones that split the workload
such that everyone had a turn of extracting data from each website. Some
students also went out into the field and visited the study area during
one of the workshops and collected their own data - something that appeared
to work well. Students also needed help importing the data into the GIS
and joining it to the attribute table, despite having done similar exercises
in previous practicals. Once the tables were joined, the students then
had to demonstrate to the tutor that the GIS worked correctly before proceeding.
This turned out to be demanding on the tutor since all the groups wanted
help at the same time. In future this part of the exercise may need to
be staggered or extra help made available. The students appeared to have
very little problem in using the GIS after its construction in producing
some simple maps and output.
In future I would improve the exercise
by directing students to select inner-city study areas (perhaps by even
selecting areas myself) and also advising them to undertake some fieldwork,
such as a street quality survey, to add to the GIS. I will advise them
to allocate the work within the groups such that everyone had their turn
of extracting data from each website to reduce the burden that some students
experienced within the group.
