Over the last 20 years there has been remarkable growth in the development and use of spatial technologies along with other developments in instructional technology. Spatial technologies are increasingly commonplace, including Google maps, in-vehicle navigation systems, and images captures by satellites in orbit around the earth. Geographic Information Science creates and studies these technologies, their underlying principles, and their societal ramifications. Just as spatial technologies have risen to prominence, we have seen an attendant increase in the use of, and need for, computing and the internet in the classroom, including email, web-based instruction, and virtual classrooms.

The promise and challenges posed by this intersection of instructional and spatial technology was summed up in the National Research Council's report Learning to Think Spatially (2006) which emphasizes that GI Science is "an integrator and a facilitator for problem solving across the curriculum. With advances in computing technologies and the increasing availability of geospatial data, spatial thinking will play a significant role in the information-based economy of the twenty-first century." (p. 10).

More broadly, spatial thinking is a form of cognition "based on a constructive amalgam of three elements: concepts of space, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning. It is the concept of space that makes spatial thinking a distinctive form of thinking. By understanding the meaning of space, we can use its properties...as a vehicle for structuring problems, for finding answers, and for expressing solutions. (p. ix)

In concrete terms, we face a host of complex issues - ranging from global environmental change to urban decline to immigration - that are at their heart intrinsically geographic because they deal with multiple spaces, places, flows, boundaries, and scales. Spatial thinking moves deliberation on these issues away from simple consideration on the implicit characteristics of these issues towards active engagement with explicit elements that can be understood and acted on.

Dr. Manson and students in the Human-Environment GIS (HEGIS) lab are combining spatial thinking and environmental education in collaboration with Eco Education (EE). EE is a successful and long-established non-profit environmental education organization based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It has served over 130,000 students since 1991. EE is "committed to making environmental education relevant to urban learners and to helping them address their unique environmental concerns."

Eco Education

EE works with teachers to bring environmental education to students, driven by the desire to "foster within young people the appreciation, knowledge, values and skills necessary to inspire ecologically sound decisions and actions". EE offers Model Schools in Urban Environmental Education, "an award-winning program in which a unique partnership with Eco Education provides schools with a two-year interdisciplinary environmental education model that leads students from knowledge to action and combines the benefits of both the City Connections and Urban Stewards programs.

• City Connections is an urban environmental education curriculum set in the real-world context of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. With City Connections, students build content knowledge in social studies and science, and develop citizenship and problem-solving skills using their own neighborhoods as a context. City Connections is offered to schools that serve grades 5-7 in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
• Urban Stewards is a service-learning program that provides students with real world opportunities to identify and address environmental issues in their communities. The emphasis of this program is on youth empowerment, advanced development of citizenship and problem-solving skills, and fostering community involvement. Urban Stewards is offered to schools that serve grades 5-12 in Minneapolis and St. Paul."

Integrating spatial thinking and human-environmental education

We are working to integrate ‘spatial thinking’ as a more explicit component of the EE environmental education curriculum. This project is centered on creating a web-based experience that combines environmental science, geographic information science, and community-based environmental learning.

In working with teachers and EE, we have arrived at several key principles

• Appropriate technology. Many existing successful projects that integrate GIS into K12 education require dedicated computer labs, software budgets, ongoing technical support, and teachers with ample spare time. While this is some ways an ideal situation, we want to demonstrate a project where none of these characteristics are necessary preconditions. We are therefore examining the best way to provide an elegant and straightforward web-based GIS experience in spatial thinking applied to environmental education. We use, for example, web mapping tools to ensure that anyone with net access can use the application.
• Accessibility. Given the wide range of both student preparedness and teacher resources, we are interested in accessible learning opportunities. To the extent possible, all exercises are self-guided and designed for multiple learning styles. This makes the project broadly accessible and reduces both preparation and monitoring effort for educators.
• Sustainability. The project should be as self-sustaining as possible. Through grants from NASA and the McKnight Foundation, U of M offers a small amount of funding over three years (2006-2009) for development and consultation with EE and the Model Schools. EE provides ongoing support as part of its larger focus on the Model Schools curriculum but GIS and spatial thinking are just two of many areas in which they work. Educators can also dedicate some time to learning new material but face an ever growing number of demands on their time. Given this steady but limited level of support, the project should be designed in such a way that there are few barriers to adopt, modify, or assume responsibility for any of the project components.
• Standards. While not driven by educational testing standards, the project should be compatible with, and supportive of, the needs of educators and schools to prepare their students for meeting local, state, and national testing standards.