The purpose of our study was to pilot the GIS-based study module which had been developed
in the NEED project. Data were collected during piloting in order to assess student-teachers’
familiarity with Google Earth, the role of Google Earth in improving student-teachers’
content knowledge of geology as well as their geographical thinking and finally to get
student-teachers’ ideas and opinions about how best to develop the GIS-based study module.
Although Google Earth is a well-used, widely known computer program, the science
student-teachers who participated in this study had little experience of it. They had occasionally
visited some areas of Google Earth, but its wider adaption, for example, its use
in studying, was limited. If the teacher students’ main subject had been geography, the
results might have been different. On the basis of this study, students who have studied
geography as their minor subject will have to improve their IT skills, in order to acquire
fluency in teaching with Google Earth. The students’ uncertainty in using Google Earth
made piloting more difficult, as about half the time that had been reserved for piloting was
spent in becoming acquainted with Google Earth. This study showed that even though the
students had little experience of Google Earth, they still estimated that it is possible to
study many geographical and geologic phenomena with the program.
According to the students, GIS-based PBL and teaching helps to improve geographical
content knowledge due to the fact that different phenomena can be approached with GIS
from the map layer point of view. Observation during the GIS class also indicated that
science student-teachers have a somewhat shallow knowledge of geology.
The students had some good ideas for developing GIS tasks. Clear instructions and
simple tasks were most wanted in the development of student-centered tasks, but simultaneously,
the teacher’s role as supervisor was also emphasized.