Spatial Sci is committed to providing educators with valuable resources that support the use of Geotechnologies in K-12 instruction. Below is a list of programs that serve to assist in this endeavor. Some of the sites listed below fall outside of the Spatial Sci domain and are therefore not the responsibility of our organization. If there are sites you would like to see included, please contact us and we will review the site to determine if it meets the goals and objectives of Spatial Sci.

The overall goal of GTEC is to contribute to a national model that improves the teaching and learning of science in grades 5-12 using geotechnologies. The emergence of geotechnologies (satellite imagery and Geographic Information Systems) has revolutionized how scientists interpret and use data. Because of its great analytical power, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is currently used as a research and planning tool in many applications of science such as agriculture (e.g., for precision planting and application of pesticides and fertilizer); environmental planning and research (e.g., to conduct environmental impact assessments and groundwater contamination modeling); forestry (e.g., to model wildfires and plan harvests); and petroleum and mining exploration (e.g., to identify potential locations of oil and mineral deposits).

The focus of the Place Names Project (PNP) is to build cross-cultural relationships between traditional Bitterroot Salish and Pend d’Oreille world views and science using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and traditional cultures. This will be done by establishing relationships with Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal entities and using their input to identify appropriate and accurate information necessary to develop a culturally responsive curriculum entitled The Place Names Project. Each module will be designed using place-based and inquiry teaching strategies and will align with the Essential Understandings regarding Montana Indians and the Montana State Science Standards. The curriculum generated from PNP will engage students in learning how culture affects one’s view of ecology through personal and familial connections with their surroundings and deliver a better understanding of the relationships which exists between the Salish and Pend d’Oreille people and equivalent lands.

Paleo Exploration Project provides intensive professional development for 7th and 8th grade math and science teachers from northeastern Montana , an area that includes the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The project focuses on the application of geospatial technologies, including global positioning systems (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing, to understanding the rich fossil record of the Northern Plains, a subject of great scientific, economic, and cultural significance in the region. Over the next 3 years, University of Montana staff will provide 60 teachers with technology-embedded content instruction in paleontology through a series of four winter workshops. Participating teachers will subsequently use the instructional materials in their classrooms to demonstrate concepts of measurement, algebra, and geometry, and to introduce concepts of scientific modeling, including descriptive, process, statistical, and conceptual models. Teachers will also participate in a 2-week summer institute at the Fort Peck Field Station of Paleontology where they will develop various hands-on learning activities for their students. Approximately 120 students are expected to participate in the summer institute, where they will reinforce concepts learned in class through hands-on use of geospatial technologies and, in doing so, learn about key geological and biological processes. Students will participate in authentic paleontological research, contributing to the development of a geodatabase, and becoming producers rather than merely consumers of new information. Students will also meet professionals who use geospatial technologies that relate to specific community and tribal issues and concerns. A career video series highlighting young geospatial professionals, including women and minorities, in particular, will be produced and widely disseminated though the internet, conferences, and various training programs

Spatial Sci is proud to offer a Certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Our GIS courses are designed to provide anyone interested in GIS the opportunity to gain the necessary skill set to embrace geospatial technologies utilizing the software of Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Arcview. The certificate consists of three courses, each ten weeks in length and each worth three (3) academic credits. You must complete all three classes in order to receive the certificate. Each class is instructor led and class size is limited, so participants have the opportunity of interaction with the instructor and other students. Each class is offered approximately three times a year.