Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/705909
Challenge Chesley District Community School is a small, rural K-12 school located in Bruce County, Ontario with approximately 160 grade 9 - 12 students. The school faces an ongoing challenge to keep high school students engaged in geography while operating under a tight budget. Although the school values the importance of teaching GIS fundamentals in geography classes, the small student population means that senior elective courses, such as geomatics and urban geography, risk being cancelled due to low enrollment. To address this, Chesley School's geography teacher, Cory Munro, sought to develop a curriculum that created an immersive learning experience for students by combining the use of new technology with hands-on, self-directed learning opportunities. Mr. Munro needed technology that students could learn quickly and use efficiently as part of experiential learning opportunities that encouraged students to understand better local and global issues in a geographic context. Chesley District Community School combines experiential learning and GIS to improve student engagement Chesley District Community School has sought to engage students in its geography program through a combination of technology and experiential learning. The school adopted ArcGIS and drew upon teaching resources from Esri Canada to encourage engagement in geography classes. In 2008, the school began integrating the geographic inquiry process into lessons that applied fundamental GIS skills to studying real-life scenarios. As a result, student engagement in geography has increased and students are developing valuable skills, such as spatial analysis and collaborative mapping, which they are using in post-secondary studies and beyond. 1 Esri Canada | Small School Gives Students Big Advantage with Commitment to GIS The school identified GIS technology as a natural fit to fulfill its geography curriculum objectives. The school adopted ArcGIS for Desktop and Mr. Munro began integrating the geographic inquiry process into lessons. This self-directed learning model encourages students to ask questions related to geography, Solution