Rethinking GIS Education: Teaching Critical Spatial Storytelling in Libraries (Lightning Round)

At Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) Libraries, we are working to change the focus of GIS education from the “how to” method to “why model” method. This includes broadening efforts to engage students and faculty in spatial literacy, not only in understanding analysis of large spatial data sets but how and for what purpose these data sets were generated. We also engage students in critical evaluations of the algorithms and software behind the maps they make. To explore this topic in library settings, we have organized a spatial storytelling workshop series that brings people from different colleges around CMU together with members of the broader Pittsburgh community to evaluate methods of digital storytelling through online story mapping platforms or tools. By approaching GIS skills through the lens of data analysis and finding a research story, we communicate to students the importance of critical spatial thinking alongside the basics of GIS tool use. We hope that by providing these workshop materials publically anyone from academic or community libraries to K-12 educators can participate