Abstract:

The importance of teaching science through a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) perspective presented in this paper describes the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis of the 7.5 magnitude earthquake and its aftermath in Sulawesi, Indonesia in 2018. GIS provides students with the capability of developing maps, utilizing real world data that can be queried producing visualizations revealing trends and patterns. Similarly, the STEM subjects require students to ask questions, collect, analyze data, and come to conclusions. The commonality of their goals in imbibing the methods of science to problem solve and critically think while integrating quantitative analysis and technology, promotes the multidiscipline usage of GIS. As we know disasters such as earthquakes, severely affect communities and cripple their economies, infrastructure, and societies. Preservice teachers receive hands-on experience and learn to navigate and use the GIS software through a series of exercises. They apply the GIS skills learned to model the decision-making process and implementation plans that is a characteristic response to mitigating the aftermath of the disaster. The investigative role GIS plays is significant, as emergency planners require to collect, store and analyze and share the geospatial information to various agencies that assess the risk, support the operations and restore the communities that are affected by the disaster. Engaging preservice teachers in the exploration of the online database provided by the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and data imported from the Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX), an open-source database that is publically available, allows them to compare information and choose appropriate data sets for analysis. GIS maps are interactive, and map users can choose to see for example roads, rivers, location of hospitals and buildings. The use of satellite images of the before and after the earthquake are useful for visually estimating the change that has occurred in the region. Preservice teachers not only learn the facts associated with earthquakes, they are also exposed to the vulnerability of the region to tsunamis and volcanoes. Geographic inquiry and STEM pedagogy of scientific inquiry are very similar in process except for the spatial component of objects, events and phenomenon. This presentation advances and supports the theme of STEM education, and discusses how preservice teachers enrolled in a science methods course can examine societal issues through the lens of geospatial technologies, specifically GIS and ArcGIS online and learn to educate middle and high school students about problem solving and critical thinking using innovative technologies.

Keywords:

Geographic Information System, STEM, Preservice Teachers, Natural Disasters.