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eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

SPACE (2003‒2009) was a CSISS program established through NSF funding to advance spatial thinking within undergraduate education in the social sciences. The goal of SPACE was to strengthen academic programs and student capabilities to integrate information scientifically and spatially across a broad range of disciplinary and policy domains. The tools for building a strong emphasis on spatial thinking in social science curricula included geographic information systems (GIS), spatial pattern recognition, spatially statistics, cartographic representation, and place-based search methodologies. The program centered on national-level, week-long, workshops for more than 200 university undergraduate teachers. The workshops, taught by outstanding instructors, were supplemented with web-based teaching and learning resources, and follow-up activities. The program was designed to prepare teachers for the integration of spatial technologies into the curricula and to achieve faculty development objectives focused on instructional relationships that bring intellectual challenges to students. SPACE was managed through a consortium consisting of the University of California, Santa Barbara; The Ohio State University; and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science. This eScholarship repository of reports and other publications documents the activities and outcomes of the program.

Cover page of Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE)—Final Report

Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE)—Final Report

(2009)

Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE) was funded under the national disseminationtrack of the National Science Foundation’s Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program. The objective of SPACE was to initiate systemic change in undergraduate education for the social sciences by focusing on the value of spatial thinking and associated technologies—geographic informationsystems (GIS) and tools for spatial analysis. The primary activities for achieving SPACE goals were eleven week-long residential workshops to provide undergraduate instructors with basic skills in GIS and spatial analysis, and to introduce them to the latest techniques,software, and learning resources. This report describes these workshops and the outcomes for enhancing undergraduate social science education through spatial analysis.

Cover page of Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement—poster overview

Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement—poster overview

(2008)

This poster summarizes the goals and workshop programs associated with SPACE and its approach to enhancing spatial perspectives in curriculum development for undergraduate social science education. The poster also presents a summary profile of more than 200 program participants by discipline, gender, and minority representation; and, it describes the results of entry and exit surveys.

Cover page of Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE)—brochure

Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE)—brochure

(2005)

This brochure describes the SPACE program (2003-2009) and its National Education Workshops to provide undergraduate social science instructors with basic skills in GIS and spatial analysis, exposing them to the latest techniques, software, and learning resources.

Cover page of Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE)—Proposal to NSF

Spatial Perspectives on Analysis for Curriculum Enhancement (SPACE)—Proposal to NSF

(2003)

This NSF Proposal (0231263: NSF 02-043 CCLI National Dissemination) helped launch a program to enhance the exposure of spatial analytic thinking and spatial technologies into the social science undergraduate curriculum. The proposal develops the goals, programs, and outreach initiatives associated with national professional development workshops for undergraduate faculty. Partner institutions included UC Santa Barbara (Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research and the Department of Geography), Ohio State University (Department of Geography), and the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science.