Teaching Critical Thinking Skills within Ag Geospatial Curriculum

1
Teaching Critical Thinking Skills within Ag
Geospatial Curriculum

• Ag GIS Education Symposium
• Pismo Beach, California
• January 20, 2006

Terry Brase, Associate Professor Agricultural
Technology Kirkwood Community College Cedar
Rapids, Iowa
2
(No Transcript)
3
Decision-making process

• Identify Question
• Collect data / information about Question
• Summarize data
• Develop potential solutions
• Analyze and select solution
• Implement selected solution
• Reevaluate

4
Examples of decisions

• No-Till or Minimum tillage on a particular field
• Seed or plant variety
• Amount of fertilizer
• Participation in a government program
• Adding drainage tile/terraces/furrows
• Harvesting time
• Irrigation

5
3 Objectives of Precision Farming

• Recordkeeping
• Use of Precision farming tools to record
  inventory, production or management
• Spatial analysis
• Use of tools and records to analyze records for
  decision making
• Variable Rate Application
• Use of tools and analysis to apply correct
  amounts on fields

6
Decision-making

• A decision should be based on accurate and
  complete data.
• This data is summarized to create valuable
  information.
• Information is interpreted (explained) in order
  to make a decision.

7
Tools of Precision Farming

• Global Positioning System
• Geographic Information System
• Computers
• Intelligent Devices and Implements
• Remote Sensing/Digital Imagery

8
How are the tools used?

• Data collection
• IDI sensors to measure and sense soils or
  conditions
• GPS to georeference to a map
• GIS to manage and display data
• Data Analysis
• Statistical Summary - GIS
• Query objects and areas of interest - GIS
• Implementation
• GIS Spatial records in database
• Interpretive maps from GIS
• Variable Rate Application with GPS and IDI

9
Processes of Precision Farming

• Data Collection (builds data)
• Data Analysis (creates information)
• Information Implementation (uses information for
  decision making)
• Duplicates the decision making process

10
What does industry need?

• Graduates that have
• Agronomic skills
• Technical skills
• Work ethics
• Geospatial skills
• Critical thinking

11
Tool vs Processes of Geospatial Technologies

• GPS and GIS are tools used for the processes
• Some programs and courses are designed to teach
  the tools without teaching the processes
• Teaching the tools is training, teaching the
  processes and critical thinking skills is
  education
• Based on what industry needs, we need to be
  concentrating on using geospatial tools to
  enhance critical thinking and work ethic skills

12
Techniques of Data Collection

• Field operations
• Scouting
• As applied variable rate application
• Remotely sensed images
• Yield mapping
• Soil testing
• If we are teaching these without helping the
  student apply it to a problem, then we are
  teaching tools.

13
Sampling techniques
14
Techniques of Data Analysis

• Averaging and summarizing data
• Query selection and averaging data
• Creating Management Zones
• Surface analysis
• Reclassifying data
• Overlay analysis
• Statistical analysis

15
Surfacing techniques
16
Techniques of Interpretation and Implementation

• Suitability map
• Summarize by zones
• Temporal analysis map
• Predictive modeling
• Prescriptive modeling

17
(No Transcript)
18
(No Transcript)
19
Data collection

• In industry managers need data and information
  to make decisions
• Collecting accurate and valid data
• Knowing what data to collect
• Spatial awareness!

20
Data Collection - Critical Thinking Activities

• Intro to Precision Farming
• Introduce the concept of data collection
• Students are assigned random objects and must
  think of attributes that could be collected as
  data and would be valuable for a person managing
  those objects
• Example Students are assigned fireplugs and
  they must think of 3 attributes that could be
  recorded as data. Or trash receptacles, street
  lamps

21
Data Collection - Critical Thinking Activities

• Geospatial Data Collection
• provides advanced techniques in collecting data
• Students must determine data that needs to be
  collected.
• Identify their own project (park, cornfield, golf
  course...) and the problem to be solved.
• Students must define the question, develop a list
  of attributes and data that they collect for
  their project

22
Data Collection - Critical Thinking Activities

• Outcomes from class Students must
• Build a project with data
• Create a final map of collected data
• Present contact with map and data

23
Data Analysis

• Data collected in the field must be analyzed to
  come up with usable information.
• A map that is easy to interpret and provides the
  information to assist in a decision

24
Data Analysis - Critical Thinking Activities

• Agricultural Spatial Analysis
• Develop the ability to create interpretative maps
  from which a decision can be made.
• Students are given an example of a technique
  example, suitability map
• The process is demonstrated from question to
  answer
• Students then decide if the interpretative
  technique is appropriate for their problem
• Students must develop an example of an
  agriculturally related question that could be
  answered using a suitability map
• One question is selected and students are given
  the task of answering that question.

25
Answering the question

• Once the suitability map has been created, the
  student must provide an oral description
  (interpretation) of what it means and provide a
  recommendation for implementation or a decision.
• Student provides an interpretative map and
  presentation to contact
• Analysis skills
• Communication skills

26
Summary

• GPS and GIS are tools that can be used in almost
  any discipline
• GPS and GIS are cool and fun!
• Critical thinking skills can taught with GPS and
  GIS

27
107 Washington Hall Kirkwood CC 6301 Kirkwood
Blvd Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 (866)
4AGKNOW www.agknow.org
Terry Brase [phone] tbrase_at_kirkwood.edu www
.kirkwood.edu/faculty/tbrase