Teacher Adoption of Geospatial Tools in Special Needs Secondary History Classrooms: Case Studies
Abstract: One growing trend in history education is the instruction of students with special learning needs. Unfortunately, little research has been done on history education with special needs students, and even less attention has been devoted to technology integration in these settings. This study presents two cases of teacher dyads (a lead teacher and a student teacher) working with special needs students in secondary American history classrooms. The focus of the study is the teachers' adoption of geographic information technologies (GIT) such as Google Earth and ArcMap. General education history teachers have successfully used GIT to enhance instruction; this study will follow the process for these special educators as they integrate geospatial tools into their curricular routines. Data sources include observation, interview, and document analysis.
Presider: Eric Brewster, Johannes Kepler University Linz