Dr. Alycia Hund '97: Integrating GIS into fifth-grade curriculum

Dr. Alycia M. Hund '97 will discuss her study of the effects of geographic information systems (GIS) curriculum on fifth- grade students’ spatial ability and map-analysis skills.

Students from an urban public school district and their teachers participated. Four teachers implemented the GIS curriculum over six weeks while three teachers continued with regular teaching. Both groups completed pre- and post-tests measuring spatial ability and map-analysis skills. Students in the GIS classes demonstrated more growth over time in spatial ability and map-analysis skills than did their peers in the control classes.

Dr. Hund received her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in geography from Augustana in 1997. She earned her Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Iowa in 2003. 

Her visit is sponsored by the Ragnar and Heloise Moline Fund at Augustana. Those who attend may purchase lunch for $1.

Since then, she has been a professor of psychology at Illinois State University. Her teaching focuses on child development, lifespan development, and research methods. Her research focuses on spatial cognitive development. Her collaborative work designing and testing GIS curriculum for elementary teachers and students has been funded by the National Science Foundation.