Abstract
In the field of environmental sustainability and landscape management, geospatial thinking is necessary. A good level of geospatial thinking is related to academic success in engineering degrees. It is relevant, therefore, to detect the possible deficiencies that university students may have in tasks related to geospatial thinking. This research presents the results of a 2014‒2019 multiyear study with agricultural engineering students, in which seven geospatial tasks were analyzed. The statistical analysis shows that geospatial tasks related to slope, stream/water flow, visibility, and relief interpretation are the best at predicting the final course mark. The present research provides quantitative data on the efficiency that four technologies have to reinforce geospatial thinking focused on each task. Augmented Reality is an appropriate 3D technology for geospatial tasks related to route search, stream/water flow, and elevation points. SketchUp Make 2017 and Autodesk 123D Make showed their potential to solve tasks related to terrain slope and visibility analysis. Spatial Data Infrastructure has given the best results in geospatial tasks related to the photointerpretation of the relief and with topographic profiles of the terrain. Our findings will help teachers to select the most appropriate geospatial tasks to include in their courses.
Highlights
Since the middle of the last century, many researchers have announced that the increasing demands for resource consumption and population growth, among other factors, are unsustainable on an Earth with limited capacity [1,2,3]
The correlation between students’ ability to solve geospatial tasks and their final grade coincides with previous studies that correlated a high level of geospatial thinking with the success of students in STEM degrees [18,46,47,48]
The results of the present study focus on geospatial tasks frequently used in landscape analysis
Summary
Since the middle of the last century, many researchers have announced that the increasing demands for resource consumption and population growth, among other factors, are unsustainable on an Earth with limited capacity [1,2,3]. In this context, geospatial technologies are an efficient resource for the analysis and planning of sustainable development [5]. Geospatial disciplines related to the representation of the Earth’s surface are increasingly focusing on aspects related to sustainability [6]. Authors such as Scott and Rajabifard [7] From its specificity and scope, constitute a favorable environment for sustainability education and research [6,8]. The increasing numbers of geospatial applications, as well as 3D technologies for the topographic representation of the Earth’s surface, form a solid baseline tool for an education in sustainable development
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
