Voting with Your Hands: GIS and Experiential Learning

Abstract Experiential learning is a trend in liberal arts colleges. Students are increasingly asked to learn by tackling problems beyond the classroom, often in the context of the loca l community. This can mean knowing,how to apply technology and quantitative data to analyze and understand a problem, and GIS is a powerful tool for place -and data -based analysis. In concert with the chairs of the Political Science and Sociology departmen ts, the GIS librarian at Trinity University developed a plan for teaching GIS in a semester - long flagship course on election statistics and redistricting in Bexar county. Course design provided users with early success in using GIS applications and geospat ial data. Emphasis was placed on learning the conceptual aspects of investigatingdata, from issues such as data integrity and geodatabase design to application of the scientific method,in such a context. Giving students experience to take into real -world situations is the ultimate goal. Mapping the skills and qualities of the Millennials to the strength sof GIS. This paper will discuss the integration of GIS into a political science course, recognizing