GIS-Station
The GIS-Station, Centre of Competence for digital Geo-media, is a training institution for teachers and an out-of-school learning place for school and university students as well as families to use digital geo-media. As Competence-Centre the GIS-Station offers seminars, workshops, lesson units and concepts across the topics remote sensing (satellite images), geographic information systems (GIS) and mobile geotools (GPS, etc.). The focus of the diversified program offered is on the methodological and didactical embedding of digital geo-media in a modern school education. The training programs are scientifically accompanied by the Department of Geography at the Heidelberg University of Education.
The GIS-Station is member of Lernort-Labor, the German federal association of School Labs.
Geco-Lab
The “Geco-Lab, Centre of Competence for Geo-ecological Space Exploration” at the Department of Geography at the Heidelberg University of Education builds a bridge between
- the detection of environmental changes in the field
- the exploration and analysis of geographical and geo-ecological processes in the lab and
- the explanation of environmental phenomena in the context of sustainability
Out-of-school learning location
As a School Laboratory the Geco-Lab is an out-of-school learning location. It aims at the training and development of basic scientific skills in various geo-ecological fields of application and the promotion of research-based learning to understand geographical phenomena.
Training institution for teaching staff
As training institution for in-service teachers and trainee teachers the Geco-lab offers courses and workshops concerning the topics soil, vegetation and climate. The courses promote the professionalizing and professional development of teaching staff in the field of geographical and geo-ecological issues and work methods.
Research laboratory for students
For students – in particular pre-service teachers – the Geco-Lab is a basis for a professional training in content, methods and didactics related to geographical and geo-ecological issues. Based upon this, it is also a research laboratory for the development and evaluation of new environmental education concepts.
A current focus within the problem- and action-based educational opportunities in the Geco-Lab is the project “Learning to evaluate regional climate change (ReKli:B)”, sponsored by the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU).
The Geco-Lab is member of Lernort-Labor, the German federal association of School Labs, and of MINT.ub, the network of School Labs in the field of STEM (=Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-environmental education.