Effects of web-based GIS-supported inquiry on eighth-grade students’ academic achievement and spatial thinking in social studies pollution lessons: a mixed method study

Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-supported inquiry is increasingly used into social studies education to support students’ knowledge, spatial thinking skills, and enhance engagement. However, only a few empirical studies have thus far explored the potential for using GIS-supported inquiry in middle school social studies classrooms. To narrow this gap in the literature, this study developed a series of GIS-supported inquiry lessons for middle school social studies classes and examined their effects upon student academic achievement and spatial thinking. The study employed a mixed-method approach, using pre- and post-test assessment to measure both academic achievement and spatial thinking, plus semi-structured interviews to further explore student experiences and perspectives regarding GIS-supported inquiry. Participants included 232 Grade 8 students divided between Experimental and Control Groups. The experimental groups engaged with GIS to perform inquiry, while the control groups covered the same material via traditional inquiry-based methods. The quantitative results revealed that the GIS-supported inquiry approach significantly improved students’ academic achievement p = 0.001 compared to those taught using traditional methods. Moreover, students in the experimental group scored significantly higher (p = .021 < .05), than those in the control group in spatial thinking skills in all three dimensions (concepts of space, tools of representation, and spatial reasoning). The qualitative results revealed that the experimental group expressed positive opinions regarding GIS-supported inquiry lessons. Four major themes emerged from interview data analysis: (i) improved spatial ability, (ii) increased environmental awareness, (iii) provided global perspectives, and (iv) raised engagement and interest. These findings contribute significantly to the social studies field by demonstrating how integrating web-based GIS within an inquiry-based framework can enhance both academic achievement and spatial thinking skills.