Web GIS as a pedagogical tool in tourist geography course: the effect on spatial thinking ability and self-efficacy

While Web GIS has been supposed as a useful tool in improving the spatial thinking abilities of students, most existing empirical studies were seldom undertaken in an educational programme providing rather limited geo-technological training to students. This study focuses on tutorial sessions of a tourism geography course in a Singaporean university, in which students usually engaged with very few GIS and other geospatial technologies. Combining a standardised assessment, that is Spatial Thinking Abilities Test, and semi-structured interviews, the study suggests that the implementation of Web GIS, collaborating with students’ major background and pre-existing GIS experience, efficiently enhanced their performance in spatial thinking abilities test; moreover, the exposure to GIS practices during tutorial sessions also stimulated students’ interest in using GIS and enhanced self-efficacy, which further equipped students with stronger motivation to continue learning geography. The paper contributes to existing debates around (Web) GIS as a pedagogical tool through incorporating qualitative interview materials into the discussion.