From Theory to Practice: Design Principles for Teaching with Earth Observation Data Using the Key Concept “Spatial Patterns”

Earth Observation (EO) data provide significant opportunities for geography education, enabling students to better understand our changing world. To make this powerful knowledge accessible, the German key geographic concept of “spatial patterns” provides a promising foundation for helping students understand spatial relationships. However, little is known about how to apply this key geographic concept in task design and how students engage with EO data. In addition, the integration of EO data into geography education is often constrained by insufficient teacher expertise. Against this background, the present study employed a Design-Based Research approach to develop empirically grounded design principles that support teachers. To achieve this, the study developed and refined tasks that enabled lower secondary students to engage with EO data. Over three research cycles, both qualitative and quantitative data were collected to examine students’ strategies, challenges, and outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of an analytical framework based on the key concept “spatial patterns” to help students engage with EO data. In addition, targeted prior knowledge and further scaffolding are necessary. Although students were able to analyze EO data and use spatial thinking skills, they continued to face challenges with open-ended tasks and recognizing the limitations of EO data. The study concludes with practical design principles and implementation guidelines to assist teachers in developing learning materials.