Course Syllabus
Instructor contact information
Instructor:
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Course Vision for GIS 250
GIS is the science of collecting, visualizing, and analyzing data associated with location. Among other applications, GIS analysts use location to help mitigate environmental hazards, assess building sites, organize physical assets, find mineral resources, map animal migration, optimize supply chains, site a new business, track pollutants, and plan urban growth and sustainability.
Many professionals in geology, engineering, agriculture, business, and the environmental, health, and social sciences are expected to have a working knowledge of GIS concepts and skills. This project-based class introduces those concepts and provides hands-on experience using industry-standard GIS software (ArcGIS Pro). Most applications we will study in this course are specific to the natural sciences (since that is my area of specialty), but the concepts we will learn are applicable across industries and platforms.
NOTE: This course contains complex visual maps and uses ArcGIS Pro which would be difficult to use with a screen reader. If you have a disability that prevents you from accessing these course materials or using this software, please contact Disability Services (Links to an external site.).
Course Aims
At the end of the course, students should be able to:
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- Explain fundamental concepts of geographic information science using correct vocabulary.
- Use location analytics to problem-solve in varied disciplines.
- Apply intermediate-level cartographic techniques to tell a story using spatial data.
- Manage and query spatially referenced vector and raster data in a geodatabase.
- Edit and digitize vector data using intermediate-level tools in industry-standard software.
- Interpolate spatial data.
- Georeference and apply coordinate system transformations to spatial data.
- Analyze terrain using digital elevation data.
- Analyze continuous and discrete raster data.
- Troubleshoot GIS software and data.
Cultivating geospatial expertise and professional attributes
During this course, we are working to develop the following attributes that are crucial in a professional GIS technician or analyst. Please consider these characteristics as you complete assignments and course activities.
A GIS expert should:
• Be spatially minded
• Have a dogged determination to solve difficult problems
• Be aware of available resources to help solve difficult problems
• Have good attention to detail
• Have a caring attitude (in other words, GIS benefits my organization, and I must do a good job)
• Be creative (in both a problem-solving and artistic sense)
• Be analytical
• Be an independent thinker, learner, and worker
• Be willing to ask a colleague for help after exhausting available resources
• Be careful to not overstate outcomes (accuracy matters)
• Be patient with hardware and software issues (when all else fails, reboot!)
• Above all, be patient with yourself! (You will feel dumb sometimes.)
Learning Model
- Prepare: Students prepare for the week's assignments by completing the reading and the associated quiz, and using the Explore assignment as practice for their weekly Create assignment.
- Teach One Another: Students share, discuss, and teach each other via discussion boards.
- Ponder & Prove: The Create assignment is the major project of the week where students work to stretch themselves and complete a major project to prove their learning.
Course requirements
To accomplish these objectives and develop these attributes—or any others you set for yourself—you’ll need to pay a price. Whatever level you are at now, as you genuinely invest in the assignments for this course, you will become a budding GIS expert.
Workload and Time Management
Since this is a three-credit course, it is expected that students, on average, will spend about 9-12 hours per week on coursework, or about 3-4 hours per credit per week. Please plan your schedule accordingly. Some weeks the Explore assignment is more time consuming than the Create assignment; other weeks the reverse is true.
Group Work
Students will be assigned to teams of three or four students to share and help each other. Students are encouraged to ask questions and collaborate with their team outside of class. I want you to do your own work on assignments, but feel free to share ideas and ask your fellow team members for help if you get stuck.
Late Work
As a sign of professionalism and respect, you should complete your work on time. However, your instructor has the discretion to accept late work or extend due dates as appropriate.
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- All late assignments are penalized at a rate of 10% per calendar day; exceptions must be approved in advance by the instructor. If you have some extenuating circumstance that prevents you from completing an assignment, please reach out to your instructor as soon as possible.
Exams
Exams will typically include multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and short essay questions. Additionally, you may be assessed on practical skills developed in ArcGIS Pro software.
Grading
| BYU-Idaho Grading Scale | |||||||
| 93-100% | A | 90-93% | A- | 87-90% | B+ | ||
| 83-87% | B | 80-83% | B- | 77-80% | C+ | ||
| 73-77% | C | 70-73% | C- | 67-70% | D+ | ||
| 63-67% | D | 60-63% | D- | Below 60% | F | ||
Activities in this course will be weighted as follows to calculate the final grade:
| Learn | 15% |
| Explore | 20% |
| Create | 30% |
| Cartographic Peer Review | 10% |
| Midterm and Final Exam | 25% |
Course Materials
There will not be a formal textbook in this course. Occasional readings may be assigned from other sources that will be provided by your instructor.
It is required that you install ArcGIS Pro on your personal computer in order to complete assignments in this course. (NOTE: ArcGIS Pro only runs on Windows-based computers. Here are instructions for installing it.)
Canvas
Canvas is our primary medium for grading, feedback, and announcements in this class. It is your responsibility to monitor Canvas periodically so you are aware of grade entry, comments on assignments, and announcements. Please download the Canvas student app on your phone and turn on notifications so you can stay up-to-date on our course.
Weekly Pattern
The Learn assignments are due on Tuesdays, Explore assignments on Thursdays, and Create assignments on Saturdays. All assignments are due at 11:59 PM on their due date.
NOTE: The course schedule and weekly pattern are tentative and subject to change.
Weekly Assignments and Deliverables
Each week in GIS250, you’ll complete three connected assignments—Learn, Explore, and Create.
They’re designed to help you move from understanding new GIS ideas, to trying new tools, to applying what you’ve learned in your own work.
Learn Assignment
The Learn assignment introduces the week’s topic. You’ll read about new GIS terms, concepts, and examples while answering quiz-style questions along the way.
These assignments are set up in Canvas as interactive “workbook” quizzes—you read and answer as you go. The questions are there to help you check your understanding before you start working in ArcGIS Pro.
Explore Assignment
The Explore assignment gives you hands-on practice with new GIS tools and workflows. You’ll usually work through a guided tutorial, then record what you learned in your Learning Journal using the provided template.
Each weekly Learning Journal entry includes:
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The tutorial name(s) and link(s)
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A short insight about what you learned or found interesting
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Screenshots of your map or results
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A table of tools and processes showing what each tool did and why you used it
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Answers to any assignment questions
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A list of data sources you used or discovered
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The Learning Journal is something you build throughout the semester—it becomes a record of the skills and data sources you can refer to in future GIS work.
Create Assignment
The Create assignment is where you apply what you’ve learned to make something new. You’ll use ArcGIS Pro to analyze data, design maps, and make decisions about how to classify, symbolize, and present your results.
Each Create assignment adds a new entry to your Create Portfolio, which will look a bit different each week depending on the requirements of each assignment. A typical Create Portfolio entry might include:
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A map layout or visualization (exported as a JPEG or PDF)
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Screenshots of key steps in your workflow (when asked for)
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Answers to analysis-based questions we'll ask you as you complete the assignment.
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Because there’s variation in what we’ll ask you to do each week, there isn’t a set template for the Create assignments. Instead, carefully read the instructions and review the rubric to make sure you’re meeting all requirements.
Over the semester, your Create Portfolio will show how your GIS skills have grown and give you a collection of projects you can look back on—or share later with a potential employer.
Cartographic Review Discussion Boards
In select weeks, you’ll complete a Cartographic Review, where you offer thoughtful feedback on your classmates’ maps and receive insights to strengthen your own. After submitting your Create assignment on Saturday night, you’ll post your map to the Cartographic Review discussion board. From there, you’ll have until Tuesday night to return and provide feedback on your peers’ maps. You’ll also read the comments you receive and use those suggestions to guide and refine your future cartographic work.
University Policies
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use Policy
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools—such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Grammarly, and similar systems—are powerful and increasingly common in academic and professional settings, including GIS. Used thoughtfully, they can support learning, exploration, and problem-solving. Used carelessly, they can undermine the very skills this course is designed to develop.
As Elder David A. Bednar has taught, AI “has the potential of advancing knowledge, improving our quality of life, facilitating communication and connection, enhancing personal learning and growth, and fostering creativity and innovation.” Used appropriately, AI can function as a valuable learning aid and professional tool.
At the same time, AI cannot generate truth, judgment, or discernment. At BYU-Idaho, intelligence is understood as light and truth, and developing discernment requires effort, reflection, and personal engagement. If an AI output conflicts with course material, spatial reasoning, or what you know to be correct, it is your responsibility to pause, evaluate, and decide rather than accept it uncritically.
You are paying for this course (and it is also subsidized by sacred tithing funds) to learn how to think critically, reason spatially, and solve GIS problems independently. My responsibility as your instructor is not simply to help you complete assignments, but to help you develop the intellectual habits and technical judgment you will need as a future GIS practitioner, when automated tools may be unavailable, incorrect, or misleading.
For this reason, overreliance on AI is not a neutral choice. Elder Bednar has warned that dependence on AI can lead us to become “spiritually slothful and shallow” by neglecting the effort through which real growth occurs. The same principle applies intellectually: when thinking is routinely outsourced, understanding weakens and critical skills atrophy.
AI is not going away, and learning when and how to use it appropriately is part of professional preparation. In this course, AI should function as a learning aid—similar to a tutor or troubleshooting assistant—not as a substitute for your own reasoning.
Assignment-Level AI Expectations
Because different assignments assess different skills, AI use in this course is governed at the assignment level using a clear traffic-light system:
- 🟢 Green Light – AI use is permitted and may be encouraged.
- 🟡 Yellow Light – Limited, specific uses of AI are allowed and will be clearly defined.
- 🔴 Red Light – AI use is not permitted at any stage of the assignment.
Always check assignment instructions carefully. If expectations are unclear, ask before submitting your work.
Responsibility and Disclosure
When AI tools are permitted (yellow and green light assignments):
- You remain fully responsible for the accuracy, appropriateness, and ethical use of anything submitted.
- AI suggestions—such as tool choices, parameters, projections, analyses, or text—must make spatial and conceptual sense. “The AI told me to” is not a defense.
- When required, you must briefly disclose how AI was used and distinguish your own work from AI-assisted work. This includes pasting your actual AI prompts into your answers when you use AI assistance.
- Example: You can’t remember the name of a geoprocessing tool during a Create assignment, so you describe it to ChatGPT (“a tool that creates a subset of features”), which provides the name of the tool (“the Clip tool”). This exchange should be documented in your Create assignment portfolio entry.
When AI tools are not permitted (red light assignments):
- Any use of AI constitutes unauthorized assistance and will be treated as a violation of academic honesty policies.
The Goal of This Policy
The goal of this policy is not punishment or surveillance. It is to ensure that when you leave this course, you can:
- explain what you did and why
- recognize when a GIS method makes spatial sense (and when it doesn’t)
- solve real GIS problems without outsourcing your thinking
AI should support your learning, not replace it.
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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