Replications as Project Based Learning in Geographic Information Science

The curricular models used to teach GIScience may leave students underprepared to independently address real-world problems. Scholars have identified an overreliance on step-by-step tutorials as a key issue and have called for changes in curriculum design. We argue that one solution to these problems is for students and instructors to work together to attempt to replicate recently published empirical studies. The inclusion of replication projects in the GIScience classroom provides a number of benefits including immersing students in current scientific debates, linking student work to unresolved questions, all while increasing the body of replication studies in the geographic literature. Here, we conceptually link project-based learning and replication, and provide an actionable framework and classroom materials educators can use to integrate replications into a semester course. Drawing on our experience attempting replications with students, we discuss common challenges faced when implementing this approach and the path to successfully publishing such studies.