Teach

Geospatial data is a powerful learning and teaching tool. Using GIS in a secondary or post-secondary classroom has been shown to increase students’ spatial thinking and higher-order learning skills. QGIS is a particularly useful GIS platform for educational use because it is free and open source. Once downloaded, both QGIS and the QGreenland data package run offline whether in classrooms, at home, or in the field. 

QGreenland can be used for a wide variety of learning topics, skills, and practices, including: Earth's systems and climate, cryospheric and hydrologic processes, Arctic processes and ecosystems, modeling and using model data, and analyzing and interpreting data. 

Explore both our introductory tutorials and teaching resources.

Teaching Topics

From Greenland to our Coasts: Exploring Sea Level Change with QGreenland

QGreenland Resource
introductory
This lesson uses QGIS to visualize and engage with QGreenland data to answer questions about Greenland’s influence on global climate systems. Students will explore how sea level change has different effects around the world and will evaluate the risks associated with sea level rise by creating a map of flood risk areas. This lesson spans two 60-minute class periods (or two hours) and is best suited for upper high school- or introductory undergraduate-level classes.
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Querying with QGreenland

QGreenland Resource
introductory
These quick, one-page tutorials focus on how to analyze or ‘query’ QGreenland datasets using beginner-level geoprocessing tools. After completing these tutorials students will understand how to 1) calculate the volume of the Greenland ice sheet, 2) select populated places in Greenland with more than 5,000 people, and 3) calculate the total population of Greenland’s towns and settlements. However, these tutorials are designed to introduce users to interacting with the QGreenland data package more broadly – and skills gained in these tutorials are transferrable to exploring other data within it, too. These tutorials span 15-20 minutes each and are best suited for beginner QGIS users.
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QGreenland Beginner's Tutorial Series

QGreenland Resource
introductory
This video series educates learners on the QGreenland Core data package and shares tutorials on the basic geospatial data analysis tools that make QGreenland a powerful tool for research, education, and local decision- making. Learners will learn what data is included in the QGreenland Core Package, analyze Greenland data using geoprocessing tools, and find analysis tools and data relevant to their experiences or classes. The video series contains seven short video tutorials which in total span about one hour, and is best suited for beginner GIS or QGIS users.
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Introduction to Point Data in QGIS

External Resource
introductory
This lesson introduces foundational skills for viewing and editing geospatial data using real-world examples. Through using the QGreenland data package students will learn how to view point data, access and interpret a vector attribute table, and create new data by adding a point in QGIS. This activity spans a total of 60 minutes, which can act as a two-part stand-alone lesson, and is best suited for use in middle or high school classes or as a singular introductory activity in a more comprehensive GIS class in an undergraduate setting.
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Introduction to Glacial Change in Greenland

External Resource
introductory
This lesson explores glacial changes through observations and measurements on the retreat and advance of glaciers in Greenland using the QGreenland data package. Students will understand trends in glacial changes as well as how glaciers are affected by climate change. This activity spans around 80 minutes and is best suited for an introductory undergraduate class with no background knowledge of geology or GIS needed.
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Ice Sheet Albedo

External Resource
advanced
This lesson uses the QGreenland data package in QGIS to observe spatial-temporal albedo trends in the Greenland ice sheet. At the end of the lesson, students will understand regional-scale processes and how atmospheric-oceanic forcings affect variations in ice sheet albedo. This activity takes approximately 120 minutes and is best suited for advanced undergraduate or graduate students. Students require background knowledge in glaciology and ice sheet dynamics.
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PolarPASS: Polar Place and Spaces

External Resource
intermediate
This is a Polar Places and Spaces (PolarPASS) resource focused on educating learners about the glacier basin system, ice margin retreat, climate variability, and anthropogenic forcings. Students will gain a greater understanding of ice dynamics, glaciers, and climate change. This resource contains two modules that can each be spread across 2-3 weeks and is best suited for upper division undergraduate environmental science and geoscience classes. Parts of this material use the QGreenland data package.
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Best practices for making geospatial data analysis-ready

QGreenland Resource
intermediate
This lesson focuses on how to make geospatial data analysis ready and useable alongside QGreenland. After interacting with these materials, students will better understand how to make geospatial data analysis-ready with QGIS tools, how to best format geospatial data, key open science concepts, and key metadata concepts for geospatial data. This activity takes around 185 minutes, and is content ideally spread across 3 days. It is content best suited for engagement by intermediate QGIS users.
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