Joseph Kerski, PhD
Short Bio
Joseph Kerski is a geographer with a focus on Analyzing change over space and time across multiple fields of study. His research analyzes the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in education. He has served as the President of the National Council for Geographic Education and has given 2 TED Talks onThe Whys of Where. He holds 3 degrees in geography (BA, MA, PhD) and has served as geographer in 5 major sectors of society, including as an independent consultant, in government (NOAA, US Census Bureau, USGS), academia (University of Minnesota, Harrisburg Area Community College, Penn State University, Sinte Gleska University, University of Denver, others), private industry (as Education Manager for Esri), and in nonprofit organizations (with roles in geography and education associations). Joseph has authored over 100 chapters and articles, and 250 podcasts on GIS, education, space, place, and related topics. He has visited over 400 schools and 400 universities around the world. He regularly conducts professional development for educators. He has created over 9,000 videos, 2,500 lessons, 1,500 blog essays, and authored 12 books, including Teaching Spatial Thinking with GIS, Interpreting Our World, Spatial Thinking in Environmental Contexts, Essentials of the Environment, Spatial Mathematics, Tribal GIS, International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning, the GIS Guide to Public Domain Data, and others. But as a lifelong learner, he feels as though he's just getting started and thus actively seeks mentors, partners, and collaborators.
Education
PhD University of Colorado 2000
MA University of Kansas 1993
BA University of Colorado 1984
Professional Experience
40 years, across 5 sectors of society: Independent Consultant, Government, Nonprofit, Academia, and Industry.
Roles: Consultant, Education Manager, Geographer, Cartographer, Nonprofit Organization President.
Organizations: Joseph Kerski LLC, Esri, USGS, US Census Bureau, 9 universities, 35 campus visits annually
Innovation
Books, chapters, and articles on:
- Teaching AI in GIS
- The implementation and effectiveness of GIS in education.
- Teaching ethics in education.
- Location Analytics in business instruction.
- The value of spatial thinking across subject domains.
Engagement
Advisor: Regular invitee to geospatial associations and higher education campuses on spatial thinking trends, forces, skills, implementation of geotechnologies in teaching, research, and campus facilities.
Advisor: GeoTech Center Consortium of Community Colleges
Advisor: UCGIS University Consortium for GIScience Body of Knowledge
Co-Instructor: Indian Land Trust Foundation, GIS short courses for Indigenous High School Students.
Advisor: Virtual Immersion in Science Inquiry for Teachers (VISIT)
Co-Instructor and Author, Teachers Teaching Teachers GIS (T3G) initiative.
President, National Council for Geographic Education.
Participant: Visiting Scientist Program, for K-12 Schools
Books Authored
- Teaching Spatial Thinking with GIS
- Creating a Smarter Campus
- Teaching Mathematics with Interactive Mapping
- Spatial Thinking in Environmental Contexts: Maps, Archives, and Timelines
- Interpreting Our World: 100 Discoveries That Revolutionized Geography
- Spatial Mathematics: Theory and Practice through Mapping
- Tribal GIS: Supporting Native American Decision-Making
- International Perspectives on Teaching and Learning with GIS in Secondary Schools
- The GIS Guide to Public Domain Data
- The Implementation and Effectiveness of GIS in Secondary Education
- The Essentials of the Environment
Recent Curricular Content
- Mapping and analyzing your field data.
- Using AI tools for mapping and spatial analysis.
- The ethics of mapping.
- Cartographic design: popups, labeling, filtering, symbology, effects and layouts.
- Creating geo-visualizations: infographics, dashboards, story maps, instant apps, and other web mapping applications, communication tools and methods.
- How to investigate specific topics (________) with spatial thinking and geotechnologies: water, landforms, habitat, biomes, energy, natural hazards, equity, business patterns/SCM, natural resources, weather and climate, population and demographics, and others. Here, the emphasis is on content and topic, with GIS serving as the way of investigating that content.
- How to foster and teach spatial, critical and holistic thinking across multiple fields and disciplines (business, economics, data science, history). The focus here is on instructional strategies in formal and informal educational settings, including K-12, school districts, community and tribal colleges, and universities.
