TEACHING PYTHON SCRIPTING THROUGH ARCGIS

Computer scripting is a powerful tool across many disciplines, allowing not only the automation of basic tasks but the creation of new tools that can be shared among peers. However, many people, especially undergraduate students with limited or no experience with computer programming, are intimidated by the idea of learning to program and feel that it is beyond their ability. In the fall semester of 2016, a series of exercises using the Python package for ArcGIS were introduced into the Applied GIS course at Oberlin College to help students develop these skills. Six exercises were created, which moved the students from making minor edits to existing scripts to creating their own scripts. At the end of the class, we found that students who had little to no confidence in their ability to learn Python beforehand were happy to be exposed, and left the class interested in continuing to learn computer programming and with confidence in their ability to create Python scripts on their own.

The students in the class had a range of backgrounds, from some who had no prior exposure to computer programing to those who had previously taken computer science classes using Python. In an effort to avoid overwhelming students who felt that computer programming was the domain of computer scientists, the exercises were primarily practical and avoided concepts relating to the elements of programming languages. Although all the students were happy to be exposed to Python, and left the class with their confidence increased, many students felt that more time and depth should have been given to these concepts. Ideas like environments, variables, and data had been deemphasized to avoid intimidation, leaving students unable to make the conceptual leaps necessary to begin creating their own scripts.

Even students without prior exposure to computer programming and with limited confidence in their own ability to learn left the class with a view of scripting as a skill that was not only valuable but also attainable. No student thought the Python should be removed from the class, and many thought the focus on Python should be increased. If we wish to give undergraduates basic scripting skills, much can be accomplished by integrating this into existing curriculum, although it is necessary to give students a conceptual base robust enough to build upon.