Employing Artificial Intelligence Applications to Enhance Spatial Thinking among High School Students in Geography

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the employment of artificial intelligence applications in enhancing spatial thinking among high school students in geography by examining the impact of smart technologies on developing students’ abilities to analyze spatial relationships and understand the interaction between natural and human phenomena within an interactive educational environment. The study emerged from the observation that traditional teaching methods based on memorization and rote learning still dominate geography education in Iraqi schools, resulting in weak development of geographical and spatial analytical skills among students. The research adopted a quasi-experimental approach in which a sample of sixty high school students was divided into two groups: an experimental group taught using artificial intelligence applications such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), augmented reality, and satellite image analysis, and a control group taught through conventional instructional methods. Several research instruments were employed, including a spatial thinking test, a performance observation checklist, and a questionnaire measuring students’ attitudes toward AI-based learning. The findings revealed statistically significant differences in favor of the experimental group across all dimensions of spatial thinking, particularly in spatial analysis and spatial transformation skills. The study also identified a positive correlation between students’ attitudes toward smart technologies and their level of improvement in spatial thinking. The research concluded that employing artificial intelligence applications not only improves geographical achievement, but also contributes to reshaping students’ spatial awareness and transforming geography from a static descriptive subject into an interactive analytical learning experience based on exploration and participation, in a manner consistent with the requirements of digital transformation in modern education.