Drone-focused curriculum in geography higher education: insights from instructors

Drones as remote sensing platforms have rapidly been adopted and incorporated into higher education coursework in geography and across the geosciences. Not surprisingly, students and faculty alike are interested in broadening their conceptual knowledge while also enhancing practical geospatial skills. Through a survey of 45 instructors, this study examines how drone content is being taught in university-level geography courses (primarily in GIS and remote sensing) in the USA. Instructors as a whole were consistent in emphasizing how drones enhance their instruction due to the hands-on (field-based, from the ground up) factor, but responses reflect disagreement among instructors in terms of what content is important to stress within these courses (i.e. photogrammetric concepts vs. flight school/aircraft operation preparation). Instructors face many challenges in drone-focused courses from equipment purchase and upkeep to institutional factors (e.g., research universities vs. community colleges). Importantly, these instructor insights provide a curricular snapshot and foundation from which instructors can build a more cohesive curriculum moving forward.