Spatial Thinking and Map Analysis
What makes the discipline of geography unique? How do students of geography make sense of the world? How do geographers view the world.
My research interests fall are guided by the following mega questions
- What is spatial thinking?
- How can spatial thinking be developed?
My doctoral dissertation examined the development of chronological thinking. Some researchers claimed that it was a skill automatically developed by age 16. Having taught sixteen-year olds American history that claim was not mirrored in my experiences in the classroom. What were the components of chronological thinking? Could those components be taught as discrete skills? To what extent could students with that instruction develop that skill?
Inspirational was the work of Dr. Sam Wineburg of Stanford Unversity, in Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts. As a cognitive psychologist and professor of history, he sought to uncover the process used by professional historians as they examined a primary source. He identified three major practices: sourcing (who wrote the document and when): contextualization (what else was going on doing the time period); and corroboration (to what extent do sources agree) In addition there are literacy skills of close reading involved. How did the word choice of the author influence the message?
Could a similar process be applied to the development of the skills involved in map reading? Map reading is a complex cognitive skill involving applying concepts of scale, distance, and direction while applying geoliteracy skills to interpret the symbols and cartographic conventions used on maps. Frequently students learn the parts of a map and can readily recite: title, scale, compass rose, and legend. But is being able to list the parts demonstration of understanding them to make meaning of the information contained in a map.
Reminiscent of the work of Dr. Wineburg, I interviewed academic geographers and teachers of Advanced Placement Geography in order to determine the process they used in interpreting a map. The results of being compiled and will be published in a future article.
In the classroom setting, at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels I have developed the ODCAR process for deriving information from a map. The process consists of 5 steps:
- Observe
- Describe
- Compare
- Analyze
- Reflect
As Dr. Harm Deblij once stated in an interview “If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a map is worth a million words.”