Cirques are often the most representative and numerous landforms in alpine glaciated watersheds. The readily mappable and measurable nature of cirques (especially aspects and floor elevations) may yield information about the climatic, geologic, and topographic conditions that created them. These ubiquitous landforms are the foci of an alpine…

This article reviews the potential of kite-mapping as part of an interdisciplinary and multinational field course. It situates kite-mapping as a low cost, high quality, participatory approach, in relation to field use of maps, arguing that research might usefully attend to more than simply the skills acquired during the field exercise and the…

Children's cognitive skills change substantially from the time they enter school at about the age of five to when they graduate from high school a dozen years later. Some changes can be attributed to the school curriculum, but others are part of children's developmental evolution as they mature and interact with the world. Rather than reviewing…

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the alleged special difficulties in teaching very young children how to interpret cartographic symbols. Adults too often reduce or temporarily destroy interest by introducing too many complications too fast. There is a vast difference between acceptance of a fact and understanding of the cause of the fact.…

Orienteering is a rapidly growing sport, developed in Sweden, which has great possibilities for education in geography. It can be conceived as an organizing device for outdoor work and as a basis for developing map skills and for map construction. (Author)

Presents hands-on activities to help teach elementary students map skills during Geography Awareness Week. The map skills are made fun by being incorporated into meaningful activities like learning about global resources, tracking the progress of sports teams, and conducting climate experiments in faraway places. (SM)

Describes the importance of children developing proper mapping skills to help them understand their life space as they mature. Explains topological, projective, and Euclidean concepts in relation to how children should be taught about space concepts used in mapping. Focuses on integrating topological experiences into pre-school, primary grades…

A step-by-step strategy for teaching secondary geography students about the concept of elevation using topographic maps is described. Students view slides of everyday examples of variations in elevation, produce a simple contour map using a layered model of a mountain, and analyze topographic maps of their own and other areas. (RM)

Examines the function of maps in forming images of the world. States that maps are subjective, inaccurate portrayals of the earth in that they exhibit the biases of their makers and hence their cultures. Recommends viewing several maps or different projections to become aware of strengths and limitations of map types. Includes suggested teaching…

This monograph discusses the importance of maps and mapping techniques for students in elementary and secondary school geography classes. Maps are interpreted to include plotter print outs, space and aerial photographs, plastic three-dimensional relief models, spatial images on cathode ray tubes, and holographs (images produced by laser beams).…

Presents a lesson plan that enables children to identify their community as a nodal region. Includes field trips, map tracing and comparison, discussion, and observation. Emphasizes children's analysis of the effect of rail transportation on their community. Suggests using the students' community as a geographic laboratory for hands-on experience.…

Presents the steps for drawing a block-diagram from a map in the area of structural geology. The author recommends first platting on the orthographic net, all directional data with respect to geographical reference axes. (Author/SA)

Asserts that writing a critical atlas review is often a requirement for cartography courses because it forces students to think analytically about cartographic presentation and theory. Presents a choropleth map review exercise that can be used as an alternative to the atlas review or as an independent instructional activity. (CFR)

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using simple equipment on teaching plan map concepts as a main topic in a surveying course of vocational education. Six groups of students, enrolled in the surveying course, were randomly selected and pre-tested to examine their experience on plan map concepts. Three groups received…

The paper describes a method of using simulation games with inverted maps to teach college undergraduates basic cartographic and spatial knowledge in geography. The author discusses the nature of simulation gaming in terms of the conflicting needs for structure and open-endedness, then identifies his major objective in developing the new approach.…