The project described in this paper was developed by the Census Bureau to train census enumerators. The approach called "geographic gameboard," consists of three components: (1) an imaginary, graphically depicted community (Abbotsville, Oklahoma); (2) a census map that corresponds to the census geography of Abbotsville; and (3) blank…

The ecological validity of three spatial ability tests was studied: The Embedded Figures Test, the Shepard/Metzler Mental Rotations Test, and the Differential Aptitude Spatial Relations subtest. The Building Memory Test was also examined in an attempt to replicate a previous study which supported its validity. These four tests were administered to…

Demonstrates how three- and four-year-old children's (N=20) learning of a completely novel route across a city district is enhanced by an accompanying adult making the child aware of potential landmarks. The importance of permanent/ephemeral landmarks in the child's verbal and modelled-map accounts of the route and educational implications are…

Using a map for guiding travel requires: (1) skills in encoding information from a terrain and a map; (2) finding a match between the two; and (3) maintaining the match despite directional shifts from turns on a route. In order to test this analysis, 94 children between the ages of 4 and 6 used maps to locate the route to a goal through a network…

Recounts research regarding elementary education majors' familiarity with world geography. Reports poor performance among 253 students on a geography test designed for use at the high school level. Indicates that the education majors performed best on map reading activities and worst on identification of land forms. Calls for further research. (SG)

This resource book results from a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for 30 teachers conducted in 1992 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Curriculum materials developed were field-tested the following school year. Divided into three sections, part 1, "Essays," contains the following chapters: (1) "Maps in…

Presents the results of an experiment that asked 53 middle school children to identify continent shapes and to arrange them to form a map of the world. Australia, Europe, and Asia were the most recognized. Misidentified and misaligned most consistently were Africa and Antarctica. Discusses possible reasons and teachers' responses. (MJP)

Two studies examining student images of the world as depicted on sketch maps are compared. The first study collected sketch maps of the world drawn by high school and university students in the United States, Canada, Finland, and Sierra Leone to examine the influence of location on student perceptions. The second study collected maps drawn by…

This report presents two experiments that compared the performance of map experts to that of novices. Subjects (from the areas of geography, educational psychology, and sociology) were 13 university faculty members in experiment one and 12 undergraduate students in experiment two. Following a practice trial, the learning of a logical map and a…

Maintains that region familiarity is an important prerequisite in the instructional use of cartograms. Cartograms are value-by-area maps that increase or decrease areas in order to illustrate various data (e.g. book reading in the western United States). Discusses necessary cognitive processes for the visualization of data. (MJP)

Reports on a study where 111 primary age children were asked to map four model landscapes of increasing complexity. The results show an age-related progression from representing hills in elevation only to early experiments with the use of contours. Includes maps, graphs, and statistical data. (MJP)

Presents an ethnomethodological study of how Australian high school geography teachers and students rely on common sense knowledge and reasoning to facilitate learning. Analyzes portions of transcripts from a class activity in which students built a scale model of a city. Explains location categorization devices, illustrating how learning involves…