Maps, Text, and Seventh-Graders: A Study of Spatial Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14714/CP24.752Keywords:
map learning, education, mapsAbstract
The research reported here examines the effectiveness of maps in geography text for seventh grade students by asking them to study either the text alone or the text with maps and then answer questions about the material. We also investigate the influences on students' performance of gender, time of testing (immediate or delayed), and kind of knowledge required (memorization versus inference). Results reveal a consistent advantage associated with the presence of maps but not at levels which are statistically significant. Other findings include a slight advantage of females over males (again, not significant), the fact that inference questions are more difficult to answer than those requiring simple memorization, and (not surprisingly) that students' performance declines over time. We offer possible explanations for our findings, including some related to the research design and the fact that our subjects were seventh-graders.Downloads
Published
1996-06-01
How to Cite
Ramirez, A. D., & Gilmartin, P. (1996). Maps, Text, and Seventh-Graders: A Study of Spatial Learning. Cartographic Perspectives, (24), 3–11. https://doi.org/10.14714/CP24.752
Issue
Section
Featured Articles
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).