Transcript Spatial Thinking PowerPoint.

Thinking About
© 2009 Phil Gersmehl
Michigan Geographic Alliance
New York Center for Geographic Learning
1
Eight ways
of thinking about locations,
conditions, and connections
2
Location
The idea of location is the “entrance ticket”
to a geographic inquiry.
- Where is it ?
- Why is it there ?
- Why is that important ?
3
Location
Place
The conditions
“right there”
at a location
Movement
The connections
a location has
with other places
4
Location
Spatial
Place ThinkingMovement
How the brain organizes
information about locations,
their conditions, and connections.
5
Spatial
Comparison
comparing this place
to another one
I already know
6
Spatial
Comparison
Are places the same or different?
Does one place have more or less
than another place?
What places are higher
(mountainous), larger, wetter,
drier, nicer, colder, safer?
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Comparison
How are places
similar or different?
Which
Great Lake
is home to
the largest
urban
area?
8
Which is
bigger, the
Upper
Peninsula or
the Lower
Peninsula?
Comparison
What is
another way
they are
different?
Which city on
average is
cooler – Ann
Arbor or
Marquette?
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How are places
similar or different?
Comparison
Where are most
of the large cities
located?
10
Spatial
Aura
finding places that
have an influence
over this place
How does this
place influence
other places?
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Spatial
Aura
How does a big city influence
nearby places?
How does a body of water
influence nearby places?
12
Aura
Why are there more
highways around
Detroit than Gaylord?
What kinds of
businesses might
grow up
around a big city?
How does Lake
Michigan influence
weather on the west
coast of Michigan?
13
Spatial
Region
putting similar places
together in a group
14
Spatial
Region
What places are near each other
and are alike in some way
(have similar conditions)?
15
Region
What groups of
nearby places
are similar?
What geographic characteristics
do each language group region
have in common?
16
Region
What human
regions are
evident?
Can you draw
a mental line
around a region
of high land?
17
Region
Paris Metro (Transit) Region
Do language regions
coincide with country
boundaries?
What groups of
nearby places have
similar characteristics
or connections?
18
Spatial
Transition
arranging places
in a sequence
19
Spatial
Transition
How do conditions change
as we move along a journey?
What comes earlier,
and what comes later?
Is the change gradual,
or is the change abrupt?
20
Transition
How do
conditions
change as
you travel
from one
place to
another?
21
Transition
Based on this map, can you predict
how the scenery would change as you
drive from Lansing north on US
127/I75 to Sault Ste. Marie?
What other physical
changes might you
see on this route?
22
Transition
Based on this map, can you predict
how the scenery would change as you
drive from Lansing north on US
127/I75 to Sault Ste. Marie?
What other physical
changes might you
see on this route?
23
Spatial
Hierarchy
putting small places
Inside of large places
Moscow is inside Russia;
Russia is inside Eurasia.
24
Spatial
Hierarchy
Is a place a part
of something larger?
What smaller pieces
are inside a larger piece?
Is a smaller river part of
(connected to) a larger river?
25
hierarchy
How are
smaller
places
related to
larger
ones?
26
Put the following
places in order
from inside to
outside.
Michigan
Ingham
County
Lansing
Midwest
hierarchy
27
hierarchy
How are
smaller entities
related to
larger ones?
How do rivers
and tributaries
help show
boundaries
of watersheds?
28
Spatial
Analogy
identifying places
in similar positions
Traverse City
is to the Boardman River
and Grand Traverse Bay
as Saginaw
is to the Saginaw River
and the Saginaw Bay
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Spatial
Analogy
What features or conditions
tend to occur in similar positions?
As a result, do they have
other features in common?
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Analogy
Why do places with
similar locations
have similar
characteristics?
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What do these
towns have in
common?
Ads
by
Goo
gle
Why were they
good places to
put sawmills in
the late 1800’s?
Analogy
Lak
e
Orio
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Mov
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Loca
lLong
Dist
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Mov
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Mov
ing
Co
mpa
ny in
Lake
Orio
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ww
w.La
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rion
Mov
ers.
com
W or
k.
Live
.
Mic
higa
n.
Jobs
.
Inter
nshi
ps.
Cool
Co
mpa
nies.
Pla
ces
to
Live.
Peo
ple.
New
s.
MiP
erfe
ctJo
b.co
m
Mic
higa
n
Wan
ta
care
er in
Law
Enfo
rce
men
t? H
ere'
s
ever
ythin
g
you
need
for
free
Edu.
Poli
ceLi
nk.c
om/
Aca
dem
y
Mic
higa
n
Elev
ation
Map
:Thi
s is
a
gene
raliz
ed
topo
grap
hic
map
of
Mic
higa
n. It
sho
ws
elev
ation
tren
ds
acro
ss
the
state
.
Deta
iled
topo
grap
hic
map
s
and
aeri
al
phot
os of
Mic
higa
n
are
avail
able
in
the
Geol
ogy.
com
stor
e.
See
our
state
high
point
s
map
to
lear
n
abou
t Mt.
Arvo
n at
1,97
9
feet
- the
high
est
point
in
Mic
higa
n.
The
lowe
st
point
is
Lake
Erie
at
571
feet.
Escanaba
Alpena
Manistee
Cadillac
Ludington
Bay City
Which of these 4
additional towns
would also be a
potential site for a
sawmill in the late
1800’s?
Muskegon
Lansing
32
Spatial
Pattern
noting alignments,
arcs, clusters, rings,
and other arrangements
that are not random
33
Spatial
Pattern
Are features arranged in a
line or in a cluster?
Are features spread out
evenly vs. randomly?
Are features spread out in a balanced
way or are they unbalanced with more
on one side?
34
Pattern
Why are features arranged
in clumps, lines or patterns?
35
Pattern
Is there a pattern to
the high areas of
Michigan?
Is the population
pattern in Michigan
spread out or
clustered?
36
Spatial
Association
noting features that
tend to occur together
(in the same places)
37
Spatial
Association
What features or conditions
tend to occur together?
Why do they occur together?
38
Association
Why do some
features usually
occur together
in the same
places?
39
Association
That’s why we
call it Lake
Effect Snow.
Red areas have
abundant snowfall.
Are these areas
associated with the
Atlantic Ocean, the
Great Lakes or the
Mississippi River?
Why do they occur
together?
What else occurs in
these areas?
Map showing some of the lake-effect
snow areas of the United States 40
Association
Why do
some
features
usually
occur
together in
the same
places?
Earthquakes
Plate Boundaries
Volcanoes
41
We didn’t just think up
those 8 ideas over lunch one day.
They are based
on a huge amount
of neuroscience research
42
One important conclusion
from research in neuroscience
and developmental psychology:
1. The human brain appears to have
some specific structures that “do”
each kind of spatial thinking.
43
shows that old ideas about
“stages of development” (Piaget)
“cycles of learning” (Kolb)
“left brain, right brain” (Edwards)
or “frames of mind” (Gardner)
are just that – old ideas.
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Compare one place
with another.
Identify
analogous
places.
Find close-together
places that have
similar conditions.
Describe the
non-random
arrangements
of features.
Assess influences
that a place has
on nearby places.
Notice transitions.
Do conditions change
gradually or abruptly?
Identify smaller
sub-areas
within
larger areas.
Discover
correlations
(features that
occur together).
shows that the human brain has several “regions”
that do specific kinds of spatial thinking.
48
Two more conclusions
from research in neuroscience
and developmental psychology:
2. People are different – some people
are genetically or experientially predisposed
to use specific modes of spatial thinking.
49
Two more conclusions
from research in neuroscience
and developmental psychology:
2. People are different – some people
are genetically or experientially predisposed
to use specific modes of spatial thinking.
3. People can learn – an expert map reader
uses more different modes of spatial thinking,
and uses them more effectively, than a novice.
50
Remember –
the “purpose” of
these various modes
of spatial thinking
is to make it easier
for us to remember
facts about places.
We’ve known this
for a long time.
What’s the big deal ?
51
Just this – the human brain
has specific “regions”
that are structured
to do each kind
of spatial thinking.
52
Scientific conclusion :
The human brain has a number
of separate, independent structures
that help us organize geographic information
Important take home message
for educators/administrators:
There are significant individual differences
In student inclination and ability to use
different modes of spatial thinking.
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Our goal is to design teaching materials
that enable all students to improve
all of their spatial-reasoning skills –
in geography, history,
economics, earth science,
even reading and math.
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