Publications

Abstract: Economic maps in school atlases are specific types of maps that represent extra-complex maps with multi-layer and fast-developing content over time. The objective of this article is to discuss a multi-stage curriculum in connection with the results of an assessment of the usability of economic maps by lower and upper secondary school students. The survey was conducted using a questionnaire and didactic test on a sample of 120 lower secondary school and 73 upper secondary school students in Czechia. Differing results among two age groups were mainly in the identification of cartographic signs; as a key factor for the correct identification of cartographic signs, a combination of alphanumeric and geometric features has been shown. On the other hand, significant differences were not identified in the question of suitability of colouring cartographic signs. The survey results show that the map key of economic maps should be designed in multiple stages with regard to the appropriateness and comprehensibility of cartographic signs for students of both age groups. This study proves that preparing specific geographic atlases for lower and upper secondary school students can play a key role in the teaching of geography.

Keywords: economic map, map key, school atlas, curriculum, geography education

RIV: https://doi.org/10.1080/10382046.2019.1660472

Abstract: The aim of the article is to assess the quality of visualisation of geomorphology, hydrology and agriculture of Czechia through maps, schemes and photographs in geography textbooks for ISCED 1 and ISCED 2 levels of education. A total of 15 geography textbooks were selected and a total of 90 visuals from these textbooks were analysed. The scaling method according to defined criteria relating to the concept of usability was applied. The data obtained through scaling was subsequently statistically analysed. The outcomes of the statistical analysis show that the quality of visualisation in textbooks for the older cohort is higher than in textbooks for younger students. The quality of the assessed visuals is linked especially to the tradition of publishing houses, as visuals in textbooks published by publishers with relatively long tradition are of a higher quality than those by publishers with shorter tradition and therefore less experience with publishing textbooks. Differences in the quality between individual types of visuals or themes are not statistically significant.

Keywords: visual, geography textbook, quantitative content analysis, textbook analysis, geography education

RIV: DOI: 10.33403/rigeo.509255

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Abstract: The article is a review study. Its aim is to define and critically evaluate the methodological approaches of visual research in geography textbooks. Another aim of this study is to summarize the main conclusions of selected studies. There is a clear terminological inconsistency in naming the visual component of textbooks. Altogether 92 studies in Czech and English were analysed without time and territory specifications. Multidisciplinary full-text databases EBSCO, WoS, SCOPUS, ERIC, ProQuest and Geobibline) were searched using a combination of keywords in Czech and English language. The analysis of the research shows that the expert assessments prevail in the research using predominantly quantitative methods, especially quantitative content analysis of visuals; a questionnaire and a didactic test are of major importance in the quantitative user assessment have questionnaire and the didactic test. In addition, unequal distribution of visually-oriented research textbook across age groups was found; a neglected area of research is assessment or analysis of textbooks for the ISCED 1 age group. According to the results of the analysed studies, photographs are the most important visuals in geography textbooks; although the map is one of the typical geographical visual, its share on the total number of visuals in textbooks is relatively low.

Keywords: visuals, geography textbook, homeland study textbook, textbook with geographic content, review study

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Abstract: The study seeks to explain how evidence-based knowledge about learning from visual material can be utilized by way of improving the visuals used in geography education. The aim of this narrative review is to find out: a) the theoretical foundations of learning from visuals, b) how to operationalize geographical visuals in a way that would facilitate research on school instruction and inform the production of textbooks and atlases, c) to identify (based on the state of the art) some domain specific recommendations contributing to more understandable and pupil-friendly static visualization of geographical phenomena. The methodology is based on the review of literature related to the domains of cognitive psychology, educational science, and geography education. In the concluding part, it is suggested how the findings of our study may contribute to the improvement of visuals in geography education.

Keywords: geography education, didactics of geography, visuals, visualisation

Abstract: At times, changes happen to the organization of states or other territorial entities. Such changes should be reflected within geography instruction. This article presents an interesting method for assessing student knowledge in areas of regional geography with the help of mental maps and GIS. This assessment can be done both before and after teaching certain content, allowing for meaningful comparison. The authors conducted the assessment at several primary and secondary schools in Czechia and used the described methods to define the, as yet, little-known Southern Ocean.

Keywords: mental maps, Southern Ocean, teaching evaluation, regional geography, GIS

Abstract: The paper deals with the issue of perception and delimitation of Central Europe (CE). The first part discusses basic concepts and conceptions of CE, which are crucial in this respect. Attention is then paid to differences in the perception of CE by individual nations and their reasons. The following empirical part of the study compares theoretical knowledge with conclusions from the research. This research was carried out through a questionnaire survey collecting mental maps of selected individuals. The respondents were senior high school students and first year university students from eight CE countries. Their task was to mark the boundaries of CE based on their subjective perception on a map of Europe. A total of 490 mental maps were received, analysed and aggregated to GIS map outputs. The final part compares and interprets the results and reflects on how and why the results differ in individual countries and to which extent they match hypothetical assumptions of ‘national’ perceptions of CE.

Keywords: Central Europe, spatial perception, mental maps, spatial concepts, GIS analysis

Abstract: The aims of the research are: a) to identify lower secondary pupils’ preferences for visuals in geography textbooks, b) to design a prototypical textbook chapter accompanied with prototypical school atlas maps (based on evidence-based recommendations and reflecting pupils’ preferences), c) to evaluate the proposed educational materials using a sample of 20 lower-secondary school pupils. The methodological framework is anchored in Design-Based Research. Content-specific recommendations for textbook developers were identified which are transferable to different topics across geography curriculum.

Keywords: geography education, design-based research, geography textbooks

Abstract: Geographical didactic aids traditionally contain a large number of visuals. Unfortunately, authors of didactic aids are not able to ensure adequate usability of visuals sometimes. The evident example is simple illustrative function that prevails over the didactic one. The other problems could be named that many visuals are inadequate relating to pupilsʼ age, they are not well-considered and thus the undesirable formation of misconceptions is encouraged. The object of presented expert analysis are the visuals in sixteen Czech textbooks with a geographical content. The analysis was provided by multi-criteria assessment. The scaling method was used according to predefined criteria, considering of the weights previously proposed by experts (pair comparison method). Beside the general assessment of visuals, the specific comparison of selected examples of maps, photographs, schemes and graphs was conducted. The conclusions of the general assessment of the visuals could be sum up as: (1) an increasing number of abstract visuals with the expected age of pupils, (2) a high number of photographs with only illustrative function, (3) a low share of schemes supporting the development of pupilʼs abstract thinking, (4) a high share of visuals in regional-geographical curriculum, (5) a high number of visuals without any label. Whereas the adequacy of visuals in relation to pupilʼs age was not find problematic, the connections of the visuals to text and the legibility issue seem to be relatively low.

Keywords: visuals, geography textbook, homeland study textbook, textbook with geographical content

Abstract: The authors conducted 22 unstructured heuristic interviews with the 7th and 8th grade pupils of the Czech lower secondary schools. During the interview the pupils were asked to perform a problem-oriented learning task with the help of visuals in the contemporary Czech geography textbooks and Czech School Atlas of the World. The aim was to determine where exactly the pupils fail when performing the assigned learning task. The interviews were analysed using a qualitative content analysis with open coding as a methodological tool. This working paper is an outcome of the research project Visual Geographic Information and its Role in Geographic Education (GA16-01003S) funded by the Czech Science Foundation (GACR).

Keywords: didactics of geography, geography education, learning tasks, lower secondary school pupils, problem solving

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Abstract: The aims of the presented research (which was supported by the Czech Science Foundation project No. GA 16-01003S) are: a) to identify lower secondary pupils’ preferences about visuals in geography textbooks, b) to design a prototypical textbook chapter accompanied with prototypical school atlas maps, based on evidence-based recommendations and reflecting pupils’ preferences, c) to evaluate the proposed educational materials on the sample of 20 lower-secondary school pupils. The methodological frame of the study is based on Design-Based Research (Euler 2014). The study focused on the development of two key design principles (Edelson 2002; DBRC 2003): problem-based learning and developing visual literacy. Content-specific recommendations for textbook developers were identified. They are transferrable to different topics across geography curriculum. Contributions to theory and practice of geography education were also generated.

Keywords: geography education, design-based research, geography textbooks, visuals

Abstract: The aims of the presented research (which was supported by the Czech Science Foundation project No. GA 16-01003S) are: a) to identify lower secondary pupils’ preferences about visuals in geography textbooks, b) to design a prototypical textbook chapter accompanied with prototypical school atlas maps, based on evidence-based recommendations and reflecting pupils’ preferences, c) to evaluate the proposed educational materials on the sample of 20 lower-secondary school pupils. The methodological frame of the study is based on Design-Based Research (Euler 2014). The study focused on the development of two key design principles (Edelson 2002; DBRC 2003): problem-based learning and developing visual literacy. Content-specific recommendations for textbook developers were identified. They are transferrable to different topics across geography curriculum. Contributions to theory and practice of geography education were also generated.

Keywords: geography education, design-based research, geography textbooks, visuals

Abstract: Učebnice vlastivědy a zeměpisu jsou geografickými didaktickými prostředky obsahující velké množství různých typů vizuálií. V současnosti je problémem absence komplexní analýzy vizuálií jako klíčové strukturní složky učebnic. Expertní komparativní analýza má potenciál identifikovat problémy vizualizace geografických fenoménů v těchto materiálních didaktických prostředcích a upozornit tak na nevhodné postavení, koncepci či kvalitu vizuálií v učebnicích, jež mohou vést až ke vzniku miskoncepcí u žáků různých věkových skupin. Cílem příspěvku je analyzovat postavení vizuálií ve struktuře učebnic vlastivědy a zeměpisu a zároveň zhodnotit kvalitu vizuálií hydrologických, geomorfologických a zemědělských fenoménů z hlediska použitelnosti. V rámci prezentovaného šetření bylo využito expertního hodnocení vizuálií odborníkem metodou kvantitativní obsahové analýzy. Bylo analyzováno celkem šestnáct českých učebnic vlastivědy a zeměpisu. V první fázi bylo analyzováno postavení vizuálií ve struktuře učebnice (např. počet a podíl z hlediska typu vizuálií, přítomnosti titulku apod.). V druhé fázi byla hodnocena (analyzována) kvalita vybraných vizuálií z hlediska jejich použitelnosti metodou škálování na základě předem definovaných kritérií. Důležitost kritérií byla stanovena na základě výsledků párového srovnávání mezi 19 vysokoškolskými odborníky (geografy a pedagogy). Výsledky analýzy ukazují, že klíčové postavení v učebnicích vlastivědy i zeměpisu mají fotografie. Podíl abstraktních a kvantitativních vizuálií je v učebnicích zeměpisu vyšší než v učebnicích vlastivědy, v čemž se pravděpodobně odráží předpoklad autorů učebnic o kognitivním vývoji žáků. Výsledky škálování naznačují, že vizuálie v učebnicích zeměpisu jsou kvalitnější z hlediska jejich použitelnosti než v učebnicích vlastivědy. Mezi klíčové problémy vizuálií identifikované na základě škálování patří častá absence titulku, relativně nízký vztah vizuálie k textu a nečitelnost některých map. Nejnižších kvalit dosahují vizuálie z učebnic relativně nových nakladatelství nemající dlouholetou tradici, naopak nejvyšší kvalitou se vyznačují vizuálie v učebnicích nakladatelství ČGS.

Abstract: As many realized pedagogic studies have documented, it is highly important to activate simultaneously both learner’s basic sense channels, e.g. verbal as well as pictorial, to improve an efficiency of learning (Mayer 1997; Paivio 2014). Therefore, school education should promote the activation, interconnection and complementation of these two sense channels by means of suitable proportion of the text and the visualities used in educational process. In the geography education this might be provide through the activities with maps. Further, the efficiency of learning is improved by the fact how learners comprehend the materials and media which operate with. The implementation of so-called spiral curriculum seems to be effective (see Rinschede 2005). The principle is that the learner repeatedly meets the same learning topics, nevertheless their didactic transmission changes and acquired knowledge deepens in dependence on the learner’s age. Similarly, the educational media have to be in accordance with knowledges and skills of learners of given age. Consequently, it is necessary to reflect these aspects considering the usability of school cartographic media, e.g. the maps in textbooks and especially the conception of school atlases. Educators, as well as the pupils are only the users of the educational cartographic media. Hence, the role of cartographers in the dialogue about the development of effective school maps and atlases is crucial. Therefore, the analysis of above mentioned aspects in efficiency of learning is the main goal of our paper. It presents actual results and planned steps in research project dealing with geographical visual information (GeoVisInfo 2016–2018) on the example of economic maps in Czech school atlases. These maps represent the extra-complex maps with multi-layer and fast developing content through time. It is legitimate thus to ask how to transmit the content to learners on various levels of school education. Our research will find answer to following questions in particular: How is significant to think about specialized atlases differentiated for elementary and for secondary schools? Is it possible to overcome the mentioned map complexity only with application of the cartographic generalization or the synthesis by means of synthetic maps? Which map symbols and means of map representation are sufficient for learners on various levels of school education? Some of forenamed questions was answered in questionnaire survey with utilization of didactic test. The survey was conducted in Czechia among 120 pupils of elementary schools (6th and 7th grade) and among 73 students of higher secondary schools (1st and 2nd grade). The didactic test put to learners some tasks leading to activities with economic maps. According to success in utilization of various kinds of map to solve the task by learner, it investigated the usability of particular visualities. Chi-quadrat test of independence significantly documented whereas the semantically motivated cartographical symbols are more suitable for elementary school pupils, the alphanumerical cartographical symbols in economic maps (e.g. using the symbology of chemical elements) are better for secondary school students. Nevertheless, the associativeness of colors with particular branches of industry is the same in both testing age groups. Concerning to the complexity of map contents, the economic maps are often incomprehensible for younger pupils. They are not able to join the particular provided information into the integrated image of economy in presented region. Regarding to the need of interconnection of verbal and pictorial sense channels, it is necessary to conclude that the text in textbooks is rarely connected to maps in the atlases. Therefore, new challenges lay in front of authors of school geographic or cartographic media.

Keywords: usability, economic maps, school atlases, visuals, spiral curriculum