The Development of Expertise in Geography
A Cognitive-Developmental Approach to Geographic Education
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8377205 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Roger M Downs (Pennsylvania State University), Lynn S Liben (0000-0002-8705-8189, Pennsylvania State University) |
| Year | 1991 |
| Volume | 81 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 304-327 |
| Publication date | 1991-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Annals of the Association of American Geographers (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-5608 • E-ISSN: 1467-8306 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1991.tb01692.x |
| OpenAlex | W2091780633 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 37 |
It is generally recognized that geographic education and cognitive development are intertwined at the precollege level. Here we argue that college-level instruction likewise depends upon appreciating the cognitive-developmental level of students as well as their level of geographic expertise. In particular, we set geographic instruction within a Piagetian approach to cognitive development and illustrate this approach by reference to two fundamental topics covered in cartographic instruction: map projections and coordinate systems. We present data demonstrating that not all college students readily have available the cognitive and spatial skills needed to understand fundamentals of map projections and coordinate systems. Instruction on map projections typically relies on reference to shadow projections, and yet significant numbers of college students fail to understand even the simplest cases of shadow projections. Instruction on coordinate systems assumes a Euclidean understanding of spatial relations, and yet many college students cannot represent the basic horizontal and vertical coordinates available in the everyday environment. From these examples, we offer two lessons about geographic instruction that derive from a cognitive-developmental approach. Apparently simple and intuitively obvious tasks may be difficult, and there may be significant individual differences in levels of performance on these tasks. What is logical, reasonable, and self-evident from the perspective of an expert geographer may not match the psychological realities of a student. We must link a theoretically-based understanding of cognitive development with a more explicit understanding of geographic expertise if we are to meet the challenge of geographic education at the college level. Key Words: geographic educationnovice-expertcognitive developmentPiagetcollege studentsteaching cartographyprojectionscoordinate systems
Cognition · Cognitive development · Economic geography · Geography · Regional science · Educational Games and Gamification · Geography Education and Pedagogy · Psychology · Spatial Cognition and Navigation
Interactivity Types in Geographic Visualization
Cognitive and Conceptual Change in Adolescence
Piagetian Pessimism and the Mapping Abilities of Young Children
Cognitive maps
Automated map projection selection for GIS
Lncreasing the Integrity of Cognitive Mapping Research
Cognition and perception of map projections
The Effect of Global-Scale Map-Projection Knowledge on Perceived Land Area
Area Estimation of World Regions and the Projection of the Global-Scale Cognitive Map
Beyond the Periphery
Being and Becoming a Geographer
The Child's Conception of Number
The child's conception of space
The growth of logical thinking
The developmental psychology of Jean Piaget.
The construction of reality in the child.
Expert and Novice Performance in Solving Physics Problems
Judgment under Uncertainty
Graphicacy Should Be the Fourth Ace in the Pack
Sex-typing and spatial ability
Adults' demonstration of underlying Euclidean concepts in relation to task context
Adults' performance on horizontality tasks
Performance on Piagetian horizontality and verticality tasks
Copying and reproducing pictures in relation to subjects' operative levels
Sex differences in the correlations among field dependence, spatial ability, sex role orientation, and performance on Piaget's water-level task
Cognitive science and science education
On Education and Geographers
The Education of a Geographer
Belief in the law of small numbers
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,31 |
| Citation span | 1991 - 2024 (34) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |