MAP ANALYSIS SKILLS FOR THE WORKPLACE

“The boundary of ignorance is not very far away, it seems sensible to stake it out before we try to cross it.”

Gould, 1973: 182

5.1 INTRODUCTION

5.1.1 Background

The results of the MapTrix survey, discussed in Chapter Three, indicated that, while the use of the self-instruction methodology improved map reading ability among learners and improved the attitude of educators towards teaching map use, the programme did not address the higher order skill of map analysis. The exploratory investigation with first year geography students at university, reported in Chapter Four, indicates that both Geography and Mathematics instruction are necessary for improving map analysis skills. The map analysis tasks used in the intervention procedure (Figure 4.1) were derived from close scrutiny of the pre-1994 geography syllabus still applicable at the time that the investigation was conducted. When the documents for the new senior secondary school curriculum became available (DoE, 2003), the distinction between reading, analysing and interpreting topographic maps was not made clear, nor was a hierarchy of map analysis skills indicated (as discussed in Chapter Two).

Apart from identifying specific tasks that can be categorised as map analysis, it is also necessary to consider the place of map analysis within the broader context of spatial skills. The term spatial literacy, perhaps considered an evolving concept, was used in the new geography education policy documents (DoE, 2003). More recently the term spatial thinking has gained ground internationally (NRC, 2006). In an attempt to develop a working definition, applicable to Geography at secondary school level, for a term to encapsulate spatial skills, the OBE concept of capability or ability to

University

of Cape

Town

perform (Wolf, 1995, and more recently, Osmond, 2004) suggested the use of the term spatial competence.

Because the focus of this research is on the outcome of education and training in the use of spatial information, it is important to ascertain what competencies industry representatives expect from learners emerging from formal secondary education. So much has changed in the spatial information industry that guidelines from existing syllabuses, curricula and school textbooks on the topic of map use, need to be reassessed. To find out exactly which map analysis tasks are important in the world outside the geography classroom, the assistance of people whose daily line function depends on the use of spatial information was sought.

To identify the nature, extent and context of the spatial analysis tasks in which those who have taken Geography at school should be competent, two focus questions emerged:

a) What map analysis skills do potential employers anticipate from school-leavers who have studied Geography to Grade 12?

b) What is spatial competence; how can it be defined? The objective of this chapter is to answer these questions.

5.1.2 Distinguishing map analysis from map reading and map interpretation

The valuable and extensive work of Boardman (1983 to 1996) and others in developing graphicacy has already been acknowledged but these studies were not specifically aimed at designing learning material to meet self-instruction requirements. In order to develop learning material for spatial competence it becomes necessary to specify each learning unit and then accommodate each one within a hierarchy that leads the learner from simple to more complicated tasks.

To illustrate the difference between reading, analysis and interpretation, a comparison between studying maps and studying poems from a recently published South African Geography Grade 10 textbook is instructive (Table 5.1). Given the principles embodied in Table 5.1, it is clear that map analysis tasks rely on the learner’s ability to recognise different elements of patterns such as points, lines and areas, and identify their shapes by naming them. Further they should be able to measure aspects such as line length, distance between points and area of different shapes, as well as being able to compare such measurements. Because topographic maps also represent a three dimensional landscape in a two dimensional plane, learners must also be able to visualise the landscape using elevation measurements and height clues. Furthermore, in South Africa (among few other places),

University

of Cape

Town

map analysis involves the use of a geographic co-ordinate reference grid to locate places, which in turn requires an understanding of angles and their measurement in degrees, minutes and seconds. The range of tasks and their varying levels of complexity are considerable.

Table 5.1 Maps and poems in relation to the concepts: reading, analysis and interpretation

Maps Poems

Reading maps means the ability to identify, distinguish

between and comprehend map symbols

Reading poems means the ability to identify letters of the

alphabet, recognise words and understand their meaning

Analysing maps means identifying patterns, measuring

and calculating:

e.g. recognising colours and shapes, using scale to measure distances between places, calculating area and gradient

Analysing poems means looking for patterns, measuring

and calculating:

e.g. recognising repeated words or their meanings, measuring the length of lines and the number of lines per verse, calculating rhythm and rhyme patterns

Interpreting the meaning of maps is easier if we have

more than one source of information and if we know when and why the map was made, who made it and for whom it was made.

Interpreting the meaning of poems is easier if we know

more about the ideas the poets were dealing with, when and why they were writing, who they were and for whom they were writing.

(Adapted from Beets et al., 2005a: 14 and 15)

In order to investigate map skills requirements in the context of the world of work, using various sources of spatial information, a proposed hierarchy of map analysis skills was developed and its validity tested with a focus group of spatial information users by means of a questionnaire (Appendix 5.1). The responses of the local work-place focus group are then compared with the responses of a second, international focus group comprising eminent educators who specialise in developing the spatial skills of young people.

5.2 MATERIALS AND METHODS

5.2.1 Designing the questionnaire

Task analysis, a basic computer based training (CBT) principle (Alexander and Blanchard, 1985), may be applied to this problem learning area in geography education at secondary schools in South Africa in the context of this study. Logically, then, a clear progression from basic map reading through map analysis to map interpretation of spatial information is required if learners are to become competent in the use of maps and other forms of spatial information. Figure 5.1, to be read from the top down, illustrates a skills hierarchy, based on the South African matriculation geography syllabus (still in use when the research into map reading was initiated; Innes, 1998). Map interpretation in the sense in which the term is used in this thesis was not clearly defined at the time but was assumed to be an extension of both the reading and analysis of spatial information. MapTrix (Innes, 2000) addresses Task level 1. An advanced map analysis programme needs to

University

of Cape

Town

address tasks at levels 2, 3 and 4. The skill structure in Figure 5.1 formed the basis of the questionnaire (Appendix 5.1).

ò

depends on the capability of ò

ò

which depend on the capability of ò

ò

which depend on the capability of ò

Figure 5.1 Task analysis, working backwards from the desired outcome

Another way to arrange the map use skills into a hierarchical order is to conduct a task analysis on each task individually (Gagné and Briggs, 1974). The example in Table 5.2 illustrates the analyses of the task of map orientation, which is the first map use task listed in the new Grade 10 Work Schedule (DoE, 2008b: 35).

Prerequisite skills are identified first (Table 5.2a) and stated as tasks for further analysis (Table 5.2b and 5.2c). New knowledge that must be learned in order to perform the task is identified; this constitutes the lesson component of the instructional unit. The task itself is carefully described and then the level of performance and the equipment required are identified. These are then written up as the technique(s) required to perform the task (with examples) and the learning activities or exercises which learners use to demonstrate whether or not they are competent at performing the task. The identified prior knowledge items become task units themselves, to be taught at a lower grade. In the example in Table 5.2, two units of prior learning are identified and expanded: map reading (5.2b) and using a compass to find north (5.2c). These lower skill levels or pre-requisite tasks need be have been dealt with before learners attempt map analysis.

TASK LEVEL 4 GRADIENT CALCULATION

TASK LEVEL 3

MEASURING DISTANCE; ASSESSING HEIGHT (to be taught in either order)

TASK LEVEL 2

LOCATING POSITION; DESCRIBING DIRECTION; MEASURING BEARING (to be taught in any order)

TASK LEVEL 1 READING MAP SYMBOLS

THEIR IDENTIFICATION, RECOGNITION AND COMPREHENSION (a starting point)

University

of Cape

Town