Abstract
In recent years, research in geography didactics has focused, among other things, on the development of mapping skills. One reason for this interest may be that maps can be used in the classroom to solve a variety of geographical problems.
From the simplest ones, such as locating places and maps, to the most complex ones, such as making general conclusions or predictions about future developments. However, these cognitively demanding operations with a map pose considerable problems for pupils, yet they represent a sub-aspect of the geographical thinking that should be the goal of geographical education.
Research focuses on students, teachers, curriculum, textbooks and available maps. It has already been found that Czech pupils are good at simple map operations such as location of places on the map or working with the map legend.
However, they make mistakes in more cognitively difficult tasks. The development of these cognitively more demanding tasks is often not a goal of teachers, nor is it part of the current national curriculum.
The authors of educational policy in the Czech Republic and Czech teachers do not seem to realise the enormous potential of map work for the development of geographical thinking and for the preparation of active and responsible citizens living in the 21st century. It is clear from research that if a student is to master a cognitively demanding map task, they must also master less demanding skills.
So for map interpretation (a cognitively difficult skill), the learner must master map reading (the cognitively easiest skill) and map analysis. Other studies confirm that teachers do not develop map skills systematically and have great difficulty setting goals that develop the more cognitively demanding map skills.
It is the lack of systematic development of map skills that may account for the errors that students make in the more cognitively difficult map skills. Pupils do not have the correct procedures for solving such problems because their teachers do not systematically pass them on.
From previous research on teachers, we have found that their teaching methods and personal conceptions of map skills development are very heterogeneous, supported by a very loose national curriculum, resulting in very different skills for pupils leaving each level of education. This paper will present the primary results of an experiment to determine which map skills development teaching strategies can increase students' map interpretation skills.
A pre-test of map skill level was administered to each classroom with an emphasis on map interpretation. In the following 6 classes, the teacher tried to fulfill the set teaching objective: The student uses the map as a source of information to make decisions, anticipate future development and form generalizations on various geographical issues (map interpretation skills).
During these 6 lessons the teacher kept records of the content of the lessons and one of the lessons was videotaped. After this experiment, students completed a post-test of their map skills level.
Ten teachers participated in the experiment, each with one of their classes. The experiment was implemented at a junior high school.The results of this research may be of interest to teachers themselves, who may be inspired by the strategies.
Equally, they may be useful for researchers working on teaching strategies as well as student learning strategies. Equally, the results are beneficial for the education of future teachers, to whom these effective methods of developing mapping skills can be presented during their studies and then applied in their teaching practice.