Title: SA: Maps and Spatial Thinking Skills in the AP Human Geography Classroom | AP Central
Headings: Maps and Spatial Thinking Skills in the Classroom
Maps and Spatial Thinking Skills in the Classroom
On this page
“Geography is the art of the mappable.”
“The map speaks across the barriers of language.”
Increased Interest in Maps
Three contexts for spatial thinking
Developing Geographic Skills
10 suggestions for developing skills as a geographer
Thinking in Space
Thinking About Space
Thinking with Space
References

Content: It takes time, guidance, and practice to develop the ability to ask questions related to the “where” and the “how and why there” of a problem. It also takes repeated experiences in thinking spatially to become fluent with spatial concepts, to think in terms of patterns of objects in space (where), and to consider the processes that produce these patterns (how and why there). Maps are an essential tool to organize and display geographic information. Patterns and relationships among objects can become apparent on a map in a way that supports spatial thinking and problem solving. Thus learning to think geographically often leads students to a new appreciation for maps and the information they provide. An important part of the AP ® Human Geography course involves using maps to learn significant content, to “think through maps,” as Liben explains it. ( Liben 2001, 76). However, human geography students must be critical consumers of maps and other spatial representations. “ Maps cannot be seen as separate from the contexts in which they are produced and used” (Morgan and Lambert 2004, 109). Just as texts are written by individuals with varying points of view and can be read and interpreted in different ways, maps are not pure representations of reality but rather social productions subject to critical analysis.