Students' successfulness and strategies when working with a map and factors affecting them

Nowadays, information is increasingly presented in the form of various graphic materials. One of the key means of information visualisation is a map. Maps are complex representations and it is necessary to comprehend several cartographic concepts and to acquire skills and strategies for their efficient use. For this reason, it is important to give maps sufficient attention in the course of education. For the education to be of high quality, it is fundamental to understand the process of the map use and factors affecting this process and its successfulness. Therefore, the general purpose of the dissertation thesis is to develop this understanding. Specifically, the thesis has four main aims. One of them is to identify a map skill level of Czech students while using thematic maps since the popularity of thematic maps is increasing together with the number of cartographic insufficiencies they contain. These insufficiencies can inter alia cause a formation of misconceptions both about the maps and phenomena and regions they display. The second main aim is to identify and describe strategies that students choose to solve tasks which require the use of a thematic map. Additionally, the sub-aim is to understand the influence of chosen factors on the level of map skills as well as on choice and efficiency..