Reexamining the Role of Maps in Geographic Education: Images, Analysis, and Evaluation

The ability to make, understand, and use maps is essential for anyone trying to think about the world around them. Children's failure to make and use maps in a meaningful way contributes to the lack of geographic awareness across the country. The "linguistic map" (a graphic representation of the mental connections between words, sensory images, abstract concepts, and value judgments) is proposed as a model for evaluating maps used in educational materials. An evaluation of social studies textbooks found that the maps failed to promote learning at all three levels proposed by the linguistic model: concrete images, abstract analysis, and value evaluation. Problems with the textbook maps are examined and suggestions developed for using maps in educational materials