The geographically informed person must mentally organize spatial information about people, places, and environments and must be able to call upon and use this information in appropriate contexts. Knowing the locations and characteristics of people, places, and environments is a necessary precursor to—and outcome of—geographic learning and thinking. An effective way of doing this is to develop and use what is called a mental map: an individual’s internalized representation of aspects of Earth’s surface. These maps in the mind are what a person knows about the locations and characteristics of places at a variety of scales, from the local (the layout of a person’s bedroom) to the global (the distribution of oceans and continents across Earth). Mental maps are a mix of objective knowledge and subjective perceptions: precise knowledge about the location of geographic features as well as impressions of places, rough estimates of size and location, and a general sense of the connections between places.
Therefore, Standard 2 contains these themes: Developing Mental Maps, Using Mental Maps, and Individual Perceptions Shape Mental Maps.
Mental maps provide people with essential means of making sense of the world and of storing and recalling information about the patterns of Earth’s physical and human features. These maps represent ever-changing summaries of spatial knowledge and are indicators of how well people know the spatial characteristics of places. We develop and refine our mental maps through learning from teachers and the media and through personal experience, moving from simple to more complex levels of completeness and accuracy, continuing to add layers of information so that our mental maps reflect a growing understanding of a changing world. As people read, hear, observe, and think more about the world around them, they add more detail and structure to their mental maps and accumulate layers of information that can be used in problem solving and decision making. Students must understand the role that perception plays in the creation and development of their understandings of the world.
Students must build their mental maps to develop detailed understandings of peoples, places, and environments. By understanding these themes, students can build and apply the mental maps that are the foundations for learning geography and other subjects.
1. The locations and characteristics of physical and human features are the basis for mental maps at local to global scales
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory the position and arrangement of physical and human features, as exemplified by being able to
2. Mental maps can change with direct experience (such as travel) and indirect experience (such as media exposure and looking at other maps)
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory with increasing detail maps of a place or region, as exemplified by being able to
3. Mental maps are used to answer geographic questions about locations and characteristics of places and regions
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory locations and geographic characteristics to answer geographic questions, as exemplified by being able to
4. Individuals may have different mental maps of places and regions
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Describe how an individual’s views and understandings of places and regions differ, as expressed by his or her mental map, as exemplified by being able to
1. The locations, characteristics, and patterns of physical and human features are the basis for mental maps at local to global scales
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory and describe locations, patterns, and characteristics of physical and human features, as exemplified by being able to
2. Mental maps can change and become more accurate with direct experience (such as travel) and indirect experience (such as media exposure and looking at other maps)
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory with increasing detail and accuracy mental maps of a place or region, as exemplified by being able to
3. Mental maps are used to answer geographic questions about locations, characteristics, and patterns of places and regions
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory and describe the locations, characteristics, and patterns of places and regions to answer geographic questions, as exemplified by being able to
4. Mental maps are shaped by individual perceptions of people, places, regions, and environments
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Compare the mental maps of individuals to identify common factors that influence spatial understanding, perceptions, and preferences, as exemplified by being able to
1. The locations, characteristics, patterns, and relationships of physical and human systems are the basis for mental maps at local to global scales
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory and explain the locations, characteristics, patterns, and relationships among human and physical systems, as exemplified by being able to
2. Mental maps can change through experience and iterative self-reflection
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Explain the development of completeness and accuracy in the student’s mental map of places and regions, as exemplified by being able to
3. Mental maps are used to answer geographic questions about locations, characteristics, patterns, and relationships of places and regions
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Identify from memory and explain the locations, characteristics, patterns, and relationships of places and regions to answer geographic questions, as exemplified by being able to
4. Changing perceptions reshape mental maps of people, places, regions, and environments
Therefore, the student is able to:
A. Compare an individual’s mental map before and after a geographic event or experience, as exemplified by being able to
CREATED BY
GEOGRAPHY EDUCATION NATIONAL IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT
