Teaching with and through Maps

Offer Hands On & Interactive Learning Opportunities

According to Arthurs and Baumann, who write in “The International Journal of Cartography,” that “map-reading skill is relevant to education and professions in many disciplines.”¹¹ They continue in this article to discuss their review that points to a lack of research about how to teach map reading skills. They posit that effective map-skill instruction should reflect a structured progression, building complexity gradually and systematically.  They suggest that skills should be scaffolded thoughtfully, allowing students to master simpler tasks before attempting more complex ones, with  guidance such as prompting or modeling is provided, as opposed to low-support contexts without this guidance. ¹²

Active learning through tactile mapmaking, such as building topographic models with clay or paper cutouts of contour layers, has been shown to reinforce students’ spatial reasoning and improve geography learning.¹³  A controlled classroom study combining hands-on activities (like clay molding, drawing contour profiles) with geospatial tech (e.g., drones) reported a 14% statistically significant improvement in middle school students’ grasp of geographic concepts, indicating strong cognitive gains from these interventions.¹⁴ ArcGIS's "Map elevation with play clay" tutorial demonstrates that physically shaping landforms and then mapping them along profile views and contour hachures enhances students’ conceptual understanding of map-terrain relationships, making abstract ideas more tangible.¹⁵

Incorporating coloring and labeling into map activities can be a powerful cognitive scaffold. A neuroscience study found that objects colored against a monochrome background are better remembered and processed faster.¹⁶ This technique extends to content-based map work: geologic educators have used simplified, colorable versions of geologic maps as an interactive and visual tool to help students internalize fundamental geologic information and spatial patterns.¹⁷ These creative annotating practices not only help with recognition, but seem to promote active engagement with the map’s logic and structure. And it's fun.

Engaging students with interactive, playful map experiences, such as assembling map jigsaw puzzles or crafting annotated classroom layouts, supports deeper spatial memory and reasoning. A study on touchscreen jigsaw-style maps found that these interactive tasks boosted users’ spatial and textual recall of map content.¹⁸  

This research, and my own personal predilection for hands on learning, has led to a set of map lessons that will include opportunities for students to trace, draw, build, color, cut, assemble, layer, sculpt, program, iterate, fold and unfold. I will try to share as many practical supports as possible for other teachers to enjoy creating these activities to do with their students in the teaching set addendum.