This blog aims to consider and develop ideas about the notion of spatial literacy. Over the past few years, GIS has become a central area for development in the school geography system. It has been enshrined in both GCSE and A-level specifications, and there has been a growing interest in bringing GIS to lessons in Key Stage 3. However, this leads to a narrow consideration of a technology which is often seen as an end in itself, rather than a tool for considering and developing geographical understanding. There is also a danger of GIS fetishism where one particular medium becomes the central process for considering explicitly spatial processes.
This blog is based on thinking about how we can develop the wider notion of spatial literacy of which GIS is a part. It expresses a wider notion of learning spatially, one which includes the use of GIS, but which is not defined by it.
So what is spatial literacy?
The language used to discuss spatial representation and processes is both complex and confusing. There are a number of different terms used to consider the processes of spatial manipulation. These include:
- Spatial ability
- Spatial knowledge
- Spatial thinking
- Spatial methods
- Spatial literacy
- Visio-spatial thinking
Some of these terms are used synonymously on occasion, some are used differently; the links between them are often unclear. All of this leads to problems of interpretation and discussion.
A framework is given below which expresses how I think the various elements link together at this point in time, to give a clear relational model of the types of mental activity, learning and personal development centred on the spatial.
SPATIAL KNOWLEDGE is the awareness of location, direction and rate of movement of objects in the visual field, i.e. the almost subconscious ability of an individual to identify and track their position in space relative to other objects
SPATIAL ABILITY is the conscious utilisation of a series of cognitive skills which allows for spatial representations to be changed, assessed, rotated and manipulated etc. In most cases it is the ability to relate different contexts in the spatial field.
SPATIAL METHODOLOGIES are the ‘taught’ and ‘cultural’ methods used to represent space, normally on a 2 dimensional surface such as a map, chart or computer screen. Hence, the ability to map read is heightened by being taught what contour lines are, or how symbols are used, etc. The ability to use this information more or less successfully will relate to spatial ability. Hence, an acute spatial ability allowing 2D/3D transformation will lead to an individual ‘pulling’ the contoured surface into a mental 3D image. However, even when individuals do not have the spatial ability to do this, they can still use contours to identify features and solve problems – just not as efficiently. These methodologies will extend to associated spatial representations such as graphs, choropleth maps etc.
SPATIAL THINKING is the contextual amalgamation of these three cognitive processes, namely, the degree of spatial awareness, spatial abilities, and the level of learned and assimilated spatial methodologies. It is the amalgamation of these elements which allow us to think spatially.
SPATIAL LITERACY therefore becomes the culmination of both spatial thinking and the use of other data formats such as linguistic sources, numeric data etc all used in a particular context such as solving a problem or researching an issue. This contextual spatial analysis defines the broader concept of spatial literacy, a process fundamentally based on spatial thinking.
SPATIAL ABILITY is the conscious utilisation of a series of cognitive skills which allows for spatial representations to be changed, assessed, rotated and manipulated etc. In most cases it is the ability to relate different contexts in the spatial field.
SPATIAL METHODOLOGIES are the ‘taught’ and ‘cultural’ methods used to represent space, normally on a 2 dimensional surface such as a map, chart or computer screen. Hence, the ability to map read is heightened by being taught what contour lines are, or how symbols are used, etc. The ability to use this information more or less successfully will relate to spatial ability. Hence, an acute spatial ability allowing 2D/3D transformation will lead to an individual ‘pulling’ the contoured surface into a mental 3D image. However, even when individuals do not have the spatial ability to do this, they can still use contours to identify features and solve problems – just not as efficiently. These methodologies will extend to associated spatial representations such as graphs, choropleth maps etc.
SPATIAL THINKING is the contextual amalgamation of these three cognitive processes, namely, the degree of spatial awareness, spatial abilities, and the level of learned and assimilated spatial methodologies. It is the amalgamation of these elements which allow us to think spatially.
SPATIAL LITERACY therefore becomes the culmination of both spatial thinking and the use of other data formats such as linguistic sources, numeric data etc all used in a particular context such as solving a problem or researching an issue. This contextual spatial analysis defines the broader concept of spatial literacy, a process fundamentally based on spatial thinking.
It is the wider notion of these elements of spatial thinking and literacy which lead me to argue that we need a far wider consideration of how we develop understanding the spatial, of which GIS becomes a part, a pedagogical tool but only one tool of a much broader, critically considered and progressional framework of approaches and skills.
