Map use in lessons: a videostudy findings

Abstract

Numerous research studies on cartography education and cartography skills have been carried out in the last decades in Czechia. These studies show that Czech secondary students are fully skilled in map reading, but the map analysis and interpretation skills are rarely sufficiently developed
That the most important causes of this situation are: (a) curriculum oriented on cognitively less demanding skills and (b) teachers and their preferences of development simple map reading to more complex operations with maps
Being aware of these research gaps, following research questions raised: How do teachers use maps in their lessons? What type of maps do they commonly use in lessons? What map skills do teachers dominantly develop in their students? Do teachers develop map skills comprehensively and systematically? What are the most common students’ bottlenecks when working with maps? Considering this, the aim of the proposed paper is to bring insight into map use in lower secondary lessons and provide answers to these questions employing the analysis of 20 videostudies of lessons aimed at map skills development, and, subsequently, the semi-structured interviews with teachers