Spatial Skills

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Spatial Skills

Dr. Edmar Bernardes DaSilva (Masters in Geography and Doctor of Geography Education)

GIS Map of Part of Florida - Source: Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Competent citizens must be able to locate themselves and others SPATIALLY in order to travel, exchange ideas, and access artifacts. SPATIAL SKILLS often appear in social studies in the discipline of GEOGRAPHY, but they are all over throughout the curriculum.
Identifying political boundaries, the locations of cities, landmarks, and landmasses and determining the relationship of one object in space to another are all part of SPATIAL UNDERSTANDING.

Using and Creating Maps in Instruction

The most common ways that individuals can orient themselves SPATIALLY are through exiting MAPS and the creation of new ones.
MAPS (e.g. flat maps) and GLOBES represent some region on the Earth.
They do so with varying degree of distortion. Globes are more accurate.

In 1988 the National Geographic Society adopted the Robinson Projection as one that produced the LEAST DISTORTION for most non-specialized map applications.
If compared with the traditional Van der Grinten Projection that the society used since 1922, one can see that there is less distortion.

Satellite Map of Florida (Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

Professor Harm de Blij

Dutch geographer and author. Professor de Blij left a legacy to be followed by us younger geographers. His regional divisions of the Earth in my view is the closest to reality (and I love his micro-regional divisions) with exceptions (some flaws can be found in his publications). Great geographer and also a great researcher. Professor de Blij wanted to meet me personally, but I never had the honor to meet him personally. Professor de Blij exchanged e-mails with me and also included my name in two editions of his books The World Today and Regions. I also had the honor to receive from him a copy of his book Why Geography Matters with his personal dedication to me with his signature and date. Professor de Blij did an extensive study of the wine regions of the Southern Hemisphere and Brazil my homeland was part of it which became a book (I own this book). Professor de Blij wrote me in a personal e-mail that he was six month in South America doing the research on wine regions of South America.