Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 1-1-2011 The Effects of Multiple Thematic Layers on Web Map Use by Middle School Students Andrew Percy Freed Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.edu/open_access_etds Let us know how access to this document benefits you. Recommended Citation Freed, Andrew Percy, "The Effects of Multiple Thematic Layers on Web Map Use by Middle School Students" (2011). Dissertations and Theses.306 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar.
Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: pdxscholar@pdx. The Effects of Multiple Thematic Layers on Web Map Use by Middle School Students by Andrew Percy Freed A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Geography Thesis Committee: Joseph Poracsky, Chair Teresa Bulman David Banis Portland State University 2011 Abstract Access to the to the Internet and to a variety of interactive mapping tools has increased interest among middle school teachers to use interactive maps in conjunction with learning activities. There is very little research in the area of interactive mapping in educational situations, specifically with regards to layer maps that combine multiple thematic layers on a single map. This study evaluates the relationship between the number of layers present on a web-based map and middle-school students’ accuracy and timeliness using the map to answer geographic questions.
Additionally, this study examines the specific effect of a hill shade on student response time and accuracy when answering questions do not require any terrain information. Tests were conducted in five Portland, Oregon area middle school classrooms using Blackboard CE8 to present maps and collect responses. The results of this research indicate no significant relationship between the number of layers present on a web map and middle school students’ accuracy or response times while using the map to answer questions. The presence of a hillshade layers does not significantly impact the students’ response times or accuracy while answering questions while using the map either.
i Acknowledgements I can now see the advantage to starting the program with a research agenda and a thesis topic in mind. However, I do not regret the ambling and circuitous route that I took. I enjoyed every moment of my coursework and every interaction with fellow students and the faculty. I’m indebted to them for sharing their interests, talents, and a sense of the community that should be a part of graduate school.
Thanks especially to my committee members, especially Joe, for their patience and humor during the last few years. My committee helped me succeed. Bulman provided crucial insight gearing my work towards students, interacting with and searching for potential teachers to work with, and in making my voice clear in my writing. David Banis helped inspire my final topic (as well as several other potential topics along the way), provided moral support, and provided guidance while my advisor was on sabbatical.
Lastly, special thanks to Dr. Poracsky for sharing his excitement for cartography, his willingness to let me take my time, his understanding of the pressures of life, and his guidance through this process. My wife and family have been incredibly supportive through this process. The birth of two beautiful daughters certainly slowed things down.
However, I would like to thank them for sharing their time, especially this last year, while things came together. Lastly, I want to thank Eric Marsh, Carissa Jangard Aimee Saddler, Brian Kelly, David Turnoy, Meghan Johnson, Megan Ciolli, and their respective students for volunteering their time to help me test these maps. Without them, I would be without data, no results, and no conclusion. Hopefully this document marks the conclusion.
ii Table of Contents Abstract. ii List of Tables. vi List of Figures. vii Chapter 1: Introduction.
1 Geographic Education in Oregon. 3 Chapter 2: Literature Review. 7 Design Choices for Children. 7 Student as a Map Maker.
31 iii Data Analysis. 65 Chapter 5: Analysis and Discussion. 69 Discussion for Question 1. 69 Discussion for Question 2.
71 Discussion for Questions 3 and 4. 73 Discussion for Question 5. 75 Discussion for Question 6. 75 Discussion for Question 7.
79 Discussion for Question 8. 81 Discussion for Question 9. 82 Summary of Discussion. 84 Chapter 6: Concluding Remarks.
96 iv Appendix A: Design Considerations for Thematic Maps Based on Audience. 99 Appendix B: Script for Map Introduction. 106 Appendix C: Informational Flyer. 108 Appendix D: Sample of Map Interface and Question.
109 Appendix E: Human Subjects Research Review Committee Approval. 113 v List of Tables Table 1: Summary of Participants by School. 32 Table 2: Analysis of Biographical Traits. 40 Table 3: Summary of Statistical Findings.
42 Table 4: Descriptive Statistics for Question 1, Layer Evaluation. 44 Table 5: Descriptive Statistics for Question 1, Hillshade Evaluation. 45 Table 6: Descriptive Statistics for Question 2, Layer Evaluation. 47 Table 7: Summary Statistics for Questions 3 and 4.
50 Table 8: Descriptive Statistics for Question 3, Hillshade Evaluation. 51 Table 9: Descriptive Statistics for Question 5, Layer Evaluation. 55 Table 10: Descriptive Statistics for Question 5, Hillshade Evaluation. 55 Table 11: Descriptive Statistics for Question 6, Layer Evaluation.
57 Table 12: Descriptive Statistics for Question 7, Hillshade Evaluation. 59 Table 13: Summary of Findings for Question 1. 69 Table 14: Summary of Findings for Question 2. 71 Table 15: Summary of Findings for Questions 3 & 4.
74 vi List of Figures Figure 1: A Qualitative Map. 3 Figure 2: A Quantitative Thematic Map. 4 Figure 3: Combining Layers to Create a Map. 5 Figure 4: The Cartographic Process.
16 Figure 5: Interactive Map Process. 16 Figure 6: A Web Map Includes Many Competing Visual Elements. 23 Figure 7: Example of Simplification. 24 Figure 8: Example of Selection and Combination.
24 Figure 9: Age of Participants. 33 Figure 10: Map Distribution Summary. 38 Figure 11: Map Distribution Summary Continued. 39 Figure 12: Question 1 and a Sample Map.
43 Figure 13: Response Times For Each Map in Question 1. 45 Figure 14: Response Times for the Maps with Hillshades for Question 1. 46 Figure 15: Response Times for Different Maps in Question 2. 48 Figure 16: Response Times for Maps with and without Hillshades in Question 2.
49 Figure 17: Sample Question and Map Used in Questions 3 and 4. 50 Figure 18: Response Times for Each Map in Questions 3 and 4. 52 Figure 19: Response Times for Maps with a Hillshade in Questions 3 and 4. 57 vii Figure 22: Question 6 Response Times per Map.
60 Figure 24: Response Times for Question 7. 62 Figure 26: Map Preference Among Students in Question 8. 63 Figure 27: Reason Given for Picking the Hillshade in Question 8. 64 Figure 28: Reason Given for Picking Map without Hillshade in Question 8.
66 Figure 30: Map Choices for Question 9. 67 Figure 31: Reason Given for Choosing Map without the Hillshade. 68 Figure 32: Reason Given for Choosing Map with Hillshade. 68 Figure 33: Response Times for Question 2.
72 Figure 34: Response times for each map in Question 6. 76 Figure 35: Beef Cattle Distribution. 77 Figure 36: Response Times for Maps in Question 7. 79 viii Chapter 1: Introduction The field of on-line mapping is evolving at a rapid pace and changes in the techniques, underlying technology, sources of data, and usage of maps make for a myriad of options for both the casual user and professional user alike.
Access to the Internet and to a variety of interactive mapping tools has increased interest among school teachers in using interactive and on-line maps in conjunction with learning activities. However, there has been little research in the area of interactive and on-line map use in educational situations, specifically with regard to maps that combine multiple thematic layers on a single map. This study evaluates the relationship between the number of layers present on a web-based map and middle-school students’ accuracy and response time using the map to answer geographic questions. Additionally, this study examines the specific effect of a hillshade on student response time and accuracy when answering questions that do not require any terrain information.
Background Between 2006 and 2008, the Oregon Geographic Alliance collaborated with middle school instructors and students from Portland State University to create the Student Atlas of Oregon. The student atlas is a collection of thematic maps and illustrated geographic concepts that complement the curriculum taught to upper elementary and middle school students in Oregon. Map topics for the student atlas were selected based on examples taken from other child-oriented atlases and from current 1 curricula, then further reduced to a collection that best met the needs of the widest group of students. The Atlas was static; the maps were either print or electronic documents in Portable Document Format (PDF).
When polled about features for an on-line version of the atlas, collaborators expressed interest in an interactive atlas, specifically one that would allow students to turn data layers on and off (Banis 2008). The ability to add data to interactive maps in the form of layers has become a popular feature among on-line mapping tools that both students and their instructors encounter outside the classroom. Geographic Education in Oregon Before developing a map, it is important to understand what content is identified as appropriate for upper elementary and middle school students, and what map skills they are expected to have. Educational content standards guided this research in the selection of maps and content.
In Oregon, the state's Department of Education (ODE) establishes curriculum guidelines and learning benchmarks for standardized content (ODE 2003a). These guidelines are not mandatory, and final decisions about instruction are left to local school districts (Morgan 2008). However, since the student atlas is available statewide, ODE's content standards and curriculum goals are reasonable criteria to follow for the purpose of this study. Content standards and curriculum goals establish, for example, that 5th graders are expected to "examine and understand how to prepare maps, charts, and other visual representations to locate places and interpret geographic information" 2 (ODE 2005, 55).
This standard is exemplified in the grade level learning targets by using "maps to determine population trends, precipitation, temperature and ethnic distribution" (ODE 2003, 15). Thematic Maps Thematic maps and general reference maps are the two major categories of maps widely used today. Reference maps focus on identifying a variety of geographic features, both natural and anthropogenic, with the primary focus on location (Dent 1996). As adults, we may frequently encounter a reference map in the form of a topographic map, such as a USGS Quad sheet.
In contrast, thematic maps focus on a single topic or “theme” and display either quantitative or qualitative information. Qualitative thematic maps are used to display the distribution of some phenomenon, such as downhill ski areas (Figure 1). Figure 1: A Qualitative Map. This type of map is often used to show where a certain phenomenon occurs, such as downhill ski areas in this example.
3 Quantitative thematic maps are used to communicate information about how much of an activity or phenomenon exists at a location. Quantitative thematic maps exist to give geographic meaning to tabular data (Dent 1996) such as the amount of rainfall at certain locations (Figure 2). Figure 2: A Quantitative Thematic Map. This map uses area symbols to represent the amount of precipitation that parts of the state receive each year.
4 The Student Atlas is largely comprised of thematic maps, so it is important to discuss this type of map and the potential for making thematic maps interactive. Constructing a thematic map involves overlaying a base map with a thematic subject, or layer.