Thinking About

2009 Phil Gersmehl

Michigan Geographic Alliance
New York Center for Geographic Learning

1
 Eight ways
of thinking about locations,
conditions, and connections

2
 Location

The idea of location is the entrance ticket

to a geographic inquiry.

- Where is it ?
- Why is it there ?
- Why is that important ?
3
 Location

Place Movement

The conditions The connections

right there a location has
at a location with other places

4
 Location
Spatial
Place ThinkingMovement

How the brain organizes

information about locations,
their conditions, and connections.

5
 Spatial
Comparison comparing this place
to another one
I already know

6
 Spatial
Comparison

Are places the same or different?

Does one place have more or less

than another place?

What places are higher

(mountainous), larger, wetter,
drier, nicer, colder, safer? 7
Comparison How are places
similar or different?

Which
Great Lake
is home to
the largest
urban
area?

8
 Which is
bigger, the Comparison
Upper
Peninsula or
the Lower
Peninsula?

What is
another way
they are
different?

Which city on
average is
cooler Ann
Arbor or
Marquette?
9
 How are places Comparison
similar or different?

Where are most

of the large cities
located?

10
Spatial
Aura finding places that
have an influence
over this place

How does this

place influence
other places?

11
 Spatial
Aura

How does a big city influence

nearby places?

How does a body of water

influence nearby places?

12
 Aura

Why are there more

highways around
Detroit than Gaylord?

What kinds of
businesses might
grow up
around a big city?

How does Lake

Michigan influence
weather on the west
coast of Michigan?
13
Spatial
Region putting similar places
together in a group

14
 Spatial
Region

What places are near each other

and are alike in some way
(have similar conditions)?

15
 Region

What groups of What geographic characteristics

nearby places do each language group region
are similar? have in common?
16
Region

What human
regions are
evident?

Can you draw

a mental line
around a region
of high land? 17
 Paris Metro (Transit) Region
Region

Do language regions
coincide with country
boundaries?

What groups of
nearby places have
similar characteristics
or connections?
18
 Spatial
Transition arranging places
in a sequence

19
 Spatial
Transition

How do conditions change

as we move along a journey?

What comes earlier,

and what comes later?

Is the change gradual,

or is the change abrupt? 20
Transition

How do
conditions
change as
you travel
from one
place to
another?
21
 Transition

Based on this map, can you predict

What other physical
how the scenery would change as you
changes might you
drive from Lansing north on US
see on this route?
127/I75 to Sault Ste. Marie? 22
 Transition

Based on this map, can you predict

What other physical
how the scenery would change as you
changes might you
drive from Lansing north on US
see on this route?
127/I75 to Sault Ste. Marie? 23
 Spatial
Hierarchy putting small places
Inside of large places

Moscow is inside Russia;

Russia is inside Eurasia.

24
 Spatial
Hierarchy

Is a place a part
of something larger?

What smaller pieces

are inside a larger piece?

Is a smaller river part of

(connected to) a larger river? 25
 hierarchy

How are
smaller
places
related to
larger
ones?

26
Put the following
places in order
from inside to
outside.

Michigan

Ingham
County

Lansing
Midwest

hierarchy
27
 hierarchy

How are
smaller entities
related to
larger ones?

How do rivers
and tributaries
help show
boundaries
of watersheds?
28
 Spatial
Analogy identifying places
in similar positions

Traverse City
is to the Boardman River
and Grand Traverse Bay

as Saginaw
is to the Saginaw River
and the Saginaw Bay
29
 Spatial
Analogy

What features or conditions

tend to occur in similar positions?

As a result, do they have

other features in common?

30
 Analogy

Why do places with

similar locations
have similar
characteristics?
31
What do these
towns have in
common?
Ads
by
Goo
gle
Lak W or Mic
e k. higa
Orio Live n
n . Wan
Mov Mic ta
ers higa care
Loca n. er in
l- Jobs Law
Long . Enfo
Dist Inter rce
ance nshi men
Mov ps. t? H
ing Cool ere'
Mov Co s
ing mpa ever

Why were they

Co nies. ythin
mpa Pla g
ny in ces you
Lake to need
Orio Live. for
n Peo free
ww ple. Edu.
w.La New Poli
keO s. ceLi
rion MiP nk.c
Mov erfe om/
ers. ctJo Aca
com b.co dem
m y
Mic
higa
n
Elev

good places to
ation
Map
:Thi
s is
a
gene
raliz
ed
topo
grap
hic
map
of
Mic
higa
n. It
sho
ws

put sawmills in
elev

Escanaba
ation
tren
ds
acro
ss
the
state
.
Deta
iled
topo
grap
hic
map

the late 1800s?

s
and
aeri
al
phot
os of
Mic
higa
n
are
avail
able
in
the
Geol
ogy.
com
stor
e.
See
our
state
high
point
s
map
to
lear
n
abou
t Mt.
Arvo
n at
1,97
9
feet
- the
high
est
point
in
Mic
higa
n.
The
lowe

Alpena
st
point
is
Lake
Erie
at
571
feet.

Analogy Manistee Cadillac

Ludington
Bay City

Which of these 4 Muskegon

additional towns
would also be a Lansing

potential site for a

sawmill in the late
1800s? 32
Spatial
Pattern noting alignments,
arcs, clusters, rings,
and other arrangements
that are not random

33
 Spatial
Pattern

Are features arranged in a

line or in a cluster?
Are features spread out
evenly vs. randomly?
Are features spread out in a balanced
way or are they unbalanced with more
on one side? 34
Pattern

Why are features arranged

in clumps, lines or patterns?
35
Pattern

Is there a pattern to
the high areas of
Michigan?

Is the population
pattern in Michigan
spread out or
clustered?

36
 Spatial
Association
noting features that
tend to occur together
(in the same places)

37
 Spatial
Association

What features or conditions

tend to occur together?

Why do they occur together?

38
 Association

Why do some
features usually
occur together
in the same
places?

39
 Association Thats why we
call it Lake
Effect Snow.
Red areas have
abundant snowfall.
Are these areas
associated with the
Atlantic Ocean, the
Great Lakes or the
Mississippi River?

Why do they occur

together?

What else occurs in Map showing some of the lake-effect

these areas? snow areas of the United States 40
 Association

Why do
some
features
usually
occur
together in
the same
places?

Earthquakes Plate Boundaries Volcanoes

41
 We didnt just think up
those 8 ideas over lunch one day.

They are based

on a huge amount
of neuroscience research

42
 One important conclusion
from research in neuroscience
and developmental psychology:

1. The human brain appears to have

some specific structures that do
each kind of spatial thinking.

43
 shows that old ideas about
stages of development (Piaget)
cycles of learning (Kolb)
left brain, right brain (Edwards)
or frames of mind (Gardner)

are just that old ideas.

47
 Compare one place Identify Assess influences
with another. analogous that a place has
places. on nearby places.

Find close-together Notice transitions.

places that have Do conditions change
similar conditions. gradually or abruptly?

Describe the
Discover
non-random Identify smaller correlations
arrangements sub-areas (features that
of features. within occur together).
larger areas.

shows that the human brain has several regions

48
that do specific kinds of spatial thinking.
 Two more conclusions
from research in neuroscience
and developmental psychology:

2. People are different some people

are genetically or experientially predisposed
to use specific modes of spatial thinking.

49
 Two more conclusions
from research in neuroscience
and developmental psychology:

2. People are different some people

are genetically or experientially predisposed
to use specific modes of spatial thinking.

3. People can learn an expert map reader

uses more different modes of spatial thinking,
and uses them more effectively, than a novice.
50
 Remember
the purpose of
these various modes
of spatial thinking
is to make it easier
for us to remember
facts about places.

Weve known this

for a long time.
Whats the big deal ?
51
Just this the human brain
has specific regions
that are structured
to do each kind
of spatial thinking.

52
 Scientific conclusion :

The human brain has a number

of separate, independent structures
that help us organize geographic information

Important take home message

for educators/administrators:
There are significant individual differences
In student inclination and ability to use
different modes of spatial thinking.
53
Our goal is to design teaching materials
that enable all students to improve
all of their spatial-reasoning skills
in geography, history,
economics, earth science,
even reading and math.

54