The Influence of Visual-Spatial Ability and Study Procedures on Map Learning Skill.
Abstract
This study investigated the influence of two sources of individual differences in knowledge acquisition from maps: abilities and learning procedures. Twenty-five subjects provided verbal protocols while attempting to learn two maps. Visual spatial ability was highly correlated with recall of spatial attributes of the map and with overall learning performance, while associative memory ability was most correlated with verbal attribute recall. Subject-selected procedures for encoding spatial information and assessing learning progress also distinguished the behavior of successful and less successful learners. However, subjects of high and low ability differed little in the study procedures they chose. although both ability differences and procedure use were important contributors to performance, a direct comparison of these sources of variation suggested that abilities are most predictive of map learning. These observations led us to the following conclusions: (1) the use of effective study procedures can influence map learning performance, and (2) high ability subjects benefit more from the use of these procedures than low ability subjects. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA087247
Entities
People
- Cathleen Stasz
- Perry W. Thorndyke
Organizations
- RAND Corporation