Definition
Graphicacy and other skills
developing graphicacy in the Classroom
Map interpretation
Photo Interpretation
Other graphic Symbols
These aspects will be expored in this paper.
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The aim of Geography as a subject is to produce pupils or students who are geographically informed. A geographically informed person is one who
sees meaning in the arrangement of things in space
sees relationships between people, places and the environment
uses geographic skills
applies apatial and ecological perspectives to life situations.
Monmier (1993:4-12) identified four competencies which an educated person should develop. These are
1. Articulacy: fluency in oral expression
2. Literacy: fluencyin reading and writing effectively
3. Numeracy: fluency with the manipulation of numbers
4 Graphicacy: fluency in the construction and interpretation of
graphic models of communication (graphs, diagrams,
illustrations, photographs, sculptures, icons and maps)
Although all the four copetencies are important in geography, it is graphicasy that has received the least emphasis in education. However, Monmier (1993:9) notes that "even some inherently graphic disciplines ignore the value of graphics to organse and elucidate ... data"
What is important is to note that Graphicacy is a term used by Geographers to describe the understanding and communication of patial information that can not be conveyed adequately by verbal and numerical means eg
-plan of a school
-the location of a town
-route through a town
a photograph showing the aftermath of an earthquake
Wilmot (1999:91) defines graphicacy as " complex form of communication whch utilises symbols other words or numbers to convey spatial information about the environment"
Thus Graphicacy is the most distinctive geographic form of communication. It is the only skill which Geographers can actully call theirs. All the other skills mentioned by Monmeir (1993) can best be develpoed in other subjects such as languages, Mathematics and Sciences. Graphicacy, can be developed in the Geography domain through
- maps and diagrams
- interpretation of photographs
- using other graphic forms of communication such as graphs and icons
In the classroom, Graphicacy is largely associated with the following skills
- reading and drawing of maps
-interpretation of aerial, oblique and
horizontal photographs
-construction and interpretation of different
types of graphs.
MAP INTERPRETATION
Pupils learn a variety of skills such as the following low order skills
(1) giving and using direction
(2) reading and expressing location
(3) using scale to measure distance
The following higher order skills can be
developed using Map interpretation as well
(4) recognising contour patterns on a map
(5) attemping to visualize landforms
represented by contour lines.
INTERPRETATION OF PHOTOGRAPHS
to be continued