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Introduction: Media comparison studies examining the effectiveness of immersive virtual reality in education have yielded inconclusive findings, leaving the question of its impact on learning compared to conventional media unanswered. To address this issue, our study employs a novel approach that combines media comparison with an investigation on the influence of broader educational context. Methods: In the experiment, 262 students from two distinct types of lower secondary schools--comprehensive school and multi-year gymnasium (a selective academic school)--participated. The students received a lesson on topography and contour line interpretation, using either an immersive virtual environment or a PowerPoint slideshow. A transfer test was carried out before, immediately after, and 1 month after the lesson to measure knowledge application. Results: The impact of the media (immersive virtual reality vs. PowerPoint slideshow) on learning outcomes was found to be minimal, with no clear advantage of one over the other in any experimental condition. In contrast, a significant influence on learning gains was observed due to school type. Multi-year gymnasium students consistently outperformed comprehensive school students in the pre-test and demonstrated greater learning gains, regardless of the learning media. Conclusion: The present study employs an innovative approach by integrating a comparative analysis of different media types with an investigation into the impact of learner characteristics. By including students from distinct types of schools, the study provides insights into the differential effects of immersive virtual reality in varied educational contexts.

Imitation and emulation are both important response modalities when learning new tasks. The current study tested the effects of establishing generalized imitation (GI) across missing topographies (gross motor, fine motor, multiple-step motor) on number of sessions-to-criterion for four preschoolers with developmental delays who were learning novel dressing skills. We also recorded participants' response modalities (imitative or emulative) during instruction. We used a pre- and postintervention design with a nested multiple probe design across participants. Intervention involved establishing the missing topographies using a mirror while modeling. Postintervention probes involving learning a new dressing skill from demonstration showed that the establishment of GI across multiple topographies resulted in a decrease in the number of sessions-to-criterion as well as a shift in responding during instruction from emulation to imitation for all four participants. Findings suggest that the establishment of GI across multiple topographies resulted in a new and more efficient way of learning multiple-step chained responses by observing a model in a mirror. Our results provide empirical evidence that GI meets the definition of a behavioral developmental cusp.

Background: As a psychological construct, inspiration has not received extensive examination in the outdoor literature. Inspiration can be characterized in terms of evocation, motivation, and transcendence. Purpose: This qualitative study explored the experience of inspiration in response to natural landscapes utilizing Bergson's qualitative multiplicity, the experience of co-occurring heterogeneous elements. Methodology/Approach: Survey respondents participated in a traveling field course visiting 19 U.S. National Parks in 2015 (n = 15, 26 days) and 14 parks in 2017 (n = 15, 18 days). Respondents described inspirational experiences in each park. Findings/Conclusions: Qualitative analysis of responses revealed a characteristic pattern: landscape features, landscape qualities, and affective responses. Participants cited vertical features, vastness, and beauty as triggers of inspiration, and characterized inspiration in terms of awe, wonder, and sublimity. Implications: This study describes inspiration in the outdoors, with implications for planning direct experiences of natural landscapes to maximize inspiration.

This study examined a cohort of 12 study abroad participants taking a course on video game topography and narrative in Salamanca, Spain, to determine how inhabiting and co-creating narrative worlds as part of the coursework might impact the experiences of the students inside and outside of the classroom as they engaged in mandated and optional cultural engagement activities, such as museum tours and excursions to historical sites. Students completed two gameful learning activities: 1) they co-created their own narrative game world in a group game proposal assignment drawing upon research from storytelling through game environments, and 2) they created independent digital journals of their experiences through the perspective of a gaming avatar chosen at the beginning of the course. Results from pre- and post-self-report surveys indicate that the game proposal assignment allowed students to develop stronger connections with one another while conducting research that gave them additional context for their cultural surroundings. However, those same students criticized participation in pre-defined environments or activities within the photo journal assignment that they perceived to lack authenticity. Future iterations of similar course designs should establish the course content and context as a foundation before enabling students to co-author the course's game narrative. Assessment of learning outcomes beyond self-reports is also recommended.

This study aimed to identify students' learning needs related to integrating mobile device technology and creative thinking skills in learning land surveying. This was done by looking at students' responses based on media use, opportunities for media development, and supporting facilities for developing learning media. The participants of this study were 155 second-year students of the building engineering study program at Vocational High Schools. Mobile learning needs analysis indicators were prepared as a questionnaire instrument to achieve research objectives. This study used a quantitative approach, and the results of student responses were analyzed descriptively and presented in percentages. The findings revealed that 59.7% of respondents "agreed" and 40.3% "strongly agreed" to support the development of learning media that integrated cellular technology and creative thinking into the learning process of land surveying and was supported by the availability of learning support facilities. The conclusion is that the use of cellular technology in the learning process is directly proportional to students' abilities in operating and owning a smartphone, and that in the development of mobile learning as an alternative learning medium for land surveying has enormous opportunities. This study recommends the product of learning media using mobile learning methods and creative problem-solving approaches to train students to get used to creative thinking skills in developing their life skills.

This paper describes an experience based on the use of an active method in which students of a basic physics course prepare multiple choice questions (MCQs) to prepare for exams in the subject. The objective of the research was to provide the students with a method that would enhance their desire to learn physics, and consequently lead to an improvement in their meaningful learning. The participants were 57 first-year students from various engineering degrees. The quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-tests and a control group is described. The results showed that students who use the method of generating MCQs to prepare exams sometimes improve their learning significantly in comparison with the control group. The method also provides a new way to detect students' misconceptions about the concepts covered in class, which thus allows the evolution of their knowledge to be evaluated. Finally, it should be noted that the students valued the method used positively.

Humans use space as a lens to navigate and make sense of the world, thus successfully applying spatial concepts is an important life skill. Spatial thinking and developing spatial concepts are core components of school Geography curricula. Teachers teach geographical skills systematically aligning to the curriculum; however, students can struggle to understand and apply some spatial concepts and less is known about how students use conceptual skills in open-ended tasks. Set alongside a larger study (Kriewaldt et al., 2021), this paper reports on how young people were challenged to employ and develop spatial thinking during an open-ended task situated in place. We examine how students approached two challenging geospatial concepts: scale and slope. This article argues that Year 7 students were less consistent and precise in applying scale than the Year 9 cohort, with Year 9 students more advanced in awareness and comprehension of slope than those in Year 7. As well, it points to the actions of teachers to foster the long-term understanding of geographical concepts.

The study of topological policy cultures highlights a tendency in policy spaces to undo the effects of topographical and cultural distances and differences. In contemporary education policy trends, such traits are present in the attempts to reimagine classroom spaces. A case in point is Future Classroom Lab (FCL), a physical classroom concept developed and spread across Europe, which promotes the use of digital technologies and divides the classroom into different functional 'zones'. We analyse FCL as a prototype that incites open exploration in the use and design of classrooms. We argue that prototypes are sometimes equally morphing into "proto-practices," which are "practised" forms of prototypes that are in constant flux, enabling new and different functions, meanings and emotions to emerge. Prototypes and proto-practices secure the continuous transformation of policy spaces through relatively open variation, differentiation and exploration. As such, they are emblematic of contemporary topological policy cultures.

Cirques are often the most representative and numerous landforms in alpine glaciated watersheds. The readily mappable and measurable nature of cirques (especially aspects and floor elevations) may yield information about the climatic, geologic, and topographic conditions that created them. These ubiquitous landforms are the foci of an alpine glacial geomorphology exercise in an intermediate-level, university geomorphology course. The exercise involves a step-by-step approach using topographic maps and remotely sensed imagery to identify and map cirques, measure cirque aspects and floor elevations, and plot and analyze the resulting data. Students interpret their mapping and analysis results in the context of published literature, ultimately incorporating all into a research paper. Student comments and self-evaluations over time show that the exercise is an effective tool for learning glacial geomorphology, topographic map, and remotely sensed image analysis, data analysis, and report writing.

This paper was inspired by empirical encounters with students and teacher-administrators who engaged with an online European education initiative, which raised questions about whether and how their practices were situated as local, transnational, or national(ist) endeavors. The conceptual, theoretical, and methodological resources of social topology and critical border studies guided our inquiry by a focus on bordering practices and how these generate spatiotemporal forms and movements, and evoked a "typical national form" which is characterized as a singular, stable, linear, and flat "topography." An innovative methodology is deployed to scrutinize how practices with this online, European initiative continue, challenge or complement that typical national form. The findings demonstrate how the use of topographical indexes and tropes (re-)materialized characteristics of these typical national forms, while the combination with topological relations introduced multiplicities and "levels" in these forms. Moreover, spherical forms, bouncing movements, and tunneling movements challenged the singularity, stability, linearity, and flatness of the typical national form. Building on these findings, the paper sets forth the argument that this online European education initiative mainly challenges the enactment of nationalism in classrooms by encouraging learning and thinking through "translocalities," which accentuates distances and differences that are being crossed without appealing to the typical imaginary of the "nation" with linear, stable, flat borders.

Topographic map-reading skills are critical for certain professions but can be difficult to learn. The purpose of this pilot study is to provide insight on the role augmented reality technology can play in the development of topographic map-reading skills. Using a situated cognition theoretical framework, this study tracks the development of students' skills in three different instructional approaches using the Topographic Mapping Assessment (TMA), instructor observations, and student feedback. Using a quasi-experimental research design, 85 college-level students in eight sections of an introductory undergraduate geoscience laboratory course were assigned to a control group (n = 19) that was instructed using the standard curriculum (paper-and-pencil lab exercises and field trips), a 2-D group (n = 14) that completed six activities using 2-D maps, or an augmented reality sandbox (ARS) group (n = 52) that completed six activities requiring both 2-D maps and augmented reality technology. Results from multi-level analyses of covariance suggest no significant difference in overall post-instruction scores, except female students in the ARS groups (n = 17) tended to score higher than students in the control group (n = 11), potentially indicating this method can increase outcomes for females in STEM. Other identified instructional benefits of using the ARS include increased collaboration between students, greater visibility to the instructor of student difficulties and challenges, and improved ability for the instructor to provide real-time feedback and guidance.

Undergraduate students may possess underdeveloped knowledge about water systems, particularly groundwater. The use of models and modeling have been employed in undergraduate classrooms to support students' learning about water. However, effective modeling requires spatial thinking skills, which undergraduate students may also need to develop. Here, undergraduate students used a computer-based groundwater model in an introductory water course and we explored students' spatial thinking about groundwater in two consecutive iterations of the course. We report findings from a descriptive study conducted in the course, through which we explored students' understanding of space, representation, and reasoning by conducting quantitative and qualitative analyses on student tasks and interviews. Findings suggest that students may struggle with certain components of spatial thinking, such as tools of representation and reasoning. Specifically, students had difficulties interpreting model representations such as contour lines, and struggled to reason about groundwater flow. However, students performed better on other aspects of spatial thinking, such as concepts of space. Overall, these results suggest students struggle with certain aspects of spatial thinking in relation to this groundwater model. These findings have implications for undergraduate teaching and learning about groundwater.

This study examines teachers' perceptions of the specific factors and conditions which shape international communities of practice as successful vehicles for their professional development. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with thirteen teachers in Poland who have extensive experience working in a wide range of international professional development settings. The findings indicate that teachers perceived international communities to be a unique platform for their professional development because they offered multi-layered topographies for professional growth; created space for the collective organisation of development activities in diverse, autonomous teams working on challenging topics; and allowed for sharing teaching stories, reflecting on practice, as well as feeling affirmed/affirming others. Based on the results, recommendations are made for future research and policies which enrich communities within and across schools by providing teachers with the flexibility to discover and build international communities.

This paper provides an account of the topological and its description of contemporary culture and use as a research methodology, a topological lens, generally, and in education research specifically. Some commentary is proffered on the relationships between the topological and the topographical, between relations and locations. A critical account is then provided on each of the papers in the special issue on the topological in education research and the specific contributions of each. The editors of the special issue make the important point that the topological is a spatio-temporal phenomenon, not just a spatial one. The topological does not exist in time and space, but rather constructs both and they change in a conjoint manner. As such, a topological lens rejects a construction of space as static and of time (and the temporal) as simply linear and chronological. The topological has been facilitated and articulated by and through practices of commensuration, datafication and digitalisation, flows and scapes, global connectivities and new relations, mobilities of various kinds and multiple networks. The paper argues that much greater emphasis has been given to the spatial in topological research; that is, there has been some neglect of the temporal in the spatio-temporal character of topologies.

Groundwater is a critical component of the global water cycle and standards-based topic within science education. However, students articulate an array of ideas about groundwater systems, including their natural and human elements. One way to support students' learning about groundwater systems is through the use of data-driven, computer-based modeling tools in technology-enabled science learning environments. To use models to reason productively about groundwater, students must be able to interpret the relationship between the model and the phenomena it represents. Here, we report findings from a study conducted in 7th-grade classrooms (n = 209) during implementation of a 3-week curriculum module designed around a data-driven, computer-based groundwater modeling tool -- the Hydrogeology Challenge. Students completed a series of tasks using the model to reason about and engage in problem-solving about a real-world, scenario-based water challenge. Here, we focus on how students relate -- or map -- elements of the model to the components of the authentic water-related phenomena they represent. We conducted quantitative and qualitative analyses of student artifacts and interviews. Findings suggest that students could more easily interpret and understand model elements which represent human dimensions of groundwater systems, such as wells, than they could elements that represent natural dimensions and processes, such as contour lines or groundwater flow direction. These findings provide important insights into students' model-based reasoning about groundwater and teaching and learning about coupled human-hydrological systems.

Spatial thinking skills are crucial for success in any of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) domains, and they are malleable. One approach to support the development of student spatial skills is through the use of innovative technologies, like the augmented reality (AR) sandbox, that can also effectively teach geoscience content in the process. In this study, we aimed to create a student-informed spatial topographic map activity designed to emphasize mental rotation, spatial orientation, and spatial visualization skills using the AR sandbox that incorporated elements such as drawing topographic profiles and recognizing stream flow direction. Furthermore, this study explored the spatial reasoning beliefs and challenges of undergraduate students at a large-enrollment Southeastern US university. Both quantitative and qualitative measures were employed to better understand student performance on and challenges with the topographic map and spatial tasks. Overall, the students found spatial visualization tasks in the activity to be the most challenging, and they were least confident in their spatial visualization skills. However, they believed that their spatial visualization skills were most improved after completing the topographic map activity, and those activities were reported to be the most effective at getting them to think in spatial terms. These results highlight that multi-step mental manipulations required to perform spatial visualization tasks are of great interest to instructors when developing topographic map activities using the AR sandbox. With more investigation, the AR sandbox has the potential to aid in the development of students' spatial visualization skills while simultaneously teaching geological content.

Topographic maps are a common form of 3D surface elevation data represented as a 2D display. Despite their use in geoscience courses, many students find learning to effectively read and interpret these maps challenging. Here, we present a tool for teaching topographic map interpretation using 3D printed terrain. The terrain was 3D printed from a portion of the quadrangle map used in an introductory earth science course for non-science majors. Students placed the ~12 cm square terrain directly on the corresponding area of the paper topographic map, in order to see the landscape. Student learning was compared between an original version of the topography lab and the same lab with the addition of the 3D printed terrain, using the Modified Topographic Map Assessment (MTMA) administered as a pre- and posttest with each group. As measured by pretest scores on the MTMA, students in the original (n = 54) and 3D print terrain tool (n = 24) groups had comparable incoming topographic map interpretation skills (t(75) = 0.98, p = 0.33). Pre- to posttest MTMA scores did not significantly improve in the original lab group (M = 0.63, SD = 3.13, t(53) = 1.48, p = 0.15) but did in the 3D print terrain group (M = 1.96, SD = 2.97, t(23) = 3.23, p = 0.004) with a moderate effect size (d = 0.53). Results of this pilot study suggest that 3D printed terrain shows promise as a teaching tool that could be adapted to multiple uses including K-12 classes and upper division earth science courses.

The present study describes a teaching experiment aimed at the integrated development of competences at various study subjects. According to the curriculum, the students in Cartography at the Faculty of Geography (University of Bucharest) should learn how to make a hypsometric map by using the computer as early as the first semester of the 1st year of study. However, when using the software, they are not able to understand the interpolation algorithm lying "behind" the command. Besides, the teaching experience of the authors shows that most students use the various commands of the GIS software or computer-assisted cartography programs only because they exist, without considering the use of a particular command or algorithm. Although the hypsometric map is widely used, many cartographic representations of this kind contain errors that are derived from the superficial understanding of the basic concepts. Consequently, we made an experiment aimed at correlating a number of notions, concepts and procedures. Using the same basemap (a spot elevation map), the students were able to develop the competence of interpolating and manually drawing contour maps (during the Land Surveying class). Subsequently, once they understood these principles, they developed the competence of making a digital hypsometric map by using the tinting method, starting from spot elevations and not from contour lines (at Methods and Techniques of Cartographic Representation). The advantage was that the students were able to understand the fundamentals of a particular program algorithm, to apply the various procedures based on understanding them and to correlate their knowledge. All these are premises for creativity, for a correct use of procedures (irrespective of the involved topography) and for raising the quality of the geographic higher education.

In this case the Court upheld the age-old doctrine of assumption of risk, affirming the inherent dangers of teeing off in golf. Despite a nasty trip on a tree root, the golfer was not entitled to recover for his injuries due to the primary assumption of the risk doctrine. This case sets a precedent for understanding the potential hazards of the sport and reinforces the importance of personal responsibility on the greens and potentially beyond.

The augmented reality (AR) sandbox bridges the gap between two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) visualization by projecting a digital topographic map onto a sandbox landscape. As the landscape is altered, the map dynamically adjusts, providing an opportunity to discover how to read topographic maps. We tested the hypothesis that the AR sandbox is a more effective tool for teaching topographic maps than the traditional, paper-based approach alone. Students enrolled in an introductory geology course were randomly divided into two groups. The control group (N = 82) completed the paper-based topographic maps laboratory course. The experimental group (N = 94) completed the same laboratory course but also used the AR sandbox. Students spent 15-20 min working on an instructor-guided exercise to explore concepts such as contours, landforms, profiles, and gradients. The following week, all students took a topographic maps assessment. As in previous studies, these data suggest that male students, those with prior map-reading experience, and those students with higher 3D visualization skills tended to score better on the assessment. Unfortunately, we identified no significant gains in the experimental group over the control group, even when the results were subdivided by gender, prior map experience, and/or spatial visualization skill. These results suggest a short instructor-guided approach is not the most effective way to use the AR sandbox. Future research should focus on determining the amount of time needed to make the AR sandbox effective and/or the efficacy of using the AR sandbox multiple times during the semester for shorter periods of time.

The project "3D and 4D Simulations for Landscape Reconstruction and Damage Scenarios: GIS Pilot Applications" has been devised with the intention to deal with the demand for research, innovation and applicative methodology on the part of the international programme, requiring concrete results to increase the capacity to know, anticipate and respond to a natural disaster. This project therefore sets out to develop an experimental methodology, a wide geodatabase, a connected performant GIS platform and multifunctional scenarios able to profitably relate the added values deriving from different geotechnologies, aimed at a series of crucial steps regarding landscape reconstruction, event simulation, damage evaluation, emergency management, multi-temporal analysis. The Vesuvius area has been chosen for the pilot application owing to such an impressive number of people and buildings subject to volcanic risk that one could speak in terms of a possible national disaster. The steps of the project move around the following core elements: creation of models that reproduce the territorial and anthropic structure of the past periods, and reconstruction of the urbanized area, with temporal distinctions; three-dimensional representation of the Vesuvius area in terms of infrastructuralresidential aspects; GIS simulation of the expected event; first examination of the healthcareepidemiological consequences; educational proposals. This paper represents a proactive contribution which describes the aims of the project, the steps which constitute a set of specific procedures for the methodology which we are experimenting, and some thoughts regarding the geodatabase useful to "package" illustrative elaborations. Since the involvement of the population and adequate hazard preparedness are very important aspects, some educational and communicational considerations are presented in connection with the use of geotechnologies to promote the knowledge of risk.

Teachers' interest is a key influencing factor in geography class, development of curricula and writing textbooks and only little is known about it. A cross-sectional study along the lines of interest theory originating from educational psychology was carried out in Germany in the summer of 2015, in which 141 teachers at secondary schools completed a questionnaire about their interest in geography topics and regions. At the same time, 3400 students (ages 10-17) were surveyed. Teachers show high interest in a broad range of geography topics. They are very interested in natural disasters and topographic topics whereas there is only little interest in several traditional topics from the field of human geography. The significantly higher interests of teachers only partially correspond to those of students (e.g. natural disasters). Teachers have a high interest in (in descending order) the greater regions of Germany, Europe and outside Europe. Among students, regions outside Europe are placed first. Both groups show high interest in Western countries and low interest in Eastern regions on all scale levels. Gender turned out to be the most influential factor in interest, however not in the total amount of topics but rather in the subscales and individual topics and regions.

Author Bryan Smith agrees that critiques of Sir John A. Macdonald, and Cornwallis as unworthy of public commemoration are warranted and necessary, particularly as each was instrumental in cementing settler-colonial projects of dominion and erasure of Indigenous populations. However, he observes that each figure is but one point (or multiple) in the web of articulations that comprise the city-texts of Canada. Drawing on the example of the city now known as Toronto, Smith shows how critically examining city-texts can provide a generative way to thwart the insidiousness of the colonial settler project. An appended street maps show a concentration of Indigenous toponyms concentrated at the corner of Yonge Street and Steeles Avenue (West and East). The cluster of Indigenous toponyms--Nipigon, Abitibi, Athabaska, Otonabee and Madawaska--is concentrated at the literal margins of the city's politically defined space. Further, there is a particular scalar advantage afforded to "Yonge" and "Steeles" (named for English people (Wise & Gould, 2011)) that, by virtue of their arterial nature, enjoy greater prominence in popular language of space. While this map is only one example, it draws attention to how space can serve to, in quite literal ways, marginalize histories that don't fit with the banality of European commemorative privilege.

Spatial thinking is often challenging for introductory geology students. A pilot study using the Augmented Reality sandbox (AR sandbox) suggests it can be a powerful tool for bridging the gap between two-dimensional (2D) representations and real landscapes, as well as enhancing the spatial thinking and modeling abilities of students. The AR sandbox involves a real box of sand with virtual contour lines and a water flow model created using a three-dimensional (3D) scanning camera, visualization software, and a projector. It was used in undergraduate, physical geology courses to teach topographic maps and surficial features and processes. The instructor demonstrated topographic concepts (contour lines, topographic profiles, etc.), and students engaged in model building of coastal and fluvial environments (drainage basins, cutoffs, longshore transport, sea-level rise, spits, flooding, etc.). The virtual water flow model was used to illustrate water flow dynamics on surface features. With the AR sandbox connected to a computer monitor, students could simultaneously see 3D landscapes in the sandbox and their corresponding 2D images on the monitor. Students used camera phones to capture landscape models they built and submitted them via e-mail for grading. Exit surveys indicated students were overwhelmingly positive (97%) in their perception of how the AR sandbox improved their understanding of learning objectives. They also preferred AR sandbox activities when compared to traditional laboratories that used only topographic maps. Effective classroom use of the AR sandbox required developing student-modeling exercises that took advantage of real-time feedback, virtual water, and physical modeling activities. While data are limited and more research is needed, real-time feedback on student models by both the students and the instructor suggests sandbox models are particularly useful for dispelling student misconceptions.

This study examines how geoscience experts and novices make meaning from an iconic type of data visualization: shaded relief images of bathymetry and topography. Participants examined, described, and interpreted a global image, two high-resolution seafloor images, and 2 high-resolution continental images, while having their gaze direction eye-tracked and their utterances and gestures videoed. In addition, experts were asked about how they would coach an undergraduate intern on how to interpret this data. Not unexpectedly, all experts were more skillful than any of the novices at describing and explaining what they were seeing. However, the novices showed a wide range of performance. Along the continuum from weakest novice to strongest expert, proficiency developed in the following order: making qualitative observations of salient features, making simple interpretations, making quantitative observations. The eye-tracking analysis examined how the experts and novices invested 20 seconds of unguided exploration, after the image came into view but before the researcher began to ask questions. On the cartographic elements of the images, experts and novices allocated their exploration time differently: experts invested proportionately more fixations on the latitude and longitude axes, while students paid more attention to the color bar. In contrast, within the parts of the image showing the actual geomorphological data, experts and novices on average allocated their attention similarly, attending preferentially to the geologically significant landforms. Combining their spoken responses with their eye-tracking behavior, we conclude that the experts and novices are looking in the same places but "seeing" different things.

A new method for determining the vertical interval of isotopographic surfaces on rugged terrain was developed. The method is based on the concept of determining the differentiated size of the vertical interval using spatial-statistical properties inherent in the modal characteristic, the degree of variability of apical heights and the chosen map scale. It was found that the morphometric characteristics of the terrain are highly informative, can serve as geoindicators, and have applied value; their calculation formulas were provided. An analytical assessment of the determination of differentiated sizes of the vertical interval was made. Its initial parameters are as follows: modal height, scale and variability of apical heights. The vertical intervals are differentiated by dividing the morphometric field of the terrain into two parts, the height in the contours whereof is lower (hi < hmo) and higher (hi > hmo) than the modal height, respectively; the reasoning behind the analytical assessment of the calculation of apical height variability and vertical intervals, which takes into account the peculiarities of terrain formation, was given; the main contour is drawn through the modal value of apical heights and then drawn through other contour systems based on the calculated vertical interval values, differentiated by the divided parts of the morphometric field.

This research examines small group collaboration on the Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox, an interactive, real-time topographical simulator that provides a color layer of augmentation showing depths and height, contour lines, and hydrology vis-a-vis the terrain of sand in a box. Prior research has focused on AR Sandbox activity designs, outcome measures, and user's perceptions of different usability functions. No research to date has examined the situated processes by which groups engage in CSCL activities on the AR Sandbox as they participate in authentic forms of topographical studies. Taking a dialogic stance to examine CSCL using AR, in this study we draw on previous scholarship about distributed spatial sensemaking to analyze the way groups interact over material, social, and activity contexts. Based on an Interaction Analysis methodology, our findings point to the different resources that are coordinated with the use of the AR Sandbox; the different ways that turn-taking during distributed spatial sensemaking occurs; and the intricacy and speed by which multimodal resources are used to advance spatial thinking. The implications of this research broaden views of distributed spatial sensemaking, provide novel methodological tools to examine this phenomena, and suggest different levels of analysis and expectations for studies on the AR Sandbox.

We developed and tested different pedagogical treatments using an Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox to teach introductory geoscience students about reading topographic maps at five institutions in both pilot and full implementation studies. The AR Sandbox treatments were characterized as 1) unstructured play, 2) a semi-structured lesson, and 3) a structured lesson. The success of each was contrasted with the control condition of a traditional topographic map lab without the AR Sandbox. Students completed a subset of questions from the Topographic Maps Assessment (TMA) and a series of mental rotation questions post-implementation. No significant differences were found on TMA post-test scores between groups who used the unstructured Sandbox play treatment compared to the control condition. Semi-structured and structured lesson formats similarly failed to produce a statistically significant difference on the TMA post-test. This indicates that no single treatment worked universally better than another. However, regression analysis showed two factors significantly predicted performance on the TMA, including spatial performance and self-assessed knowledge (or confidence) of topographic maps. Of the groups that used the Sandbox, students with low and high scores on the mental rotation test performed best on the TMA following the structured treatment.

Augmented reality (AR) sandboxes are useful tools in helping students develop a three-dimensional understanding of topographic maps and landforms. Research on the AR sandbox indicates that students enjoy it, but evidence about student learning gains is inconclusive. This study aims to understand how students engage with these tools as a precedent to understanding learning gains. Technology in the form of skin biosensors allows researchers to measure skin conductance (or electrodermal activity -- EDA) as a proxy for student engagement. This study used wrist biosensors to monitor the engagement of students exposed to different instructional treatments of an AR sandbox in an introductory lab course. The data were supplemented by dynamic video of the students interacting with the sandbox. Statistical analysis of the EDA data suggests that the use of an AR sandbox, particularly during structured lab activities, increases student engagement. Regression modeling supports a relationship between spatial reasoning skills. Based on video data, students' collaborative and social interactions also showed a significant relationship with EDA. These results suggest that instructors focus on developing and using structured and collaborative activities when incorporating AR sandboxes in their courses in order to best engage students.

This paper presents an experimental research focusing on the view of first year students. The aim is to check the quality of implementing 3D models integrated in the curriculum. We search to determine students' preference between the various means facilitated in order to understand the given subject. Students have been respondents to prove the hypotheses about the 3D models used in class to explain and do exercises about contours in Topography, and to develop a final course project. A positive attitude of the students towards used 3D models has been observed. Data support our hypotheses.

Almost every component of the information society is influenced by elements built on communication technology. Learning also tends to be related to the dynamic usage of computers. Nowadays, a number of applications (online or offline) are also available that engage large groups of potential users and simultaneously provide a virtual environment to facilitate learning. This study introduces the self-developed interactive blind map teaching-examining e-learning system of the University of Debrecen. Results of testing the system with a control group are also presented. Both experimental and control groups of students were required to sita test of topographic knowledge following a semester of study. The pass mark for the test was 80%. The experimental group used the new digital environment to study, while the control group prepared for their exam using paper maps in the traditional way. The key research questions addressed by the study were to determine whether exam results obtained by the group using the "digital" method better than those of the control's; and if there were a difference between the exam performances of the two groups, was this statistically significant and, therefore, likely to occur in other similar scenarios?

This article describes how one teacher introduced Earth science topics to a 10th-grade biology class using a 3D printer. The activities described give students opportunities to visit Earth's geologic landmarks through kinesthetic modeling. 3D-printed topographical maps function as a supplement to, or replacement of, two-dimensional drawings, computerized maps, or satellite images. Using kinesthetic activities to introduce students to these formations allow students to interact with the world in ways that would be impossible using 2-D maps or drawings, or even if they were on location for their research (Williams, Oulton, and Taylor 2017). Stretches of land 60 km wide and 4,000 m high become small enough for students to hold in their hands while still retaining all the details necessary for studying. These 3D-printed topographical maps were presented to classes of 25-30 students as part of the class's end-of-year Earth science unit. Students participated in a series of stations, each taking 1-2 days for a group of 4-7 students to complete, each with unique 3D maps. Major lessons covered by the different stations include glaciation, erosion, and tectonic plate movement; however, this article focuses on an activity called "Caldera Comparison: Using 3D-printed maps to show how volcanoes have shaped Earth throughout history."

Notwithstanding its well-established role on high-demanding spatial navigation tasks during adulthood, the effect of field dependence-independence during the acquisition of spatial navigation skills is almost unknown. This study assessed for the first time the effect of field dependence-independence on topographical learning (TL) across the life span: 195 individuals, including 54 healthy young-adults (age-range = 20-30), 46 teenagers (age-range = 11-14), and 95 children (age-range = 6-9) participated in this study. Field dependence-independence interacted with age in predicting TL. Also during childhood higher field independence was associated with better performances but not later in the life, that is, during adolescence and adulthood. This result suggests that field dependence-independence may have a role in fostering the acquisition of TL.

Currently, modelling of knowledge and skills in a MOOC and the associated instructional and pedagogical engineering process is a major challenge in order to support designers and facilitate learning. This article explains how visuo-cognitive metaphors of the "metro map" and "travel" make possible the design of connections between the representation of knowledge and learning. The researcher can measure this approach in a double movement: topography to topology (from visual-spatial experience to cognitive change) and topology to topography (from metaphor to artifact design). Our reflections focus first on the application of Lakoff and Johnson's conceptual metaphor theory in learning, as well as on the contributions of the Loci method on cognition. These theories and the results of previous work have shown the interest of the metro map metaphor in the Computer Environment for Human Learning (EIAH in French), which we have implemented in our MetroTeach model with the Design-Based Research method. Recent studies have revealed a heterogeneity of MOOC devices and a lack of application of instructional engineering principles. We therefore pose these questions again by proposing a model of the MetroTeach system. This will allow us to rethink the ontological dimensions of MOOCs and their legitimate status as a research object.

Studies have consistently documented that introductory geoscience students struggle with visualizing features presented on topographic maps. This is a problem that has the potential to increase in a digital age when engagement with maps consists primarily of GPS navigation via smartphones. Since the first augmented reality (AR) sandbox in 2012, geoscience educators have been wondering how it might be used to improve students' ability to read topographic maps. This study examines one potential approach. Here we present the results of research that took place over a full academic year at a large, primarily undergraduate-serving, public university in 40 lab sections of introductory geology. This research assessed data from 730 comparison and experimental group participants to determine (a) students' ability to represent a 2D topographic map in 3D, (b) the impact of the AR sandbox on student engagement, and (c) the impact of the AR sandbox on student learning. The results of this study revealed that students were successful in representing a 2D map in 3D and reported increased engagement in the experiment group due to experience with the AR sandbox; however, there was no difference in student learning between the experimental and comparison groups.

New tactile curriculum materials for teaching Earth and planetary science lessons on rotation=revolution, silhouettes of objects from different views, contour maps, impact craters, asteroids, and topographic features of Mars to 11 elementary and middle school students with sight impairments at a week-long residential summer camp are presented along with tips for constructing=obtaining the materials. Many of the lessons focused on spatial skills, an important skill area for persons with visual impairments. The pretest-intervention-post-test design study measured both attitude changes and gains in content knowledge. Students reported significant improvements (with large effect sizes) in the frequency of science lessons, the concrete nature of science lessons, the enjoyment these lessons produced, and the amount of participation in the lessons at the summer camp for students with visual disabilities compared to students' regular schools. Students generally showed a lack of knowledge of lesson topics on the pretest; on the post-test, most students were able to articulate basic facts about contour maps, impact crater formation, volcanic rocks, and features of Mars. The materials are recommended for use with sighted students as well as those with visual impairments because of their concrete, tactile nature.

Evolving computer technology is offering opportunities for new online approaches in teaching methods and delivery. Well-designed web-based (online) lessons should reinforce the critical need of the soil science discipline in today's food, energy, and environmental issues, as well as meet the needs of the diverse clientele with interest in agricultural and/or environmental disciplines. The objectives of the project were to: (1) develop web-based lessons in soil genesis and development and (2) evaluate context-based case studies or application lessons (agronomic, environmental, and ecological situations) to teach soil genesis and development. Six principles lessons, along with three applications lessons, were developed for use by undergraduate soil science courses. Pre- and post-tests were used to assess learning gains. A postactivity survey was also used to assess perceptions of the web-based lessons by student users. Students' test performance from pre- to post-test improved by 69%. Although there were no differences in post-test gains among learning styles, or between genders, the students majoring in professional golf management had higher post-test gains than other majors. Since their inception in 2006, lessons have continued to be both primary and supplemental resources for multiple courses serving over 140 students each year at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Oregon State University-Cascades. The lessons will be especially useful for teachers who do not have extensive training in soil science yet cover the subject as part of a basic earth science course.

This study compared the effects of a computer-based stimulus equivalence protocol to a traditional lecture format in teaching single-subject experimental design concepts to undergraduate students. Participants were assigned to either an equivalence or a lecture group, and performance on a paper-and-pencil test that targeted relations among the names of experimental designs, design definitions, design graphs, and clinical vignettes was compared. Generalization of responding to novel graphs and novel clinical vignettes, as well as the emergence of a topography-based tact response after selection-based training, were evaluated for the equivalence group. Performance on the paper-and-pencil test following teaching was comparable for participants in the equivalence and lecture groups. All participants in the equivalence group showed generalization to novel graphs, and 6 participants showed generalization to novel clinical vignettes. Three of the 4 participants demonstrated the emergence of a topography-based tact response following training on the stimulus equivalence protocol. (Contains 3 tables and 4 figures.)

This study systematically replicated and extended previous research on response interruption and redirection (RIRD) by assessing instructed responses of a different topography than the target behavior, percentage of session spent in treatment, generalization of behavior reduction, and social validity of the intervention. Results showed that RIRD produced substantial decreases in vocal stereotypy. Limitations of this study were that behavior reduction did not generalize to novel settings or with novel instructors and that appropriate vocalizations did not improve. (Contains 1 figure.)

The effects of 2 forms of response interruption and redirection (RIRD)--motor RIRD and vocal RIRD--were examined with 4 boys with autism to evaluate further the effects of this intervention and its potential underlying mechanisms. In Experiment 1, the effects of motor RIRD and vocal RIRD on vocal stereotypy and appropriate vocalizations were compared for 2 participants. In Experiment 2, the effects of both RIRD procedures on both vocal and motor stereotypy and appropriate vocalizations were compared with 2 additional participants. Results suggested that RIRD was effective regardless of the procedural variation or topography of stereotypy and that vocal RIRD functioned as a punisher. This mechanism was further explored with 1 participant by manipulating the schedule of RIRD in Experiment 3. Results were consistent with the punishment interpretation. (Contains 5 figures.)

We evaluated the effects of three different methods of denying access to requested high-preference activities on escalating problem behavior. Functional analysis and response class hierarchy (RCH) assessment results indicated that 4 topographies of problem behaviors displayed by a 13-year-old boy with high-functioning autism constituted an RCH maintained by positive (tangible) reinforcement. Identification of the RCH comprised the baseline phase, during which computer access was denied by saying "no" and providing an explanation for the restriction. Two alternative methods of saying "no" were then evaluated. These methods included (a) denying computer access while providing an opportunity to engage in an alternative preferred activity and (b) denying immediate computer access by arranging a contingency between completion of a low-preference task and subsequent computer access. Results indicated that a hierarchy of problem behavior may be identified in the context of denying access to a preferred activity and that it may be possible to prevent occurrences of escalating problem behavior by either presenting alternative options or arranging contingencies when saying "no" to a child's requests. (Contains 2 figures.)

Reading comprehension can be considered a complex human performance involving two integrated repertoires: a verbal repertoire and an investigative (generative) repertoire. This paper describes the theoretical framework that formed the guiding foundation for the development of Headsprout[R] Reading Comprehension and to the authors' approach to understanding and teaching thinking. The interpretation and analysis framework presented here has been used to effectively design and produce a program that changes how children think about text. (Contains 7 figures and 5 footnotes.)

Reading comprehension can be considered a complex human performance involving two integrated repertoires: a verbal repertoire and an investigative (generative) repertoire. This paper describes an analysis of these repertoires in terms which can ultimately inform the design of programs to teach them, using the analysis and design of Headsprout[R] Reading Comprehension as an example. Although this paper has focused almost exclusively on analysis of content, it should be clear that analysis of learners' entering repertoires is also essential to programing instruction. Instruction must start from where the learner is (the learner's current repertoire) and bring that learner to where he or she needs to be (the goal of the program). (Contains 3 figures, 3 tables and 2 footnotes.)

Reading comprehension can be considered a complex human performance involving two integrated repertoires: a verbal repertoire and an investigative (generative) repertoire. The analytical and reasoning skills necessary to demonstrate reading comprehension can be systematically taught by analyzing the verbal and investigative repertoires involved and then arranging instructional contingencies designed to build and extend those repertoires. This paper describes the programing of such contingencies, drawing from the conceptual foundation outlined for reading comprehension (Layng, Sota, & Leon, 2011) and the analysis of the repertoires involved (Sota, Leon, & Layng, 2011). (Contains 15 figures.)

The current study extends the literature on teaching mands for information by assessing whether mands generalize across different establishing operations (EOs). Three children with autism were taught to perform multiple behavior chains, 3 of which included a common response (e.g., "Where is the spoon?") used for different purposes. An interrupted-behavior-chain procedure was used to contrive the EO for each mand. After teaching a mand for information under 1 EO, the remaining chains were interrupted to determine whether the mand had generalized to different EOs. For all participants, mands for information generalized across EOs. For 2 participants, a new mand-for-information topography emerged after training. (Contains 1 table and 4 figures.)