Investigating Adolescents’ Interpretations and Productions of Thematic Maps and Map Argument Performances in the Media

Abstract

This study investigated the teaching and learning of the interpretation and production of thematic maps and map argument performances with young people. Research was conducted across three phases: (a) collection and analysis of thematic map use in news broadcasts for adults and adolescents; (b) first iteration of a classroom design experiment investigating methods for teaching and learning thematic map interpretation and production as part of a spatial analysis curriculum at an in-residence summer course for high school students; (c) second iteration of a classroom design experiment in a public high school media production classroom. The design experiments investigated the ways in which map performance activities supported learning in innovative ways, primarily through media production with small groups of young people. Qualitative micro-analysis of segments of interaction during map performances identified patterns of participation and engagement including embodied ways of engaging with maps, with media, and with others involved in the activities. These patterns of participation are described as an interplay of two conceptual categories of practice: performative semiotic aggregates and imaginative geographies. The performative semiotic aggregate describes the network of discourses interacting when young people view, read, play with, and create thematic maps and map argument performances. Imaginative geographies are acts of identity articulation in concert with or counterpoint to thematic maps and/or map argument performances.