1. Reading Contour Maps (Including Topographic Maps): Visualizing 3D Surfaces
Carol J. Ormand, SERC, Carleton College
Eric Riggs, Texas A&M University

2. Overview What do we mean when we talk about “reading” contour maps?
Example: the Topographic Map Assessment
Key papers & assessment instruments
Piburn et al., 2005
Titus and Horsman, 2009
Newcombe et al., 2015
Implications, strategies, and tools for teaching / training
Practice + immediate feedback in the form of worked examples
Diectic and iconic gestures
Steve Reynolds’ Visualizing Topography
Rowan Cockett’s Visible Geology

3. 5 minutes of experiential learning: the Topographic Map Assessment As you look at each test item, ask yourself: Is it primarily about understanding elevation, or understanding the shape of the contoured surface?

4. Key papers and assessment instruments

5. Piburn et al., 2005 Role of Visualization in Learning from Computer-Based Images
Evaluating computer-based modules employing simulations of topography and shallow structure (“Painted Canyon”) to present authentic geologic problems for students to solve
Approximately 100 students in “Introduction to Geology”
Quasi-experimental design
Students assigned to control/experimental condition based on lab section
Pre- and post-tests of spatial thinking skills (Cubes rotation and Surface development) + content assessment
Key findings:
Spatial skills can be improved via instruction
Learning of geological content improves as a result
Differences in performance between the genders can be eliminated

6. Piburn et al., 2005

7. Titus and Horsman, 2009 Characterizing and Improving Spatial Visualization Skills
Can short (5-10 minutes), weekly exercises improve students’ ability to visualize 3D surfaces?
Structural geology course, 14 students: not a statistically significant population, so this is a qualitative study; the findings are suggestive rather than conclusive
Pre- and post-tests + geological “puzzles”
Key findings:
Yes

8. Titus and Horsman, 2009 Characterizing and Improving Spatial Visualization Skills

9. Titus and Horsman, 2009 Characterizing and Improving Spatial Visualization Skills

10. Titus and Horsman, 2009

11. Newcombe et al., 2015 The Lay of the Land: Sensing and Representing Topography
Instrument and questions explored
Study population and methods
Key findings:
Gestures help
Pointing & tracing gestures help more than gestures representing the shape of the topography, for this population of novices
Reading elevations is a different skill than reading the shape of the landscape
Diectic (pointing and tracing) gestures help students understand elevations
Iconic (shape) gestures help students understand the shape of the landscape

12. Newcombe et al., 2015 The Lay of the Land: Sensing and Representing Topography

13. Assessing the visualization of contoured surfaces in the geosciences
Domain general
We don’t know of any instruments; do you?
Domain specific
Topographic Map Assessment (Newcombe et al.)
“Skill puzzles” from Titus and Horsman, 2009

14. Implications, Strategies, and Tools for Teaching (“That’s great, but how can I use it in my classroom?”)

15. We’ll spend the rest of this hour in exploration
Strategies for teaching about reading topographic maps:
Piburn et al.’s “Visualizing Topography”:
Visible Geology seems likely to have similar effect (
Diectic and iconic gestures
Strategies for teaching about reading other contour maps:
Titus and Horsman’s structure contours “puzzles” – especially when used with prediction coupled with immediate feedback and explanation:
Strategies for teaching about landscape evolution through time:
WILSIM: Web-based Interactive Landform Simulation shows the evolution of the Grand Canyon through time, and the user can change several parameters to explore how each affects the landscape that develops:
Other common instructional strategies:
Experiential / embodied learning: navigating a real-world landscape while using or constructing a topographic map
Shaded relief maps or other modified topo maps – these work, but reading a shaded relief map does not transfer to reading a “regular” topographic map
A search of the SERC website turns up other strategies….

16. References
Cockett, Rowan, Tara Moran, and Adam Pidlisecky (in press). Visible Geology: Creative online tools for teaching, learning, and communicating geologic concepts.
Luo, Wei, Jon Pelletier, Kirk Duffin, Carol Ormand, Wei-chen Hung, David J. Shernoff, Xiaoming Zhai, Ellen Iverson, Kyle Whalley, Courtney Gallaher, and Walter Furness (2016). Advantages of computer simulation in enhancing students' learning about landform evolution: A case study using the Grand Canyon. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 64, No. 1, pp
Newcombe, Nora, Steven M. Weisberg, Kinnari Atit, Matthew E. Jacovina, Carol J. Ormand, and Thomas F. Shipley (2015). The Lay of the Land: Sensing and Representing Topography. The Baltic International Yearbook of Cognition, Logic, and Communication, v. 10: Perspectives on Spatial Cognition, n. 1, pp
Piburn, Michael D., Stephen J. Reynolds, Carla McAuliffe, Debra E. Leedy, James P. Birk, and Julia Johnson (2005). The role of visualization in learning from computer-based images. International Journal of Science Education, v. 27, n. 5, pp
Rapp, David N., Steven A. Culpepper, Kent Kirkby, and Paul Morin ((2007). Fostering Students’ Comprehension of Topographic Maps. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 55, n. 1, pp
Titus, Sarah J., and Eric Horsman (2009). Characterizing and improving spatial visualization skills. Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 57, pp
Additional references are listed on the workshop website.