Student interpretation of a global elevation map: What it is, how it was made, and what it is useful for
S. Swenson, K. Kastens 2011 in Feig, A.D., and Stokes, A., eds., Qualitative Inquiry in Geoscience Education Research: Geological Society of America Special Paper 474 p. 189-211
The authors explored students' understanding of the origin and interpretation of a map showing global elevation. They found that many students were unaware that this map represented data that needed to be collected, and instead perceived it as an image. They suggest teaching strategies that may help mitigate this misperception.
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