VISUALIZING AND LEARNING ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT WITH ANAGLYPH MAPS

In earth science, map interpretation is probably the critical restriction curtailing students' ability to access and explore course concepts. Anaglyph maps are visualizations that present mapped data in a 3D fashion making it more accessible to every student, not just those with strong spatial and conceptual skills. This exploratory research evaluated the use of anaglyph maps for teaching map interpretation and earth science concepts in middle and high school classrooms. Five pilot schools from urban and suburban school districts in Minnesota were selected to evaluate the effectiveness of the maps for student learning. Specifically, the objectives were to determine the students' attitudes toward the anaglyph and topographic maps for learning map interpretation and certain earth science concepts. The teachers involved in the project evaluated the student learning. Students were also observed in their use of the maps and then surveyed for their opinions about the maps. Overall, the results show that students enjoyed using the maps and believed that they could explain them easily to another person. They also thought that they learned more effectively from these maps in comparison to the topographic maps. This is confirmed by slight gains in group knowledge scores when using the anaglyph maps.