Abstract
This study investigated the effects of creative-map instructional strategies on learning performance, learning motivation, and creativity in a junior high school geography class. A quasi-experimental approach was used to assess the treatment effects among 79 ninth graders, utilizing qualitative data including students’ feedback, and four quantitative instruments: filling-in map quizzes, geography term exams, the Learning Motivation Scale for Primary and Junior High School Students, and the Newly Revised Creative Thinking Tests. Repeated-measures ANCOVA were performed to analyze the correlation coefficients between the experimental and control groups, and indicated that the former group performed better than the latter in learning performance, motivation, and creativity after the intervention. Thus, it can be concluded that creative-map mnemonic strategies can have a positive impact on the learning and retention of place names and locations. Implications for further research and practice are also discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alexander, R. (2010). Children, their world, their education. London: Routledge.
Anderson, M. C., Bjork, R. A., & Bjork, E. L. (1994). Remembering can cause forgetting: Retrieval dynamics in long-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 20(5), 1063–1087. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.20.5.1063.
Anthamatten, P. (2010). Spatial thinking concepts in early grade-level geography standards. Journal of Geography, 109(5), 169–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221341.2010.498898.
Ashoori, P., & Moghadam, M. (2015). The effect of instructing mnemonic devices on immediate versus delayed vocabulary retention. International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 8(1), 87–102.
Bae, C. L., Therriault, D. J., & Redifer, J. L. (2018). Investigating the testing effect: Retrieval as a characteristic of effective study strategies. Learning and Instruction. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.12.008.
Baptista, L. (2018). Creativity and the art of memory. Retrieved November 11, 2018 from https://british-aesthetics.org/creativity-and-the-art-of-memory/.
Bearman, N., Jones, N., André, I., Cachinho, H. A., & DeMers, M. (2016). The future role of GIS education in creating critical spatial thinkers. Journal of Geography in Higher education, 40(3), 394–408.
Bednarz, S. W. (1995). Using mnemonics to learn place geography. Journal of Geography, 94(1), 330–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221349508979737.
Bednarz, R. S. (2002). The quantity and quality of geography education in the United States: The last 20 years. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education, 11(2), 160–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/10382040208667477.
Bednarz, S. W. (2004). Geographic information systems: A tool to support geography and environmental education? GeoJournal, 60(2), 191–199.
Bellezza, F. S. (1981). Mnemonic devices: Classification, characteristics, and criteria. Review of Educational Research, 51(2), 247–275. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543051002247.
Bellezza, F. S. (1996). Mnemonic methods to enhance storage and retrieval. In E. L. Bjork & R. A. Bjork (Eds.), Memory (pp. 345–380). San Diego: Academic Press.
Bellezza, F. S., & Buck, D. K. (1988). Expert knowledge as mnemonic cues. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 2(2), 147–162.
Benedek, M., Jauk, E., Sommer, M., Arendasy, M., & Neubauer, A. C. (2014). Intelligence, creativity, and cognitive control: The common and differential involvement of executive functions in intelligence and creativity. Intelligence, 46, 73–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2014.05.007.
Boehm, R. G., McKee, J. O., Smith, B. A., & Palmer, J. J. (1987). Middle America: Location and place. Social Education, 51, 479–484.
Boehm, R. G., & Petersen, J. F. (1987). Teaching place names and locations in grades 4–8: Map of errors. Journal of Geography, 86(4), 167–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221348708979170.
Brown, K., Ellis, J., Ogan, D., & Wengreen, H. (2016). Nutrition and dietetic students vitamin and mineral knowledge and concurrent learning and retention strategies. International Journal for Innovation Education Research, 4(10), 274–283.
Cermak, L. S. (1975). Improving your memory. Oxford: Norton.
Chang, Y., Li, B.-D., Chen, H.-C., & Chiu, F.-C. (2015). Investigating the synergy of critical thinking and creative thinking in the course of integrated activity in Taiwan. Educational Psychology, 35(3), 341–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2014.920079.
Chiodo, J. J. (1997). Improving the cognitive development of students’ mental maps of the world. Journal of Geography, 96(3), 153–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221349708978777.
Cobb, C. (2013). The use of an animated pedagogical agent as a mnemonic device to promote learning and motivation in online education. Retrieved November 12, 2018 from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1490797726?accountid=14228.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Taylor and Francis.
Cowan, N. (2014). Working memory underpins cognitive development, learning, and education. Educational Psychology Review, 26(2), 197–223. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-013-9246-y.
Davis, G. A. (1997). Identifying creative students and measuring creativity. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (2nd ed., pp. 269–281). Needham Heights: Allyn and Bacon.
Dehn, M. J. (2008). Working memory and academic learning: Assessment and intervention. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Doering, A., Koseoglu, S., Scharber, C., Henrickson, J., & Lanegran, D. (2014). Technology integration in K–12 geography education using TPACK as a conceptual model. Journal of Geography, 113(6), 223–237. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221341.2014.896393.
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Dunn, M., & Miller, D. (2016). Improving story writing: Integrating the story mnemonic strategy with Ipad apps for art and keyboarding. International Journal for Research in Learning Disabilities, 3(1), 11–28.
Endres, T., Carpenter, S., Martin, A., & Renkl, A. (2017). Enhancing learning by retrieval: Enriching free recall with elaborative prompting. Learning and Instruction, 49, 13–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2016.11.010.
Fontana, J. L., Scruggs, T., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2007). Mnemonic strategy instruction in inclusive secondary social studies classes. Remedial Special Education, 28(6), 345–355.
Gagne, E. D., Yekovich, C. W., & Yekovich, F. R. (1993). The cognitive psychology of school learning (2nd ed.). New York: Harper Collins.
Gersmehl, P. (2014). Teaching geography. New York: Guilford Publications.
Gilhooly, K. J., Fioratou, E., Anthony, S. H., & Wynn, V. (2007). Divergent thinking: Strategies and executive involvement in generating novel uses for familiar objects. British Journal of Psychology, 98(4), 611–625. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2007.tb00467.x.
Glover, J. A., & Bruning, R. H. (1987). Educational psychology: Principles and applications. Boston, MA: Scott Foresman & Co.
Hew, K. F., & Brush, T. (2007). Integrating technology into K-12 teaching and learning: Current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research. Educational Technology Research Development, 55(3), 223–252. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-006-9022-5.
Hsu, H.-J. (2012). An action research on the low achievers’ learning difficulties in geography in junior high school. Taichung: National Taichung University of Education.
Jeffrey, B. (2008). Creative learning identities. Education 3-13, 36(3), 253–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004270802217694.
Joint Committee on Geographic Education. (1984). Guidelines for geographic education: Elementary and secondary schools (US). Washington, D.C.: The Council.
Kaufman, J. C. (2016). Creativity 101. New York: Springer.
Lee, M.-Y., Shen, S.-M., & Lin, S.-C. (2007). The knowledge of world geography in the sixth to ninth grade students: Example of Taiwan National Geographic Championship. Journal of Geographical Research, 46, 1–17.
Levin, J. R. (1993). Mnemonic strategies and classroom learning: A twenty-year report card. The Elementary School Journal, 94(2), 235–244. https://doi.org/10.1086/461763.
Liao, Y.-H., Chen, Y.-L., Chen, H.-C., & Chang, Y.-L. (2018). Infusing creative pedagogy into an English as a foreign language classroom: Learning performance, creativity, and motivation. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 29, 213–223.
List, A. (2018). Strategies for comprehending and integrating texts and videos. Learning and Instruction, 57, 34–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.01.008.
Liu, C.-H., Huang, P.-S., Su, C.-L., Chen, H.-C., & Wu, Y.-C. (2010). Learning motivation scale for primary and junior high school students. Psychological Testing (Taiwan), 57(3), 371–402. https://doi.org/10.7108/PT.201009.0371.
Lubin, J., & Polloway, E. A. (2016). Mnemonic instruction in science and social studies for students with learning problems: A review. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 14(2), 207–224.
Malmberg, L.-E., Pakarinen, E., Vasalampi, K., & Nurmi, J.-E. (2015). Students’ school performance, task-focus, and situation-specific motivation. Learning and Instruction, 39, 158–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.05.005.
Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1989). Constructing more meaningful relationships: Mnemonic instruction for special populations. Educational Psychology Review, 1(2), 83–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01326638.
Mastropieri, M. A., Scruggs, T. E., Levin, J. R., Gaffney, J., & McLoone, B. (1985). Mnemonic vocabulary instruction for learning disabled students. Learning Disability Quarterly, 8(1), 57–63.
Metz, H. M. (1990). Sketch maps: Helping students get the big picture. Journal of Geography, 89(3), 114–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221349008979610.
Millar, G. W. (2002). Torrance kids at M-Life. Westport: Ablex.
Murphy, A. B. (2014). Geography’s crosscutting themes: Golden anniversary reflections on “the four traditions of geography”. Journal of Geography, 113(5), 181–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221341.2014.918639.
National Geographic Education Foundation. (2002). National Geographic—Roper 2002 Global Geographic Literacy Survey. Retrieved from https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=301605&d=1405465338.
National Geographic Education Foundation. (2006). National Geographic-Roper Public Affairs 2006 Geographic Literacy Study. Retrieved November 12, 2018 from http://press.nationalgeographic.com/2006/05/02/roper-geography-study/.
Natoli, S. J. (1994). Guidelines for geographic education and the fundamental themes in geography. Journal of Geography, 93(1), 2–6. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221349408979676.
Ormrod, J. E. (2004). Human learning (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Paivio, A. (2014). Intelligence, dual coding theory, and the brain. Intelligence, 47, 141–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intell.2014.09.002.
Raymaekers, L. H., Otgaar, H., & Smeets, T. J. M. (2014). The longevity of adaptive memory: Evidence for mnemonic advantages of survival processing 24 and 48 hours later. Memory, 22(1), 19–25.
Reffel, J. (1997). Cued vs. free recall in long-term memory of the fifty United States. Current Psychology, 16(3–4), 308–315.
Reffel, J. A., & Wells, K. A. (2012). Geographic memory bubbles: Recall of the fifty United States. Current Psychology, 31(2), 212–220. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-012-9137-2.
Scoffham, S. (2013). Geography and creativity: Developing joyful and imaginative learners. Education 3-13, 41(4), 368–381. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2013.819625.
Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (1989). Mnemonic instruction of LD students: A field-based evaluation. Learning Disability Quarterly, 12(2), 119–125.
Scruggs, T. E., & Mastropieri, M. A. (2000). The effectiveness of mnemonic instruction for students with learning and behavior problems: An update and research synthesis. Journal of Behavioral Education, 10(2–3), 163–173.
Scruggs, T. E., Mastropieri, M. A., Berkeley, S. L., & Marshak, L. (2010). Mnemonic strategies: Evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. Intervention in School and Clinic, 46(2), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053451210374985.
Smith, B. (2017). Methodologically historicizing social studies education: Curricular filtering and historical thinking as social studies thinking. Canadian Journal of Education, 40(2), 1–26.
The Council on Foreign Relations. (2016). What college-aged students know about the world—A survey on global literacy. In The U.S.A.: The Council on Foreign Relations and National Geographic.
Therrien, W. J., Taylor, J. C., Hosp, J. L., Kaldenberg, E. R., & Gorsh, J. (2011). Science instruction for students with learning disabilities: A meta-analysis. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 26(4), 188–203. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2011.
Thompson, I. (1987). Memory in language learning. In A. Wenden & J. Rubin (Eds.), learner strategies in language learning (pp. 43–56). Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall International.
Torrance, E. P. (1998). The Torrance tests of creative thinking norms—Technical manual figural (streamlined) forms A & B. Bensenville, IL: Scholastic Testing Service Inc.
Turk, D. J., Gillespie-Smith, K., Krigolson, O. E., Havard, C., Conway, M. A., & Cunningham, S. J. (2015). Selfish learning: The impact of self-referential encoding on children’s literacy attainment. Learning and Instruction, 40, 54–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2015.08.001.
van Kesteren, M., Renée, T., Krabbendam, L., & Meeter, M. (2018). Integrating educational knowledge: Reactivation of prior knowledge during educational learning enhances memory integration. NPJ Science of Learning, 3(1), 11.
Weiss, R. P. (2000). Memory and learning. Training Development, 54(10), 46-.
Wheeler, R. L., & Gabbert, F. (2017). Using self-generated cues to facilitate recall: A narrative review. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1830. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01830.
Wu, J. J., Chen, F. Y., Guo, J. X., Lin, W. W., Liu, S. H., & Chen, Y. H. (1998). The Chinese version of creative thinking test. Taipei: Ministry of Education (Taiwan).
Young, C. (2015). Don’t forget, the science of memory is key to helping students learn. Retrieved November 14, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/dec/01/dont-forget-science-memory-key-students-learn.
Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Grant MOST-108-2634-F-002-022 from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, and the “Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Sciences” and “Chinese Language and Technology Center” of the National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) from The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Ethical approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the National Taiwan Normal University and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments.
Informed consent
Informed consent was obtained from all the parents of the individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Appendices
Appendix A
Loki, the mythological hero, was waiting for his brother, Thor. He had waited for quite a while and did not see his brother, so decided to look for him. He left a note on the board [northwest] to his brother saying he went to save polar bears. [The Chinese word for “polar” sounds like Arctic in English, and was used here to indicate Arctic Ocean.] Then, he saw Haha’s grandson [Haha is a famous TV comedian and “Haha’s grandson” in Chinese sounds like Hudson] dancing in front of the lectern [north]. Then, he saw a labrador [Labrador Peninsula] trying to attack him. He felt it was hard to breathe, so he went to the window (east) and tried to inhale lots of oxygen. [The sound of the Chinese phrase “inhaling lots of oxygen” is similar to the Chinese version of Atlantic Ocean.] To defend himself from the attack of the Labrador, Loki went to the back door to ride an Apache helicopter to expel the dog. After that, Loki used ink to write a message on the board to let his brother know the dog was gone. While he was waiting, he went to the [southwest] of the classroom, where there was wool carpet that was very flat. [The sentence “The wool carpet became very flat” contains the sounds of Pacific Ocean in Chinese.] He was sitting on the carpet and waiting for his brother. When Thor came, they went to a big flat platform [Great Plains] with Mary [a classmate who sat in the center of the classroom].
Appendix B
Pre-test fill-in-the-blank map quiz on North America
Post-test fill-in-the-blank map quiz on North America
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liao, YH., Kung, WC. & Chen, HC. Testing the effectiveness of creative map mnemonic strategies in a geography class. Instr Sci 47, 589–608 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-019-09494-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-019-09494-1