The acquisition of map skills is an important facet of normal development, but our current knowledge does not include the developmental sequence(s) of their attainment This study is designed to elucidate the components which make up map use skills and examine how they develop across and within children. Carefully controlled experimental studies using graphic spatial decision making tasks will investigate when and under what conditions children demonstrate an ability to recognize the spatial factors critical to map reading. More natural tests of map use which require the child use a map to find a place or navigate a route under different conditions will be used to assess the effects of context on performance. The hypothesis is that different levels of performance will be elicited under various levels of contextual support. The results of these experiments will be combined to determine the structure of the developmental sequences and webs of skill acquisition as well as the ranges of skills that children evidence at different points in development Finally, performance on navigational map tasks (e.g. wayfinding) will be correlated with performance on academic map tasks (e.g. map reading and interpretation). The combined results of these experiments will provide a firm foundation for future investigations of map skills and other spatial abilities in both children and adults. Understanding the normal variations in developmental range and sequence, the effects of context on performance, and how the skills required for academic map use are brought to bear on pragmatic navigational map use will allow for the development of enhanced educational materials, improved tools for assessing children's spatial abilities and more appropriate diagnosis and training of children with deficits in the domain of spatial cognition.
