Effects of Practical Experience and Sequential Skills in Map Reading

Abstract

The study was carried out to examine the effects of practical experience and sequential skills on achievement in map reading among secondary one pupils in Singapore. A total of 144 pupils in four secondary one (Express) classes participated in the study. Each class ws randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups, where two teaching methods, i.e. practical learning and direct-teaching, and two types of curriculum structure, i.e. hierarchical sequence and non-hierachical sequence, were compared. The experiment consisted of eight weeks of teaching after which a post-test and a delayed post-test were administered to establish the effects of each treatment. Findings showed that practical experience and sequential skills in map reading would have a positive effect on pupil performance and retention of the acquired skills.