Spatial Concept Perspectives

We have gathered ~300 excerpts from published works about fundamental spatial concept terms. These have been cross-referenced with the concept lexicon appearing on the left. Those terms were drawn from the U.S.National Science Education Standards (NSES 1996) for topic areas B - Physical Science, C - Life Science, D - Earth and Space Science, as well as from the 1994 U.S. Geography Teaching Standards for grades 9-12. Those standards can be browsed here.

spatial concept terms

disciplinary perspectives on "path"

arrangement

Recognize (plan) a path between an origin and destination (p. 698)

Geography

Marsh, et al. (2008)

Geospatial Concept Understanding and Recognition in G6-College Students: A Preliminary Argument for Minimal GIS

path

The trajectory of motion of an object (device, group, organism, vehicle, etc.). A route or path for movements may be laid out in advance (e.g. tracks, roads, trails), or determined by external forces (a planetary orbit). Some organisms are carried on paths that are determined by much larger scaled flows such as wind currents, ocean and tidal currents (e.g. plankton), or by accidental attachment or inclusion. Migratory animals such as birds follow habitual routes (a 'flyway'). Ships have independent 'courses' but tend to follow 'shipping lanes'.

Science Education

Mathewson, J. H. (2005)

The visual core of science: definition and applications to education

path

Our lives are filled with paths that connect up our spatial world...in every case of PATHS there are always the same parts: (1) a source, or starting point; (2) a goal, or end-point; and (3) a sequence of contiguous locations connecting the source with the goal. Paths are thus routes for moving from one point to another (p 113). We can impose directionality on a path. Paths can have temporal dimensions mapped onto them (p 114)

Linguistics
Philosophy

Johnson, M. (1987)

The Body in the Mind

path

Places are interrelated in terms of paths or directions in a reference frame (p 9). In...diagrams, notably maps and graphs, lines are one-dimensional paths that connect other entities, suggesting that they are related (p 17).

Psychology

Tversky (2005)

Functional Significance of Visuospatial Representations

restraint removal

Removal of a barrier or the absence of of some potential restraint...The relevant schema...suggests an open way or path, which makes possible the exertion of force (p 46)

Linguistics
Philosophy

Johnson, M. (1987)

The Body in the Mind