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 "space"

absolute space

To differentiate between measurable (absolute) and non-measurable (relative) space (p. 95)

Geography

Golledge, et al. (2008)

Matching geospatial concepts with geographic educational needs

linearizing space

It is sometimes useful to reduce two-dimensional space to a one-dimensional list (ordering rasters and tessellations)

Geography

de Smith, et al. (2008)

Geospatial Analysis: A comprehensive guide to principles, techniques, and software tools

positive space

A work of art has life more or less to the extent that every single one of its component parts and spaces is whole, well-shaped and positive. (This) guarantees to every part of space the status of being a relatively strong center (p 173-4)

Alexander (2004)

The Nature of Order, Book 1: The Phenomenon of Life

space

Topic CF3-1.

Geography
Education

DiBiase, et al. (2006)

Geographic Information Science and Technology Body of Knowledge

space

The continuum - The context for extension, matter, motion, inertia and (from relativity) time; the intuitive spatial orientation of humans in the world from gravity, balance (vestibular system), vision, hearing, touch, and continuities such as the passage of time.

Science Education

Mathewson, J. H. (2005)

The visual core of science: definition and applications to education

space

For human cognition, the void of space is treated as background, and the things in space as foreground. They are located in space with respect to a reference frame or reference objects that vary with the role of the space in thought or behavior. Which things, which references, which perspective depend on the function of those entities in context, on the task at hand. In human cognition, the spatial relations are typically qualitative, approximate, categorical, or topological, rather than metric or analog (p 1-2).

Psychology

Tversky (2005)

Functional Significance of Visuospatial Representations

subjective space

Recognize space as usually represented in a memory (p. 92); cognitive mapping: to understand and illustrate relations between subjective and objective knowledge (p. 96)

Geography

Golledge, et al. (2008)

Matching geospatial concepts with geographic educational needs

the void

In the most profound centers which have perfect wholeness, there is at the heart a void which is like water, infinite in depth, surrounded by and contrasted with the clutter of stuff...(p 222). The need for the void arises in all centers. (it is a) psychological requirement...a living structure can't be all detail (p 225).

Alexander (2004)

The Nature of Order, Book 1: The Phenomenon of Life