Abstract
Japan is prone to frequent natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods. To prepare for these unpredictable events, individuals must take responsibility for their own safety and well-being. Therefore, disaster education is implemented in elementary schools, often involving the use of hazard maps for learning. However, during actual disasters, individuals may not have access to maps and must rely on their memory to evacuate to safety. In such situations, people depend on their cognitive maps to guide their actions. However, cognitive maps of children are considered less developed compared to those of adults. Understanding the developmental process of cognitive maps in elementary school students is crucial as it can provide valuable information for creating effective hazard maps. Therefore, it is essential to elucidate the developmental process of cognitive maps in elementary school students.
In this study, we surveyed cognitive maps of fifth-grade elementary school students to investigate the development of their cognitive maps. The results revealed that compared to adults, these students displayed lower rates of remembering important landmarks and lacked specific details in their maps. However, we also observed the initiation of global memory, as evidenced by their awareness of the relationship between the surveyed area and its surroundings.
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Oka, M., Komura, Y., Mori, H. (2023). A Study on Qualitative Comparison of Mental Maps Between Elementary School Students and Adults. In: Zaphiris, P., et al. HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14060. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48060-7_17
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48060-7_17
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