Spatial thinking is an activity that we do throughout our lives and across many settings, to understand problems and seek solutions. The practice can be so automatic that it becomes deceptively obvious, but when it is not done carefully, it can lead to chaos and confusion. In this brief and accessible guide, we see how spatial concepts help us think across the geographies of our life spaces, physical and social spaces, and intellectual space. Spatial thinking may be particularly essential within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math, but in reality it is an important part of everyone's living experience. Spatial thinking is a form of learning how to learn.

Learning to Think Spatially examines how spatial thinking might be incorporated into existing standards-based instruction across the school curriculum. Spatial thinking must be recognized as a fundamental part of Kâ€"12 education and as an integrator and a facilitator for problem solving across the curriculum. With advances in computing technologies and the increasing availability of geospatial data, spatial thinking will play a significant role in the information-based economy of the twenty-first century. Using appropriately designed support systems tailored to the Kâ€"12 context, spatial thinking can be taught formally to all students. A geographic information system (GIS) offers one example of a high-technology support system that can enable students and teachers to practice and apply spatial thinking in many areas of the curriculum.

A young raccoon who gets separated from her family one night and has to find her way home. Faced with the challenge of being on her own, Lucy tunes in to her surroundings for the first time and discovers that she can re-trace her steps using smells, sights, and sounds. At its heart, the story focuses on developing spatial thinking, understanding the world around us, and using concepts of space for problem-solving. Includes a “Note to Parents and Caregivers.”

Leading researchers offer a range of disciplinary perspectives on the implications of spatial thinking and reasoning for education and learning. The current “spatial turn” in many disciplines reflects an emerging scholarly interest in space and spatiality as central components in understanding the natural and cultural worlds. In Space in Mind, leading researchers from a range of disciplines examine the implications of research on spatial thinking and reasoning for education and learning. Their contributions suggest ways in which recent work in such fields as spatial cognition, geographic information systems, linguistics, artificial intelligence, architecture, and data visualization can inform spatial approaches to learning and education. After addressing the conceptual foundations of spatial thinking for education and learning, the book considers visualization, both external (for example, diagrams and maps) and internal (imagery and other mental spatial representations); embodied cognition and spatial understanding; and the development of specific spatial curricula and literacies. Contributors Kinnari Atit, John Bateman, Ruth Conroy Dalton, Ghislain Deslongchamps, Bonnie Dixon, Roger M. Downs, Daniel R. Montello, Christian Freksa, Michael F. Goodchild, Karl Grossner, Mary Hegarty, Scott R. Hinze, Christoph Hölscher, Alycia M. Hund, Donald G. Janelle, Sander Lestrade, Evie Malaia, Nora S. Newcombe, David N. Rapp, Thomas F. Shipley, Holger Schultheis, Mary Jane Shultz, Diana Sinton, Mike Stieff, Thora Tenbrink, Basil Tikoff, Dido Tsigaridi, David Waller, Ranxiao Frances Wang, Ronnie Wilbur, Kenneth C. Williamson, Vickie M. Williamson

This book offers students an introduction to human spatial cognition and experience and is designed for graduate and advanced undergraduate students who are interested in the study of maps in the head and the psychology of space. We live in space and space surrounds us. We interact with space all the time, consciously or unconsciously, and make decisions and actions based on our perceptions of that space. Have you ever wondered how some people navigate perfectly using maps in their heads while other people get lost even with a physical map? What do you mean when you say you have a poor "sense of direction"? How do we know where we are? How do we use and represent information about space? This book clarifies that our knowledge and feelings emerge as a consequence of our interactions with the surrounding space, and show that the knowledge and feelings direct, guide, or limit our spatial behavior and experience. Space matters, or more specifically space we perceive matters. Research into spatial cognition and experience, asking fundamental questions about how and why space and spatiality matters to humans, has thus attracted attention. It is no coincidence that the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for research into a positioning system in the brain or "inner GPS" and that spatial information and technology are recognized as an important social infrastructure in recent years. This is the first book aimed at graduate and advanced undergraduate students pursuing this fascinating area of research. The content introduces the reader to the field of spatial cognition and experience with a series of chapters covering theoretical, empirical, and practical issues, including cognitive maps, spatial orientation, spatial ability and thinking, geospatial information, navigation assistance, and environmental aesthetics.

White Space Is Not Your Enemy is a practical graphic design and layout guide that introduces concepts and practices necessary for producing effective visual communication across a variety of formats—from web to print. Sections on Gestalt theory, color theory, and WET layout are expanded to offer more in-depth content on those topics. This new edition features new covering current trends in web design—Mobile-first, UI/UX design, and web typography—and how they affect a designer’s approach to a project. The entire book will receive an update using new examples and images that show a more diverse set of graphics that go beyond print and web and focus on tablet, mobile and advertising designs.

Spatial Intelligence examines public and professional conceptions of the relationships between thinking about spatial attributes and active engagement in spatially related constructions and designs. Even though children’s and adolescents’ spatial propensities in constructive activities parallel the skills needed by professionals in both established and emerging fields, spatial education is often missing from K–12 curricula and is easily impeded by teachers, parents, or other individuals who do not provide contexts in formalized settings, such as schools, to nurture its potential. This book bridges the gap by linking the natural spatial inclinations, interests, and proclivities of individuals from a variety of cultures with professional training and expertise in engineering, architecture, science, and mathematics. Educators will be better able to achieve the skills and awareness necessary to provide children and young adults with the vital opportunities inherent in spatial education.