Using The Venn Diagram For Developing University Students’ Analytical Geographical Thinking

Abstract

Developing university students’ analytical geographical thinking is one of the major objectives of university geographical education irrespective of the fact that it is achieved during Didactics of Geography lectures and seminars or fundamental courses in Geography. This objective can be achieved by various means, the Venn Diagram being among them. It is used to identify the aspects characteristic to concepts or the common features of geographical systems. Our research raised the following questions: which are the main geographic concepts and systems as the object of a certain comparison, and second, what are the main criteria on which a comparison is completed? To answer these questions, we used Venn Diagrams as research material made by students and published in articles, chapters, books, or as part of their portfolios for learning Geography and the Didactics of Geography, as well as during written exams or as exercises included in lesson planning. Our conclusions are the following: the critical and analytical geographical thinking have a peripheral position within the educational process, many sampled diagrams highlight the comparison of different objects without specifying the particular criteria, and students make use of critical and analytical thinking but with certain limitations when the geographic language is used.

Keywords: CompetenceDidactics of Geographycomparison criteriahigher educationgraphical organizercognition

Introduction

One of the major objectives of university geographical education is developing university students’ analytical geographical thinking. This is true either for Didactics of Geography lectures and seminars or for fundamental courses in geography. There is well acknowledged that in territorial planning research three stages have to be completed in order to investigate all spatial features through the lens of systemic analysis: the human and economic analysis and the global investigation of all features occurred from the previous approach (Zotic, 2005, pp. 31-32).

The geographic analysis represents a mental or a real action through which the whole territorial system is decomposed into its elements, each being examined to identify its properties and to establish the relationship between them. In this regard, each element is approached to find out the main relations established between all the components of a territorial system. Studying each part of a system is important to exclusively separate all the parts, and the investigation upon them to be undoubtedly complete. Accordingly, this approach is meant to unveil both the internal structure of the investigated spatial elements as well as their specificities (Dulamă, 2010a, p. 163). The second step of the critical thinking is the comparison, thus enabling the mental or physical approach to geographical objects, systems, and processes in order to identify the main similarities and differences among them. Against such a background, the comparison is completed based on particular criteria and, in line with each criterion, there are multiple opportunities to discover whether the compared objects are similar or different (Dulamă, 2010a, p. 163).

In geographical research, there are various means for student’ critical and analytical thinking development, through Venn Diagram usage. It was created by the English logician John Venn (1834-1923) to represent visually the complex logical propositions and algebraic statements (Edwards, 2004). Canela Morales and Ruiz Sosa (2020) pointed out in a thematic study the symbolic nature of formal rationale of this diagram and its diagrammatic nature, as well as how knowledge could be ensured using diagrams and symbols. The authors investigated the various ways of diagrams use in the teaching and learning processes.

Venn and Euler Diagrams are well-defined mathematical diagram types used during Mathematics examinations in secondary education in the UK. In order to make the grading more efficient, an automatic system for assessing student’s answers was created based on Venn and Euler Diagrams. The grade is assigned after comparing the student’s answer with a model answer (Wijesinghe et al., 2017).

Focused on the use of Venn Diagram in Geography, the whole body of the international literature in the field introduces only indirectly the contribution of this didactic resource during Geography teaching and learning. Some aspects highlight the wide range of the various forms of graphical organizers (see Gottfried, 2015), while other studies are concerned with the natural sciences (Lynam et al., 2007). In Romania, Venn Diagram started to be extensively used in geography education after 2000, as a result of the awareness of its importance during training programs in which geography teachers were involved. Although this diagram is presented in some logic studies, several teachers have learned in recent decades that the Venn Diagram is a cognitive organizer of two partially overlapping circles that represent the similarities and differences between two aspects, ideas, or concepts (Steele et al., 1998a; 1998b). The similarities are mentioned in the area where the circles overlap, and the differences in the free, outer areas (Dulamă, 2002, p. 166). When using the Venn Diagram, spatial information is classified into two categories: real objects and their spatial properties and abstract objects (Gottfried, 2015).

Problem Statement

Although in Romania the Venn Diagram is largely introduced by a whole body of the literature focused on the Didactics of Geography, its benefits for the critical thinking development remain peripheral. Furthermore, this cognitive organizer is underused in the Romanian educational system both in pre-university education and in academic training. A review of the observed educational practices, pointing out a certain teaching style (Fetti & Albulescu, 2020), and of the specialized literature shows that there are different approaches on Venn Diagrams, thus generating relevant qualitative differences in line with its efficiency in the students’ critical thinking, who are interested in learning Geography. Both the literature and various practices show that some teachers have no relevant information on the role of the diagram within knowledge modelling in a certain domain (Gottfried, 2015).

Research Questions

Using the Romanian literature review concerned with the Venn Diagram, we intend to find some answers to the following questions: which are the main geographic concepts and systems as objects of a certain comparison, and second, what are the main criteria on which a comparison is completed? In addition, the study aims to reveal the main compared aspects, attributes and objects, the contexts and situations in which students use comparisons according to certain criteria. Finally, based on these findings, we are interested in unveiling some information on how students use Venn Diagrams in their particular learning actions, as well as on students’ difficulties in certain situations of comparing geographic objects, ideas, elements, and geographic processes.

Purpose of the Study

This research focuses on the following major objectives: on the one hand, it aims to investigate different Venn Diagrams included in the Romanian specialized literature to understand their main theoretical and methodological perspectives and, on the other hand, to analyze Venn Diagrams made by the students to find out the ways they use to include Venn Diagrams in their own learning processes, as well as to identify the students’ major difficulties within these specific training situations.

Research Methods

Procedure . Within the electronic portfolio made for the subject entitled “Geography, environment/sciences and their didactics in kindergarten and the primary grades”, during the Spring semester of the 2020, the students had to compare two distinct major landforms on various continents (e.g. mountains, hills, plateaus and fields), by completing two particular aspects of a landform, two specificities of the other landform and two common aspects for both investigated landforms within the Venn Diagram. As a background in solving this task, the students were informed about the theoretical support in terms of a handbook, a thematic presentation, four profiles of the investigated landforms and a table including the key aspects of the relief (Table 1 ). The portfolio tasks had to be solved individually until the exam. The work was designed in groups, to avoid any stress caused by the Romanian pandemic crisis.

Participants . 37 students in their 3^rd year of study, attending the Program of the Primary Education Pedagogy from the Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Babeş-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca, Romania, were involved in the research. These students train for a teaching career in the primary educational field of the Romanian pre-university education system. Of these, about 50% graduated the Pedagogic College and work in the primary education system. The second author of this study assigned this task to the students, assessed all students’ portfolios, being perceived by the students as a professor, not as a researcher.

The research material comprised 20 Venn Diagrams included in various works on Didactics of Geography (Dulamă, 2002; 2008; 2009; 2010a; 2010b; 2010c; Ilovan et al., 2010; Ilovan & Mihalca, 2010; Ţolaş, 2010) and in two scientific papers (Costa & Antonie, 2006; Dulamă & Ilovan, 2004), identified by the first author. The research material also covered eight diagrams made by some groups of four students, all diagrams being included in the students’ portfolios in order to be evaluated. The collected data are represented in tables specific to Education Sciences (Magdaș, 2018).

Collecting data and data analysis . Diagrams were extracted both from the specialized literature and from the students’ portfolios. Their content was then critically investigated in terms of their topics and contents.

Findings

Conclusion

The study focused on Venn Diagrams used in the field of Geography, for various comparisons, and revealed some relevant concluding remarks. The specialized literature revealed that the main actors in the students’ education are less interested in Venn Diagrams, with this teaching resource remaining marginal in teaching and learning Geography. Accordingly, the critical and analytical geographical thinking also have a peripheral position within the educational process, as this topic remains marginal in the specialized literature. The diagrams included in various works illustrate a major diversity of geographic objects (geographic systems) that are differently compared, using various approaches. Many sampled diagrams highlight the comparison of different objects without specifying particular criteria.

The students’ analysis of diagrams indicated relevant difficulties when the diagrams were used. This is argued by the fact that only 30 percent of them are correctly using the resources recommended by the professor. The textual expressions included in diagrams clearly indicate that the students make use of critical and analytical thinking but with certain limitations when the geographic language is used. These issues could be solved through some major time resources in order to properly learn the geographic contents, either during university study programs or through individual study. Making use of some specific exercises aiming at diagrams construction closely supervised by the professor could represent one action in the learning of geography using Venn Diagrams.

Acknowledgments

The research for this article was supported by a STAR-UBB Institute fellowship (The Institute of Advanced Studies in Science and Technology, belonging to Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, Romania), won by Professor Maria Eliza Dulamă, Ph.D., during the 2019-2020 academic year (for the April-May 2020 period) and titled Valorificarea unor tehnologii avansate pentru realizarea unor filme didactice destinate predării-învățării în învățământul universitar [Valorising Certain Advanced Technologies to Realise Didactic Films for Teaching-Learning in the University System]. The fellowship was funded through the project 33PFE/2018 (Strategic infrastructure at Babeș-Bolyai University in the context of developing new and smart technology – 2018-2020), which was won through a competition organised in 2018 by the Ministry of Research and Innovation, of Romania.

References

1. Academia Română. (2009). Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory Dictionary of Romanian Language]. Univers Enciclopedic Gold.
2. Canela Morales, L. A., & Ruiz Sosa, F. G. (2020). General aspects of symbolic and diagrammatic knowledge: the case of Venn diagrams. ANDAMIOS, 16(41), 63-85.
3. Costa, A. F., & Antonie, M. (2006). Organizarea informaţiei prin diagrama Venn [Organising information using Venn diagram]. In M. E. Dulamă, O.-R. Ilovan, & F. Bucilă (Eds.), Tendinţe actuale în predarea şi învăţarea geografiei/Contemporary Trends in Teaching and Learning Geography (vol. 2, pp. 360-364). Clusium.
4. Dulamă, M. E. (2002). Modele, strategii şi tehnici didactice activizante cu aplicaţii în geografie [Models, strategies and active didactic techniques applied in geography]. Editura Clusium.
5. Dulamă, M. E. (2008). Metodologii didactice activizante [Active didactic methodologies]. Clusium.
6. Dulamă, M. E. (2009). Utilizarea organizatorilor grafici în învăţarea geografiei [Using graphic organizers in teaching and learning geography]. Materialele Simpozionului Jubiliar International “Mediul si dezvoltarea durabila”, 70 ani de la fondarea Facultăţii de Geografie, Universitatea de Stat din Tiraspol (pp. 311-316). Editura Labirint.
7. Dulamă, M. E. (2010a). Fundamente despre competențe [Basics about Competences]. Presa Universitară Clujeană.
8. Dulamă, M. E. (2010b). Republica Moldova [The Republic of Moldavia]. In M. E. Dulamă, & A. I. Mihalca (Eds.), Europa. Proiecte de lecţii pentru clasa a VI-a (pp. 98-101). Presa Universitară Clujeană.
9. Dulamă, M. E. (2010c). Republica Ungară [The Republic of Hungary]. In M. E. Dulamă, & A. I. Mihalca (eds.) Europa. Proiecte de lecţii pentru clasa a VI-a (pp. 94-97). Presa Universitară Clujeană.
10. Dulamă, M. E., & Ilovan, O.-R. (2004). The evalution of the students at the course of intercultural education through geography. Science Education International, 15(3), 225-239.
11. Dulamă, M. E., & Mihalca, A. I. (Eds.) (2010). Europa. Proiecte de lecţii pentru clasa a VI-a [Europe. Lesson Projects for the 6th Grade]. Presa Universitară Clujeană.
12. Edwards, A. W. F. (2004). Cogwheels of the mind: the story of Venn diagrams. JHU Press.
13. Fetti (Mora), D. F., & Albulescu, I. (2020). Developing emotional resilience in the primary education through the teaching style. In V. Chiș (Ed.), 7th ERD, European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 85, 669-676.
14. Gottfried, B. (2015). A comparative study of linear and region based diagrams. Journal of Spatial Information Science, 10, 3-20.
15. Ilovan, O.-R., & Mihalca, I. A. (2010). Relieful Europei [The relief of Europe]. In M. E. Dulamă, & A.I. Mihalca (Eds.), Europa. Proiecte de lecţii pentru clasa a VI-a (pp. 16-21). Presa Universitară Clujeană.
16. Ilovan, O.-R., Dulamă, M. E., & Mihalca, I. A. (2010). Râurile, fluviile, lacurile. Analiza unui fluviu: Dunărea [Streams, rivers and lakes. The study of the Danube river]. In M. E. Dulamă, & A. I. Mihalca (Eds.), Europa. Proiecte de lecţii pentru clasa a VI-a (pp. 28-37). Presa Universitară Clujeană.
17. Lynam, T., De Jong, W., Sheil, D., Kusumanto, T., & Evans, K. (2007). A review of tools for incorporating community knowledge, preferences, and values into decision making in natural resources management. Ecology and Society, 12(1), 5.
18. Magdaș, I. (2018). Prezentarea și prelucrarea datelor cercetării în științele educației. Ghid pentru studenți [Presenting and processing research data in the Sciences of Education. A students’ guide]. Presa Universitară Clujeană. http://www.editura.ubbcluj.ro/bd/ebooks/pdf/2276.pdf
19. Steele, J. L., Meredith, K. S., & Temple, C. (1998a). Lectura şi scrierea pentru dezvoltarea gândirii critice [Reading and writing in the development of critical thinking], III. Edited by Centrul Educaţia 2000+ within the project “Lectura şi scrierea pentru dezvoltarea gândirii critice”. Bucureşti, Cluj-Napoca.
20. Steele, J. L., Meredith, K. S., & Temple, C. (1998b). Promovarea gândirii critice [Promoting critical thinking], II. Edited by Fundaţia Soros şi de Institutul pentru o Societate Deschisă în cadrul proiectului “Lectura şi scrierea pentru dezvoltarea gândirii critice”. Cluj-Napoca.
21. Ţolaş, A. (2010). Grecia [Greece]. In M. E. Dulamă, & A. I. Mihalca (Eds.), Europa. Proiecte de lecţii pentru clasa a VI-a (pp. 131-141). Presa Universitară Clujeană.
22. Wijesinghe, D. B., Kadupitiya, J., Ranathunga, S., & Dias, G. (2017). Automatic assessment of student answers consisting of Venn and Euler diagrams. 2017 IEEE 17th International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies, 243-247.
23. Zotic, V. (2005). Componentele operaţionale ale organizării spaţiului geografic [Operational Components for Organising the Geographical Space]. Presa Universitară Clujeană.