David Uttal, Professor of Education and Psychology, Northwestern University
Real Maps and Cognitive Maps: How Understanding Map Use can Inform the Cognitive Map Debate.

Whether people represent information about their environment has been debated throughout the history of spatial cognition as a field of research. Recently, this debate has arisen again, with some arguing that the answer is more a question of individual differences; some people seem to form cognitive maps quickly.

In this presentation, I will reflect on the relation between "real" maps and "cognitive maps". Many lines of research compare human cognitive maps to those of non-humans. However, this comparative approach misses the fact that people use symbols, and the symbols we use affect what we think about and how we think. Maps are a very important spatial symbol that affects thinking. I will reconsider the cognitive map debate from a perspective that emphasizes the influences of real maps on our cognitive maps. I will argue that real maps not only reflect our cognitive maps, but they also influence cognitive maps as well. Maps present mental models of the world that people then incorporate into their cognitive maps. I will take into account comparative, developmental, and cross-cultural perspectives on this issue. I will argue in the end that the form of cognitive maps is in part a function of the ways that we represent space in real maps.

Katie Gilligan-Lee, Ad Astra Fellow at the School of Psychology, University College Dublin
Optimising spatial cognition in the classroom: A journey from correlations to causation.

Among spatial cognition researchers there is a consensus that spatial skills are fundamental to achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). Yet, from an educational perspective, spatial thinking is often curiously absent from mathematics and science curricula. This begs the question of how best researchers should translate spatial research into practice to optimise educational outcomes?

As I will outline in this talk, the evidence for associations between spatial skills and STEM achievement is convincing. However, intervention studies investigating a causal effect of spatial thinking on STEM show mixed efficacy, suggesting that this causal relation is nuanced and may be sensitive to spatial training paradigm, student population and STEM outcome.

Given this, I will reflect on what recommendations we should be making to teachers regarding whether, why and how they should include spatial activities in their practice.

Alexander Klippel, Professor for Immersive Experiences, Wageningen University
Strong Spatial Cognition - A Metaverse Perspective

Recent development at the interface of AI, digital twins, XR, and Blockchain, also referred to as the Metaverse, provide the basis for synergizing some of the most interesting ideas in Geo-Information Science and Spatial Cognition. There is, however, a strong focus on software and technical developments and what is missing is a deeper, more theoretical analysis and grounding of what these opportunities mean for GIScience and Spatial Cognition. In this talk, we approach a potential theoretical grounding of the Metaverse by framing it inspirationally in Christian Freksa's notion of strong spatial cognition. While there are multiple theoretical perspectives possible, we believe that strong spatial cognition has the potential for advancing a synergistic geo-science, spatial cognition, and AI perspective on the metaverse; it is only the beginning and one possible perspective. The talk will first look into the main ingredients of the metaverse and then explore how they are all connected by what we call embodied design for strong spatial cognition. Once developed, the approach can be applied to societal sustainability challenges such as climate change or spatial planning.

Alexander Klippel, Angela Schwering, Chiara Meneghetti, Christophe Claramunt, Claudia Quaiser-Pohl, Colm O'Kane, Constanze Vorwerg, Dace Nansome, Dan Montello, Danielle Harris, David Dorran, David Uttal, Debbie Mills, Diarmaid Lane, Diedrich Wolter, Dietsje Jolles, Francesca Pazzaglia, Günter Maresch, Hickendorff Marian, Holly Taylor, Ilyse Resnick, Inese Dudareva, Jack Parkinson, Jason Power, Jeffrey Buckley, Jennifer Thom, Jeroen Spandaw, Jiayan Zhao, Jurgis Škilters, Kai-Florian Richter, Lena Gumaelius, Leo Jost, Maria Rosaria Stufano Melone, Marianna Pagkratidou, Martin Tomko, Mila Vulchanova, Nico Van de Weghe, Nora Newcombe, Petra Jansen, Remke Klapwijk, Sheryl Sorby, Stefano Borgo, Stephan Winter, Stephen Hirtle, Sven Bertel, Thomas Barkowsky, Thora Tenbrink, Toru Ishikawa, Valentin Vulchanov, Werner Kuhn, Xiaoli Chen, Zoe Falomir