Abstract:

Gestalt is a German word that means form or shape. The theory of Gestalt deals with the laws of perceptional organization. The laws of figure and background relations, proximity, similarity, completion, continuity are laws of perceptional organization. According to Gestalt theoreticians, “laws of perceptional organization help explain how people learn” (Bower ve Hilgard, 1981; Senemoğlu, 2010: 242). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the Gestalt Theory (perceptional organization) affects the level of map literacy skills. Perceptional organizations in maps is a three-phase process. The first phase deals with figure and background relations. The second phase of perceptional organization in map literacy is composed of the grouping process, which refers to the laws of perceptional organization in Gestalt theory (proximity, similarity, completion, continuity and simplicity). The last phase of perceptional organization in maps is composed of the processes of differentiation and evaluation. An experimental method with a treatment and control group is used in the study. As the main data collection tool in this study, an attainment test developed by the researcher to test the map literacy skills of higher education students (Freshmen at the Department of Social Sciences Education) was used. KR20 reliability coefficient of the test was found to be 0.70. The study sample is composed of the freshman students at the Department of Social Sciences Education at the Faculty of Education, Cumhuriyet University. These learners are composed two sections. One of the groups were randomly assigned as the treatment group, while the other one was assigned as the control group. A pre-test was given to both groups to test whether the learners performed equally before the instructional period. A t test was conducted to compare the mean pre-test scores of the groups, [t(77)=.820; p>.05]. This suggests that the groups’ mean scores before the instruction were similar. After the three-week instructional period, it was found that Gestalt approach was more effective in boosting learners’ map literacy skills in comparison with teacher centered instructional methods,  F(1-77)= 26.519; p .05  .

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