To determine whether high school students can be trained to use maps more effectively, a study examined linkage of feature and event information, the role of individual differences, and the roles of reading ability and preference for dealing with visual information. Subjects were 31 16- to 17-year-old high school students. Experimental and control groups each worked for three 40-minute periods on the training text (an expository passage of 1800 words) and its three maps. In the next phase subjects were given only their maps and were asked to use the maps to recall all they could about the passage. Comprehension of the training text was assessed one week after training. Three weeks after training all subjects read the transfer text with its accompanying map and were tested for comprehension. Results indicated that it was relatively easy to train students at this level of schooling to use a visual aid more effectively to enhance comprehension. Training effects were in part modified by individual differences in ability and preference, suggesting that instruction should attempt to accommodate such factors. (Three figures are included.) (SR)