Does training mental rotation transfer to gains in mathematical competence? Assessment of an at-home visuospatial intervention

Cheung, Chi-Ngai; Sung, Jenna; Lourenco, Stella F.

doi:10.1007/s00426-019-01202-5

Cited by 37 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Foundational Spatial Skills. Although the development of spatial skills in preschool is not as well understood as the early development of numerical skills, research highlights the importance of early spatial learning to later mathematical achievement (66)(67)(68). Skills recommended for preschool instruction involve knowing shapes and their features (50), the ability to mentally transform objects in space (25,66), and the ability to construct larger shapes and structures from smaller shapes and structures (30).…”

Section: Foundational Mathematical Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In older children and adults, spatial skills predict Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics achievement and career paths, even when controlling for numerical and verbal abilities (25,(72)(73)(74)(75)(76). Although there are socioeconomic disparities in foundational spatial skills (35,39), spatial thinking can be improved with instruction and practice (67,77,78). Moreover, training children's spatial thinking improves their numerical math skills (66,67).…”

Section: Foundational Mathematical Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although there are socioeconomic disparities in foundational spatial skills (35,39), spatial thinking can be improved with instruction and practice (67,77,78). Moreover, training children's spatial thinking improves their numerical math skills (66,67).…”

Section: Foundational Mathematical Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children

Raudenbush

Hernandez

Goldin‐Meadow

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Social inequality in mathematical skill is apparent at kindergarten entry and persists during elementary school. To level the playing field, we trained teachers to assess children’s numerical and spatial skills every 10 wk. Each assessment provided teachers with information about a child’s growth trajectory on each skill, information designed to help them evaluate their students' progress, reflect on past instruction, and strategize for the next phase of instruction. A key constraint is that teachers have limited time to assess individual students. To maximize the information provided by an assessment, we adapted the difficulty of each assessment based on each child’s age and accumulated evidence about the child’s skills. Children in classrooms of 24 trained teachers scored 0.29 SD higher on numerical skills at posttest than children in 25 randomly assigned control classrooms (P = 0.005). We observed no effect on spatial skills. The intervention also positively influenced children’s verbal comprehension skills (0.28 SD higher at posttest, P < 0.001), but did not affect their print-literacy skills. We consider the potential contribution of this approach, in combination with similar regimes of assessment and instruction in elementary schools, to the reduction of social inequality in numerical skill and discuss possible explanations for the absence of an effect on spatial skills.

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Section: Foundational Mathematical Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Foundational Mathematical Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children

Raudenbush

Hernandez

Goldin‐Meadow

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Mental rotation training improved elementary students' mental rotation and missing-term problem performance (Cheng & Mix, 2014). Relatedly, online mental rotation training improved mental rotation and calculation problem performance (Cheung, Sung, & Lourenco, 2019). Spatial training programs covering a broad range of spatialthinking skills (spatial visualization, mental rotation, and spatial orientation) led to broader spatial-thinking gains along with gains in geometry (Lowrie, Logan, & Ramful, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Elementary teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about spatial thinking and mathematics

et al. 2020

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Considering how spatial thinking connects to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes, recent studies have evaluated how spatial interventions impact elementary students' math learning. While promising, these interventions tend to overlook other factors affecting math learning; perceptions of math abilities, beliefs about math, and math anxiety can also impact math performance. Additionally, perceptions of spatial skill and spatial anxiety impact spatial performance. This study investigated how elementary teachers' perceptions of spatial thinking connects with math perceptions. Specifically, we focused on teachers' attitudes and beliefs around three topics: teaching and learning math, spatial abilities, and spatial thinking in mathematics. We found that lower spatial anxiety related to lower anxiety about teaching math, greater alignment between math beliefs and math standards, and greater efficacy in teaching and learning math. Further, a factor analysis showed one factor that connected stereotypical math thinking with both math and spatial anxiety, and another that connected spatial competencies, teaching and learning math, and spatial thinking within math. To further evaluate spatial thinking in math, we introduced a math categorization and verified it using teachers' ratings of teaching difficulty, visualization helpfulness, and spatial-thinking involvement. Structural equation models revealed that the level of spatial-thinking categorization was the best model of all three of the teachers' ratings. Overall, results showed numerous connections between teachers' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics and spatial thinking. Future intervention studies should consider teachers who are spatial and/or math-anxious, and future research should investigate the role of stereotypical thinking in spatial and math anxiety.

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“…MR has been linked to competent performance in geometry (Newcombe, Booth, & Gunderson, 2019) and to mathematical competence more generally (Frick, 2018;Lauer & Lourenco, 2016;van Tetering, van der Donk, de Groot, & Jolles, 2019;Verdine, Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, & Newcombe, 2017;Young, Levine, & Mix, 2018). In addition, training MR has positive effects on children's math performance (Cheng & Mix, 2014;Cheung, Sung, & Lourenco, 2019). Research on development of spatial-cognitive abilities can have significant impact, therefore, in particular with respect to STEM disciplines.…”

Section: Mental Rotation Of 3d Objectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial thinking in infancy: Origins and development of mental rotation between 3 and 10 months of age

Johnson

Moore

2020

Cogn. Research

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Mental rotation (MR) is the ability to transform a mental representation of an object so as to accurately predict how the object would look from a different angle (Sci 171:701-703, 1971), and it is involved in a number of important cognitive and behavioral activities. In this review we discuss recent studies that have examined MR in infants and the development of MR across the first year after birth. These studies have produced many conflicting results, yet several tentative conclusions can be reached. First, MR may be operational in infants as young as 3 months of age. Second, there may be sex differences in MR performance in infancy, in general favoring males, as there are in children and in adults. Third, there appear to be multiple influences on infants' MR performance, including infants' motor activity, stimulus or task complexity, hormones, and parental attitudes. We conclude by calling for additional research to examine more carefully the causes and consequences of MR abilities early in life.

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Does training mental rotation transfer to gains in mathematical competence? Assessment of an at-home visuospatial intervention

Cited by 37 publications

References 77 publications

Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children

Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children

Elementary teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about spatial thinking and mathematics

Spatial thinking in infancy: Origins and development of mental rotation between 3 and 10 months of age

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