Effect of Demographics on the Spatial Visualization Skills in 2D and 3D Course Offerings

Abstract

This paper reports on the impact that demographic characteristics have in the development of spatial visualization skills on two different offerings of CAD-related courses at two different institutions. The ultimate objective of this information is to identify factors that might be influencing visualization skills development. The importance placed on visualization skills improvement is due to the fact that they have been related to expected performance by students in the technical fields. The data for this study has been collected for a span of one year at two different institutions, with one institution offering a hybrid course including 2D and 3D topics, and the other institution offering a course with only 3D topics. The collected data includes several parameters, and in this study the focus will be on gender, race, previous CAD experience, and age. The measurement of the visualization skills is based on on the administration of the PSVT:R test at three different times during the semester: at the start, in the middle, and at the end. Previous comparative studies have resulted in no statistically significant differences between the two course offerings. Results from this study indicate that CAD experience and age play a more direct role in positively affecting the visualization skills of students.

A Simple Method Allowing Students to Improve Their 3-D Visualization Skills

“…An early study from I. M. Smith in 1964 [6] identified at least 84 career areas for which spatial skills are important. Women, underrepresented minorities, and non-traditional students have been found to have somewhat lower spatial visualization skills affecting their performance in STEM fields but after specialized training, they showed improvements in their skills [7] - [10]. A study by Uttal, et al [11] published in 2013 found that more than 200 studies on improvement of spatial skills demonstrated that students who receive extensive training and practice on spatiallyrelevant skills showed increased visualization skills.…”