Spatial Orientation Skill Improvement with Geospatial Applications: Report of a Multi-Year Study

Carrera, Carlos Carbonell; Medler, Stephany Hess

doi:10.3390/ijgi6090278

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 48 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Thus, teaching experiences carried out with engineering students revealed that an improvement of both the acquired knowledge and spatial visualization skill are achieved by using a VT. This is in agreement with previous studies [15][16][17][18][19][20] where it was demonstrated that the visualization skill can be improved through appropriate training. Taking all the previously mentioned into account, two facts can be stated: (i) the graphical design of any Didactic Virtual Tool (DVT) is a key factor in achieving an educative aim; and (ii) in the case that such a tool is used for solving any spatial visualization problem, the tool design becomes an even more influential factor.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 93%

A Virtual Resource for Enhancing the Spatial Comprehension of Crystal Lattices

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Students commonly exhibit serious spatial comprehension difficulties when they come to learning crystal systems. To solve this problem, an active methodology based on the use of a Didactic Virtual Tool (DVT)-developed by the authors-is presented in this paper. The students' opinion was obtained from a survey carried out on 40 mechanical engineering students. The analysis of the obtained results reveals that, by using this DVT, students achieve a better understanding of the contents where spatial difficulties often arise during conventional teaching. Several DVT features were highly valued by the students, e.g., didactic use was rated 9.5 out of 10 and the methodology using the DVT in the classroom was rated 8.5 out of 10. In addition, the results revealed two factors that the students considered essential for using a DVT, both related to the tool design: (i) the modern aspect, i.e., it is necessary to keep a DVT updated to avoid obsolescence; and (ii) the DVT must be appealing in order to attract the students' attention.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 93%

A Virtual Resource for Enhancing the Spatial Comprehension of Crystal Lattices

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…One kind of large-scale spatial skill that has been commonly examined in studies of STEM teaching and learning is spatial orientation or perspective-taking (e.g., Carbonell Carrera & Saorín Pérez, 2011;Carbonell-Carrera & Hess-Medler, 2017;Kozhevnikov, Hegarty, & Mayer, 2002;Lowrie & Logan, 2018;Tartre, 1990). Perspective-taking is critically important for many STEM domains, such as the earth and space sciences (Hegarty, Crookes, Dara-Abrams, & Shipley, 2010).…”

Section: A Brief History Of the Research On Spatial Thinking In Psychmentioning

confidence: 99%

Situating space: using a discipline-focused lens to examine spatial thinking skills

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial skills are an important component of success in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. A majority of what we know about spatial skills today is a result of more than 100 years of research focused on understanding and identifying the kinds of skills that make up this skill set. Over the last two decades, the field has recognized that, unlike the spatial skills measured by psychometric tests developed by psychology researchers, the spatial problems faced by STEM experts vary widely and are multifaceted. Thus, many psychological researchers have embraced an interdisciplinary approach to studying spatial thinking with the aim of understanding the nature of this skill set as it occurs within STEM disciplines. In a parallel effort, discipline-based education researchers specializing in STEM domains have focused much of their research on understanding how to bolster students' skills in completing domain-specific spatial tasks. In this paper, we discuss four lessons learned from these two programs of research to enhance the field's understanding of spatial thinking in STEM domains. We demonstrate each contribution by aligning findings from research on three distinct STEM disciplines: structural geology, surgery, and organic chemistry. Lastly, we discuss the potential implications of these contributions to STEM education. Significance statementWith more than 50% of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors leaving the STEM fields prior to graduation, there has been an increased focus on improving STEM retention rates at universities across the USA (National Science Foundation, 2018). Spatial skills are an important component of success in STEM fields and have been the focus of much psychological research for the last 100 years. Yet, only in the last few decades has the field of psychology come to recognize the complexity and nuance of the spatial tasks carried out by STEM experts during their practice. Consequently, a growing number of researchers are taking an interdisciplinary perspective on spatial thinking in STEM, with the aim of broadening our understanding of the kinds of spatial skills required to practice STEM domains. In a parallel effort, having a strong appreciation for the importance of spatial thinking to STEM reasoning and problem-solving, discipline-based education researchers have focused much research on understanding how to bolster students' skills in completing domain-specific spatial tasks. This paper highlights critical lessons learned from interdisciplinary and discipline-based education research in three STEM fields-structural geology, surgery, and chemistry-and considers their implications for how to support students' STEM learning and success at advanced educational levels.

show abstract

“…One kind of large-scale spatial skill that has been commonly examined in studies of STEM teaching and learning is spatial orientation or perspective-taking (e.g., Carbonell Carrera USING A DISCIPLINE-FOCUSED LENS TO EXAMINE SPATIAL THINKING SKILLS 8 et al., 2011;Carbonell-Carrera & Medler, 2017;Kozhevnikov, Hegarty, & Mayer, 2002;Lowrie & Logan, 2018;Tartre, 1990). Perspective-taking is critically important for many STEM domains, such as the earth and space sciences (Hegarty, Crookes, Dara-Abrams, & Shipley, 2010).…”

Section: A Brief History Of the Research On Spatial Thinking In Psychmentioning

confidence: 99%

Situating Space: Using a Discipline-Focused Lens to Examine Spatial Thinking Skills

Atit;Atit¹,

Uttal²,

Stieff³

2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Spatial skills are an important component of success in STEM fields. A majority of what we know about spatial skills today is a result of over 100 years of research focused on understanding and identifying the kinds of skills that make up this skill set. Over the last two decades, the field has recognized that unlike the spatial skills measured by psychometric tests developed by psychology researchers, the spatial problems faced by STEM experts vary widely and are multifaceted. Thus, many psychological researchers have embraced an interdisciplinary approach to studying spatial thinking with the aim of understanding the nature of this skill set as it occurs within STEM disciplines. In a parallel effort, discipline-based education researchers specializing in STEM domains have focused much of their research on understanding how to bolster students’ skills in completing domain-specific spatial tasks. In this paper, we discuss four lessons learned from these two programs of research to enhance the field’s understanding of spatial thinking in STEM domains. We demonstrate each contribution by aligning findings from research on three distinct STEM disciplines, structural geology, surgery, and organic chemistry. Lastly, we discuss the potential implications of these contributions to STEM education.

show abstract

Spatial Orientation Skill Improvement with Geospatial Applications: Report of a Multi-Year Study

Cited by 12 publications

References 48 publications

A Virtual Resource for Enhancing the Spatial Comprehension of Crystal Lattices

A Virtual Resource for Enhancing the Spatial Comprehension of Crystal Lattices

Situating space: using a discipline-focused lens to examine spatial thinking skills

Situating Space: Using a Discipline-Focused Lens to Examine Spatial Thinking Skills

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About