The Impact of a Spatial Intervention Program on Students’ Spatial Reasoning and Mathematics Performance

Lowrie, Thomas; Harris, Danielle; Logan, Tracy; Hegarty, Mary

doi:10.1080/00220973.2019.1684869

Cited by 38 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The current study is compatible with work being conducted by a community of educators examining the value of fostering spatial experiences, concepts, and skills as foundations for STEM success (e.g., Cheng & Mix, 2014;Liben, 2006;Lowrie, Harris, Logan, & Hegarty, 2019;NRC, 2006;Newcombe, 2013;Uttal, Miller, & Newcombe, 2013). The data from the current study are, overall, consistent with the hypothesis that a domain-general spatial intervention designed to foster children's projective spatial concepts would enhance children's understanding of astronomical phenomena.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Can a Domain‐General Spatial Intervention Facilitate Children’s Science Learning? A Lesson From Astronomy

Bower

Liben

2020

Child Development

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Correlational studies link spatial‐test scores and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics achievement. Here we asked whether children’s understanding of astronomical phenomena would benefit from a prior intervention targeting a core component of children’s projective spatial concepts—understanding that viewers’ visual experiences are affected by vantage point. Children (8–9 years; N = 66) received outdoor and indoor experiences that did (Experimental) or did not (Control) focus on how scene appearance is affected by viewers' positions and movements. All then received an astronomy lesson about celestial motions (e.g., Sun apparent motion). Experimental‐group children scored higher on immediate and 1‐week perspective‐taking tests and explained celestial phenomena more accurately than did control‐group children. Data demonstrate that general spatial training—divorced from specific science content—can aid children’s subsequent learning of scientific phenomena.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 84%

Can a Domain‐General Spatial Intervention Facilitate Children’s Science Learning? A Lesson From Astronomy

Bower

Liben

2020

Child Development

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“…However, given the limitations described above, we sought to explore the generalizability of this result in a secondary school data set. Data for this study were drawn from pre-test scores in a larger-scaled project for the year 8 cohort (Lowrie, Harris, Logan, & Hegarty, 2020). As part of the analysis for the larger project, school or teacher variables were nested Table 5.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Step within the hierarchical linear modelling design to account for any differences associated with teacher effect (Lowrie et al, 2020). There were no performance differences at these nested levels; consequently, we did not use a nested design in the current study that focused on individual differences only.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial reasoning, mathematics, and gender: Do spatial constructs differ in their contribution to performance?

Harris

Lowrie

Logan

et al. 2020

Brit J of Edu Psychol

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Background. The role of gender in both spatial and mathematics performance has been extensively studied separately, with a male advantage often found in spatial tasks and mathematics from adolescence. Spatial reasoning is consistently linked to mathematics proficiency, yet despite this, little research has investigated the role of spatial orientation and gender in the relationship between spatial reasoning and mathematics. Aims. In the present study, three spatial reasoning constructs (mental rotation, spatial visualization, and spatial orientation) were examined for their unique contributions to mathematics performance in two samples (Study 1: grade 5; Study 2: grade 8). In light of the emerging gender gap in mathematics as children develop, these relationships were explored as a function of gender. Sample. Eighty-four fifth-grade students participated in Study 1 (43 females, 41 males; mean age = 11.19 years). Nine hundred and three eighth-grade students participated in Study 2 (498 females, 405 males; mean age = 13.83 years). Methods. The three spatial reasoning constructs (mental rotation, spatial visualization, and spatial orientation) were examined for their unique contributions to mathematics performance for females and males in general and across different mathematical content (geometry-measurement and number sense). Results. Spatial factors accounted for 51% of the variance in math scores in Study 1 (grade 5) and 32% of the variance in math scores in Study 2 (grade 8). In both studies, spatial factors predicted a larger proportion of variance in geometry-measurement than for number sense. Spatial orientation was found to be a unique contributor in all mathematics models, object-based spatial skills (mental rotation and spatial visualization) varied in their contribution to math performance depending on mathematics content and gender. Conclusions. The present work highlights the unique contribution of spatial orientation in the spatial-mathematics relationship and provides insights into the nature of gender differences in mathematical problem-solving as a function of spatial reasoning and mathematics content.

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“…However, it has been shown that spatial scaling training at 8 years leads to improved number line estimation abilities , and a number of interventions have trained extrinsic skills alongside intrinsic skills, but again, mainly in samples of older children. For example, Lowrie and colleagues trained secondary school children using lessons that included navigation activities (Lowrie et al, 2017) and in a subsequent study, scaling, route knowledge, and perspective taking activities (Lowrie et al, 2019), alongside intrinsic activities such as mental rotation. These studies report improvements in both spatial and mathematics ability.…”

Section: Extrinsic Spatial Skillsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practitioners' perspectives on spatial reasoning in educational practice from birth to 7 years

Bates¹,

Williams²,

Gilligan-Lee³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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There is a growing evidence base for the importance of spatial reasoning for the development of mathematics. However, the extent to which this translates into practice is unknown. We asked practitioners who work with children from birth to seven years old about their understanding of spatial reasoning, the extent to which they recognize and implement spatial activities in their practice, and the barriers and opportunities to supporting spatial reasoning in the practice setting. The study was mixed methods and included a questionnaire (Study 1) and a series of focus groups (Study 2). We found that whilst practitioners engage in a variety of activities that support spatial reasoning, most practitioners reported little confidence in their understanding of what spatial reasoning is. To address this, informative and accessible resources are needed to broaden understanding of the definition of spatial reasoning and to outline opportunities to support spatial reasoning.

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The Impact of a Spatial Intervention Program on Students’ Spatial Reasoning and Mathematics Performance

Cited by 38 publications

References 35 publications

Can a Domain‐General Spatial Intervention Facilitate Children’s Science Learning? A Lesson From Astronomy

Can a Domain‐General Spatial Intervention Facilitate Children’s Science Learning? A Lesson From Astronomy

Spatial reasoning, mathematics, and gender: Do spatial constructs differ in their contribution to performance?

Practitioners' perspectives on spatial reasoning in educational practice from birth to 7 years

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