Visuospatial working memory in intuitive geometry, and in academic achievement in geometry

The relationship among geometry, working memory, and intelligence in children

“…They administered multiple-choice tests that involved identifying elements that violated intuitive geometric rules to Amazonian Indians with no formal geometry education and found that Amazonian Indian children's and adults' performance in these intuitive geometry tasks was relatively good and comparable with that of a sample of North American children, while North American adults had a better performance. These authors' intuitive geometry assessment procedure was also able to predict a significant portion of the variance in an academic achievement task (Giofrè, Mammarella, Ronconi, et al, 2013), and to discriminate between children with nonverbal learning disabilities (who failed in spatial but not in verbal tasks) and typically-developing children (Mammarella, Giofrè, Ferrara, & Cornoldi, 2013).…”

“…the ability to retain and manipulate visuospatial information (Giofrè, Mammarella, Ronconi, & Cornoldi, 2013). Furthermore, geometrical academic problems typically also involve finding a solution to a problem, and this capacity should relate to reasoning, and therefore to intelligence (Clements & Battista, 1992).…”

“…Concerning geometry in particular, a distinction has been proposed between intuitive and academic geometry (Giofrè, Mammarella, Ronconi, et al, 2013). The former includes abilities that are believed to be independent of a person's cultural background and education; the latter depends on learning and education.…”

“…Academic geometry, on the other hand, represents a student's ability to answer the typical geometry questions contained in the mathematical curriculum (Giofrè, Mammarella, Ronconi, et al, 2013) that could be not solved without formal instruction. It is considered one of the most important areas of mathematical learning, and it is linked to a student's future academic and professional success (Verstijnen, Van Leeuwen, Goldschmidt, Hamel, & Hennessey, 1998).…”

Geometry Education, Including the Use of New Technologies: A Survey of Recent Research

“…Research increasingly emphasizes the need for good visuospatial working memory in geometry and more widely (Giofrè, Mammarella, Ronconi, & Cornoldi, 2013). Classroom activities such as origami, pop-up engineering, quality block play, various practical activities, and specific forms of technology have all been shown to enhance visuospatial reasoning.…”