Passing the introductory calculus sequence is critical to undergraduate students' retention in STEM programs. This study examines the relations between three interrelated processes found to influence mathematics learning and achievement: spatial skills, spatial anxiety, and math anxiety. Additionally, it examines the role of gender on these…

Prior research showed a gender effect on spatial ability, math anxiety, and math achievement. Lacking, however, is a comprehensive study that tested the mediation effects of spatial ability and math anxiety between gender and math achievement in a sequential mediation model. To fill this gap, this pilot study tested two mediation relationships,…

The present study sought to examine mathematical performance of students with different learning preferences in traditionally taught first semester calculus as well as its relationship with learning preference, spatial ability, and verbal-logical reasoning ability. Data were collected from 86 students enrolled in two sections of first semester…

This study investigated longitudinal pathways leading from early spatial skills in first-grade girls to their fifth-grade analytical math reasoning abilities (N = 138). First-grade assessments included spatial skills, verbal skills, addition/subtraction skills, and frequency of choice of a decomposition or retrieval strategy on the…