Building activities can be used any time in the school year in mathematics classes to promote problem solving, perseverance, and to develop students' spatial thinking. Spatial visualization skills are the "ability to mentally manipulate, rotate, twist, or invert a pictorially presented stimulus object." The authors were guided by the…

Learning spatial layouts and navigating through them rely not simply on sight but rather on multisensory processes, including touch. Digital haptics based on ultrasounds are effective for creating and manipulating mental images of individual objects in sighted and visually impaired participants. Here, we tested if this extends to scenes and…

Studies show that spatial interventions lead to improvements in mathematics. However, outcomes vary based on whether physical manipulatives (embodied action) are used during training. This study compares the effects of embodied and non-embodied spatial interventions on spatial and mathematics outcomes. The study has a randomized, controlled,…

Three-dimensional (3D) scanning and printing technology has allowed for the production of anatomical replicas at virtually any size. But what size optimizes the educational potential of 3D printing models? This study systematically investigates the effect of model size on nominal anatomy learning. The study population of 380 undergraduate…

Abstract Lego construction ability is associated with a variety of spatial skills and mathematical outcomes. However, it is unknown whether these relations are causal. We aimed to establish the causal impact of Lego construction training on: Lego construction ability; a broad range of spatial skills; and on mathematical outcomes in 7-9-year-olds.…

Physical manipulatives enhanced knowledge acquisition by engaging learners in hands-on experiences that supported spatial reasoning. These tools allowed learners to see, touch, and manipulate objects, improving their ability to mentally rotate and visualize structures. This study challenged the assumption that most learners are purely visual by…

There is a known association between LEGO® construction ability and mathematics achievement, yet the mechanisms which drive this association are largely unknown. This study investigated the spatial mechanisms underlying this association, and whether this differs for concrete versus digital construction. Between January 2020 and July 2021, children…

Tangrams are a traditional Chinese puzzle comprising seven pieces that fit together to make a square. The seven pieces include two large right angled isosceles triangles, one medium size right angled isosceles triangle, two small right angled isosceles triangles, a small parallelogram, and a small square. The literature shows tangrams have been…

Non-rigid spatial thinking, or mental transformations where the distance between two points in an object changes (e.g., folding, breaking, bending), is required for many STEM fields but remains critically understudied. We developed and tested a non-rigid, ductile spatial skill measure based on reasoning about knots with 279 US adults (M = 30.90,…

The goals of the current study were: 1) to modify and expand an existing spatial mathematical language coding system to include quantitative mathematical language terms and 2) to examine the extent to which preschool-aged children used spatial and quantitative mathematical language during a block play intervention. Participants included 24…

In this article, we present an educational proposal designed to work on spatial geometry and three-dimensional thinking with students in the last years of Primary Education. The proposal is comprised of several activities that combine the use of a classroom videogame and working with manipulative materials to create a representation of the…

Technology is transforming children's lived experience with spatial play. In particular, parents may interact with children differently depending on whether they play together with tangible or digital materials. The present research examined whether the medium for play (tangible or digital) affected kindergarten-aged children's language experience…

The standby wooden blocks that are prevalent in most high-quality early childhood classrooms are missing from most primary and elementary grades. The goal for block play in early childhood is to support learning in mathematics, science, art, literacy and language arts, physical development, social studies, and social and emotional growth. This…

Anatomy studies are an essential part of medical training. The study of neuroanatomy in particular presents students with a unique challenge of three-dimensional spatial understanding. Virtual Reality (VR) has been suggested to address this challenge, yet the majority of previous reports have implemented computer-generated or imaging-based models…

Limited knowledge is currently available regarding the efficacy of mathematics education in online distance learning and the strategies that can be implemented to enhance its effectiveness. The purpose of this study is to investigate the changes in rural students' spatial skills when engaging in activities that necessitate the use of isometric…