People with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have difficulties mentally simulating events, perhaps due to a difficulty mentally generating and maintaining a coherent spatial scene -- that is, 'scene construction'. The current study compared scene construction ability between autistic adults (N = 55) and age-, gender- and Intelligence…

An indirect connection between executive functioning and imagination was revealed earlier in the study of pretend play. This study aimed to explore the relationship between imagination and executive functions in children. Two-hundred-six typically developing children aged 6-7 years were assessed with main executive functions (working memory,…

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…

Reports on differences between remembering the past and imagining the future have led to the hypothesis that constructing future events is a more cognitively demanding process. However, factors that influence these increased demands, such as whether the event has been previously constructed and the types of details comprising the event, have…

The paper describes the results of a study whose main aim was to find the interrelationship between pupils' school grades in Czech language (native), mathematics, and physics and pupils' cognitive predispositions to problem-solving in science and mathematics diagnosed by the Lawson Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning and the Culture of Problem…

The technical skills of using geographical information systems (GIS) are often taught in different higher education disciplines apart from geocapabilities or geographic disciplinary expertise. Theorised to include capabilities such as spatial thinking, geographical imagination and structured ways to explore places, the concept of geocapabilities…

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between the main components of role play, according to Vygotsky (object substitution, idea of play, play interaction), and executive functions (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, planning) in preschool age. The study involved 56 children, 5 to 6 years old (29 boys and 27…

Places assigned and places chosen have major implications for the lives of children. While the former are a result of children's subordinate position in an adult world, the latter are the essence of their agency. Beginning at a young age children seek out places to claim as their own. Places, real and imaginary, shape children and children shape…

Shaping OurSpace was an urban planning project asking children to propose plans for a housing project phased for redevelopment. Our primary aim was building visual-spatial thinking. McCormack's (1988, 2011) hierarchical framework was used to operationalize visual-spatial thinking, and we believe that embodied cognition served as a vehicle for…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of student-generated drawing and imagination on learning recall, learning transfer, and cognitive load, and also students' attitudes towards the learning strategies when learning a computer-based science text, compared to learning with provided pictures. The study used three groups: drawing…

The paper deals with the impact of teaching activities that cater for spatial-visual intelligence on students' achievements in English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The objective of this research was to determine whether the application of a variety of language activities that encourage spatial-visual intelligence result in the improvement in…

Spatial design as a discipline relies on the psychological construct of space. In the light of shortcomings and challenges faced by traditional approaches to spatial design learning, this paper investigates the role and value of Virtual Reality (VR) as a pedagogic vehicle. Based on understandings informed by action-research using VR with learners…

A geographical education offers more than skills, subject knowledge and generic attributes. It also develops a set of discipline-specific capabilities that contribute to a graduate's future learning and experience, granting them special ways of thinking for lifelong development and for contributing to the welfare of themselves, their community and…

In the context of a 10-day summer camp makerspace experience that employed design-based learning (DBL) strategies, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to better understand the ways in which children use visualization skills to negotiate design as they move back and forth between the world of nondigital design techniques (i.e., drawing,…