Notwithstanding its well-established role on high-demanding spatial navigation tasks during adulthood, the effect of field dependence-independence during the acquisition of spatial navigation skills is almost unknown. This study assessed for the first time the effect of field dependence-independence on topographical learning (TL) across the life…

In this longitudinal study, we assessed 88 Hong Kong Chinese typically developing kindergarteners' Chinese character reading accuracy four times with 6-month intervals over 1.5 years with the first testing point in the fall of the second year of kindergarten (K2), during which morphological awareness, phonological awareness, orthographic…

There is a clear contemporary interest for developing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) at schools. Besides, there exist a lot of research that justify the importance of spatial ability to obtain success in STEM subjects. Nevertheless, the spatial ability is relatively ignored in the general practice of teaching and learning…

Object construction involves organizing multiple objects into a unified structure (e.g., stacking blocks into a tower) and may provide infants with unique spatial information. Because object construction entails placing objects in spatial locations relative to one another, infants can acquire information about spatial relations during construction…

Background: Conclusive evidence supports the importance of fundamental movement skills (FMS) proficiency in promoting physical activity and countering obesity. In children with Down Syndrome (DS), FMS development is delayed, which has been suggested to be associated with balance deficits. This study therefore examined the relationship between FMS…

There is an emerging consensus that spatial thinking is fundamental to later success in math and science. The goals of this study were to design and evaluate a novel test of three-dimensional (3D) mental rotation for 4- to 8-year-old children (N?=?165) that uses tangible 3D objects. Results revealed that the measure was both valid and reliable and…

Despite a growing interest in the question of tool-use development in infants, no study so far has systematically investigated how learning to use a tool to retrieve an out-of-reach object progresses with age. This was the first aim of this study, in which 60 infants, aged 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22 months, were presented with an attractive toy and a…

Recent decades have witnessed a growing interest in intervention-based assessment to promote and enhance children's learning. In this study, we explored the potential effect of an experimental visual-spatial intervention procedure and possible training benefits of two prompting modalities: one group received training with verbal and visual…

Having good spatial skills strongly predicts achievement and attainment in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields (e.g., Shea, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2001; Wai, Lubinski, & Benbow, 2009). Improving spatial skills is therefore of both theoretical and practical importance. To determine whether and to what extent training and…