The geosciences consist of multiple disciplines including geology, oceanography, and atmospheric science. Significant work expended to understand spatial thinking skills important to teaching and learning geology has advanced our ability to support students in geology courses and to achieve increased student success, retention, and diversity in geology programs. However, as we investigate teaching and learning broadly, including oceanography and atmospheric science, an important question is how well spatial thinking frameworks previously used in geoscience education research (GER) map onto these disciplines. A cross-disciplinary exploration of spatial thinking reveals multiple frameworks that classify spatial thinking skills from different perspectives. The spatial sciences, including geographic information systems and cartography, employ frameworks that emphasize geospatial thinking related to maps and navigation. In contrast, GER highlights key spatial skills such as those necessary to visualize landforms from topographic maps, or interpret folded and overturned rock units. Intelligence theorists develop taxonomies based on measurable human intelligence factors, while some cognitive scientists distinguish between object and spatial visualizers. New typologies support categorization of spatial thinking skills by intrinsic-extrinsic and static-dynamic relationships, and recently, a heuristic framework synthesizes spatial factor literature in support of STEM education. In this commentary we recognize the landscape of spatial thinking perspectives, review various frameworks potentially applicable to thinking and learning in multiple geoscience disciplines, raise questions intended to drive forward spatial thinking research across geoscience disciplines, and reflect on how different approaches at the forefront of the field may serve to address related GER Grand Challenges.