The impact of touch-screen technology on spatial cognitive skills as related to molecular geometries was assessed through 102 one-on-one interviews with undergraduate students. Participants were provided with either printed 2D ball-and-stick images of molecules or manipulable projections of 3D molecular structures on an iPad. Following a brief…

A fundamental question in human cognition is how people reason about space. We use a computational model to explore cross-cultural commonalities and differences in spatial cognition. Our model is based upon two hypotheses: (1) the structure-mapping model of analogy can explain the visual comparisons used in spatial reasoning; and (2) qualitative,…

A fundamental component of mathematical learning is spatial visualization. To improve their spatial visualization skills, students should be given opportunities to work with two- and three-dimensional objects. The authors describe two activities that use tetrahedra nested within cubes to help improve students' visualization of two- and…

In this study, we explored whether creativity was domain specific or domain general. The relationships between students' scores on three creative problem-solving activities (math, spatial artistic, and oral linguistic) in the DISCOVER assessment (Discovering Intellectual Strengths and Capabilities While Observing Varied Ethnic Responses) and the…

The involvement of working memory (WM) was examined in two types of mental calculation tasks: exact and approximate. Specifically, children attending Grades 3 and 4 of primary school were involved in three experiments that examined the role of verbal and visuospatial WM in solving addition problems presented in vertical or horizontal format. For…

Most students love to play games. Ernest (1986) believed that games could be used to teach mathematics effectively in four areas: motivation, concept development, reinforcement of skills, and practice of problem-solving strategies. Fifteen is an interesting and thought-provoking game that helps students learn mathematics at the same time. Playing…

This study developed an interview-based critical spatial thinking oral test and used the test to investigate the effects of Geographic Information System (GIS) learning on three components of critical spatial thinking: evaluating data reliability, exercising spatial reasoning, and assessing problem-solving validity. Thirty-two students at a large…

The aim of this study is to evaluate sixth-grade Turkish students' spatial visualization ability and to determine the strategies that students employ and the mistakes that they make while solving the problems requiring spatial reasoning. Therefore, the study examined the following achievements: visualizing different view images of…

In general, integration of spatial information can be difficult for students. To study students' spatial thinking and their self-efficacy of interpreting stratigraphic columns, we designed an exercise that asks college-level students to interpret problems on the principles of superposition, original horizontality and lateral continuity, and…

This research team has developed a learning trajectory on 3D visualization for elementary children. This paper focuses on the interchange among the three Spatial Operational Capacity framework representations, namely, 3D models, 2D conventional diagrams, and semiotic abstract representations, and the critical role of a dynamic computer interface…

The relationship between emergent spatial understanding in different cognitive domains, including navigation and language, has rarely been studied using methods that allow for the examination of individual differences. In this study the authors explored emergent place learning and its relationship to early spatial language, namely prepositions, in…

Understanding geospatial technologies (GSTs) and spatial thinking is increasingly vital to contemporary life including common activities and hobbies; learning in science, mathematics, and social science; and employment within fields as diverse as engineering, health, business, and planning. As such, there is a need for a stand-alone K-12…

This study investigated the role of strategy instruction on solution accuracy in children with and without serious math difficulties (MD) in problem solving. Children's posttest solution accuracy was compared on standardized and experimental measures as a function of strategy conditions. Strategy conditions included curriculum materials that…

The need for spatial thinkers is evident in the growing concerns regarding the performance of U.S. students in mathematics and the lack of interest in spatially-driven fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Although the focus on spatial research has fluctuated over decades of educational reform, a platform has been…

The "Golden Key" programme is a preschool education programme that is constructed on the basis of Vygotskij's cultural-historical theory. One of the most important aspects of this theory is not just the unity of intellect and affect, but the fact that the relationship between these two changes during the course of development. In infants, affect…