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ERIC Number: EJ1286646
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Feb
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1751-2271
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Examining the Relations between Spatial Skills, Spatial Anxiety, and K-12 Teacher Practice
Atit, Kinnari; Rocha, Kelsey
Mind, Brain, and Education, v15 n1 p139-148 Feb 2021
Spatial skills are important for student success in STEM disciplines at the K-12 educational level. Teachers' spatial skills and feelings about completing spatial tasks influence their teaching as well as their students' spatial learning. However, the relation between teachers' spatial skills and their spatial anxiety is not well understood. Here we investigated if teachers' spatial skills influence two kinds of small-scale spatial anxiety: (a) anxiety for tasks involving visual imagery and (b) anxiety for tasks involving mental manipulations. In addition, we investigated if teachers' spatial skills in conjunction with their small-scale spatial anxiety influence the integration of spatial practices, such as gestures and diagrams, into their teaching. Eighty-two K-12 teachers completed two subscales of small-scale spatial anxiety, a measure of spatial skills, and a teaching activities questionnaire. Results indicate that teachers' spatial skills are negatively associated with their spatial anxiety for mental manipulation tasks, and positively associated with their use of spatial practices. These findings highlight the need to account for teachers' spatial skills when considering how to improve students' spatial learning.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A