Research has demonstrated strong relations between spatial skill and mathematics across ages and in both typical and atypical populations, suggesting that a significant proportion of variance in mathematics performance can be explained by variance in spatial skill. Why do these relations exist and how do they develop? Studies of dimensionality in…

Target onsets in dynamically changing displays can be predicted when contingencies exist between different stimulus states over time. In the present study, we examined predictive monitoring when participants searched dynamically changing displays of numbers and colored squares for a color target, a number target, or both. Stimuli were presented in…

Handled artifacts are ubiquitous in human technology, but how young children engage in spatially coordinated behaviors with these artifacts is not well understood. To address this issue, children (N = 30) from 17-36 months were studied with motion tracking technology as they fit the distal segment of a handled artifact into a slot. The handle was…

Spatial skills have a known beneficiary role in STEM students' academic success. This paper explores data relating to the role of spatial skills in electrical engineering problem solving which is a relatively under researched area. Data indicate a significant association between electrical engineering problem solving and spatial skills and a…

Spatial thinking, an important component of cognition, supports academic achievement and daily activities (e.g., learning science and math; using maps). Better spatial skills are correlated with more spatial play and more parental attention to spatial concepts. Tested here was whether informing mothers about spatial thinking and ways to encourage…

The neural bases of cognition may be greatly informed by relating temporally defined developmental changes in behavior with concurrent alterations in neural function. A robust improvement in performance in spatial learning and memory tasks occurs at 3 wk of age in rodents. We reported that the developmental increase of spontaneous alternation in a…

Analogical reasoning was investigated among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) without intellectual disabilities and typical development (TD). Children were asked to select one of two targets in two conditions: (1) with and without spatial structure similarity; (2) with and without a perceptual distractor. Results demonstrate that…

The National Research Council's Framework for K-12 Science Education articulates the need to shift science curricula from being a collection of discrete facts to curricula that integrate core ideas and practices. To help teachers better integrate content and to respond to expressed frustration regarding extensive lists of standards often presented…

Mathematical and spatial reasoning abilities during childhood predict later success in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, yet relatively little is known about the affective correlates of children's math and spatial performance or gender differences therein. In the present research, we assessed math and…

Time is closely linked to people's representation of spatial experience. Previous research showed that adults primed with positive affect judged that they were approaching the event (ego-moving), whereas those primed with negative affect reported that the event was approaching them (event-moving). The present research investigated the…

Spatial skill is the ability to move or reconstruct objects and components of one or more parts in three-dimensional space in their mind. In other words, it is defined as the mental arrangement of spatial skills objects and their parts in two-dimensional and three-dimensional space. 500 volunteer students included from Faculty of Education Primary…

Mathematical and spatial reasoning abilities during childhood predict later success in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) disciplines, yet relatively little is known about the affective correlates of children's math and spatial performance or gender differences therein. In the present research, we assessed math and…

The use of visual models in teaching, learning and research has increased. Consequently, students have to develop various new competencies including visual literacy in order to learn efficiently. However, visual literacy among biochemistry students is not well documented. Using quantitative research methodology, the current research was aimed at…

The present study sought to examine mathematical performance of students with different learning preferences in traditionally taught first semester calculus as well as its relationship with learning preference, spatial ability, and verbal-logical reasoning ability. Data were collected from 86 students enrolled in two sections of first semester…

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. She is the past president of the International Society for Infant Studies, served as the Associate Editor of "Child Development" and is on the governing counsel of the…