There is considerable interest in the potential non-musical cognitive and academic benefits of music listening and instruction to children. This report describes three lines of research relevant to this issue, namely, the effects of: (1) focused music listening on subsequent task performance (the Mozart effect); (2) music instruction; and (3)…

Background: Though the Down syndrome behavioural phenotype has been described as involving relative strengths in visuo-spatial processing and sociability, and relative weaknesses in verbal skills and motor planning, the early emergence of this phenotypic pattern of strengths and weaknesses has not yet been fully explored. Method: In this study, we…

This study investigates the effectiveness of computer-mediated Engineering Drawing instruction in improving spatial ability namely spatial visualisation and mental rotation. A multi factorial quasi experimental design study was employed involving a cohort of 138, 20 year old average undergraduates. Three interventional treatments were…

This article reviews research on the spatial contiguity and temporal contiguity effects. Research on these instructional design effects has focussed on the instructional benefits for novices of reducing split attention between spatially or temporally disparate but related elements of information. Meta-analytic techniques were applied to 50…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of spatial ability level and window presentation style of tiled and overlapped computer displays on the achievement of dental hygiene students. Participants were 43 first-term Dental Hygiene students enrolled full-time at a University School of Dental Medicine. Phase one of this project…

Children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) often exhibit problems in visual spatial perception, math achievement, and social skills, and it has been postulated that this constellation of behaviors may constitute Right Hemisphere Deficit Syndrome (RHDS). This study examined 21 children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD/H),…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of seven chemistry learning centers for use in an ongoing preschool education program. The seven centers piloted were: (1) Observing Color Changes; (2) Making Bubbles; (3) Using a Thermometer; (4) Balancing; (5) Classifying Colors; (6) Cooking; and (7) Sink or Float. All of the centers…

Two instructional variables, visual illustrations and visual mental imagery, were compared for their influences on learning and cognitive strategies. It was hypothesized, based on dual-code theory, that attempts to combine the two would facilitate learning. In a completely randomized factorial design, treatments consisted of 4 versions of a…

This study was conducted at the University of Windsor (Ontario) to determine whether an intensive introductory course in filmmaking cultivates spatial visualization and abstract reasoning, and whether success in filmmaking is directly related to one's level of spatial visualization and abstract reasoning. In order to test the research hypotheses,…

This study examined the construct validity of the Rod and Frame Test (RFT). Subjects were 554 clients (269 males and 285 females) (aged 14 to 65 years) of the Johnson O'Connor Research Foundation (JOCRF), a vocational guidance service. In a battery of diverse ability and style tests (19 tests of the JOCRF battery and 4 tests of cognitive style),…

The place of women in the existing and emergent discourses of the visual and spatial is explored. When gender and the visual-spatial emerge together, the visual and spatial are almost always associated with the masculine perspective. The social construction of women is tied to visual-spatial representations in diverse domains. Within the…

Map and compass skills are a neglected aspect of the elementary school curriculum. Orienteering--a sport that involves running a prescribed course with the aid of map and compass--may provide an avenue for teaching these skills. This study taught orienteering to 148 10-year-old children and compared the effectiveness of a serial approach based on…

The final report consists of three studies on aspects of a common theme, that a hearing impaired (HI) person's performance on information processing tasks depends on interactions of that person's cognitive structure and strategies with properties of materials to be processed and task demands. The first study, "Recall of Temporal/Spatial…

Abstracts and/or complete papers presented at this conference are provided in seven sections. Section 1 includes papers focusing on microcomputers and education. Section 2 includes a research review on spatial ability and its relation to mathematics education and two studies, focusing on spatial ability tasks for mathematics teachers/students and…

Three-dimensional (3-D) aerial photographs viewed with cardboard filter glasses (anaglyphs) aid elementary and junior high school students in recognizing physical features, offer a realistic vertical perspective, and have motivational values. A review of research on cognition, perception, and the use of anaglyphs reveals that pictures are an…