This study evaluated the effects of three instructional methods (direct experience, cartographic representation (tactile map), and verbal description) on the spatial knowledge of 30 adults with blindness. Results indicated that participants' practical spatial knowledge was better when they learned with a tactile map than in either of the other…

Three experiments explored change toward more flexible reliance on combinations of spatial and nonspatial landmark information to reorient oneself. Identified 5-7 years as age for this developmental change. Results suggest that language production skills play a causal role in allowing humans to construct novel representations rapidly, which can…

An acoustic orientation system was developed that employed a portable remote control device keyed to trigger audio tones from modules placed at key locations throughout the user's home and work environments. Results found that the system helped a blind subject to move and work successfully in both settings, and the subject found it easy and…

Describes uses of mathematics in fabric design to examine various cultural and mathematical concepts including patterns, geometric shapes, and spatial reasoning. (ASK)

Provides information about current brain research. Explains that some of the basic tenets that have guided research are outlined in R. Shore's "Rethinking the Brain: New Insights into Early Development." Offers five hypotheses: (1) nature/nurture; (2) effects of nurture; (3) optimal music learning; (4) minimal disadvantages; and (5) early music…

At age 13, students scoring at the top 0.5% in general intelligence completed the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), Mathematics and Verbal subtests, and the Differential Aptitude Test (DAT) Space Relations (SR) and Mechanical Reasoning (MR) subtests. It appears that spatial ability assessments can complement contemporary talent search procedures.…

Investigated gender differences in adults' use of route strategy, examining how preferences for landmarks (female) against route directions (male) related to wayfinding behavior, spatial anxiety, and environmental competencies. Participants navigated routes in an unknown building three times and recalled acquired environmental knowledge. Most…

This case study details the history and K-5 school experience of a boy with dyslexia and spatial-temporal gifts. It describes assessment, evaluation, and identification procedures; the learning specialist's interventions and program; the critical role of the parent; and the services provided by the gifted program. Specific interventions are…

This study examined the contributions of the different components of the working memory (WM) model to a range of mathematical skills in children, using measures of WM function that did not involve numerical stimuli. A sample of 148 children (78 Year 3, mean age 8 years and 1 month, and 70 Year 5 pupils, mean age 9 years and 10 months) completed WM…

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' use of visual imagery and its relationship to spatial visualization ability while solving mathematical word problems. Students with learning disabilities (LD), average achievers, and gifted students in sixth grade (N = 66) participated in this study. Students were assessed on measures of…

American Sign Language uses the face to express vital components of grammar in addition to the more universal expressions of emotion. The study of ASL facial expressions has focused mostly on the perception and categorization of various expression types by signing and nonsigning subjects. Only a few studies of the production of ASL facial…

Previous research by Lidster and Bremner (1999) on young children's ability to coordinate two dimensions has shown that performance on construction tasks (in which children have to give the correct coordinates for a point in space that is already known) is superior to performance on interpretation tasks (in which children are given a pair of…

Innovation and enterprise depend for their success on the development of new ideas. But from where do new ideas come? How do they arise? Finding solutions to such questions is at the heart of creativity research and the solving of novel problems. Reflection, not only in cognitive processes but also in the non-cognitive ones used in solving novel…

The present study examines the potentially harmful effects of prenatal cocaine exposure on later visuospatial memory functions. A novel neuropsychological measure of immediate- and short-term memory for visuospatial information was administered to 40 children, who were identified as cocaine-exposed, and 11 age and socioeconomic status matched…

Pictorial space can be conceptualized as aggregate space (where figures compete for limited available space) or as axial space (where space is infinite and exists independently of figures). That these two kinds of space concepts follow a developmental sequence was tested by investigating size regulation mechanisms in 7- to 12-year-old children's…