The goal of the two Power of Data (POD) projects was to increase science, technology and math skills through the implementation of project-based learning modules that teach students how to solve problems through data collection and analysis utilizing geospatial technologies. Professional development institutes in two formats were offered to…

Three-dimensional spatial visualization is an essential skill for geoscientists. We conducted two evaluations of students' spatial skills to examine whether their skills improve after enrollment in a geology course or courses. First, we present results of pre- and post-course survey of abstract visualization skills used to characterize the range…

The demand for pervasive access of location-related information (e.g., local traffic, restaurant locations, navigation maps, weather conditions, pollution index, etc.) fosters a tremendous application base of "Location Based Services (LBSs)". Without loss of generality, we model location-related information as "spatial objects" and the accesses…

One of the greatest challenges for middle school Earth science teachers is helping our students get a feel for the magnitude of the long spans that make up Earth's history. The intent of the strategy presented here is to help middle school students get a feel for the real sizes of powers of 10, and then help them use that understanding by…

Atypical cerebral lateralization in motor and language functions in regard to schizotypal personality traits in healthy populations, as well as among schizophrenic patients, has attracted attention because these traits may represent a risk factor for schizophrenia. Although the relationship between handedness and schizotypal personality has been…

This paper explores substantive and methodological issues in relation to pupils' conceptions of geography. It draws on an in-depth qualitative study with 13-14-year-old pupils from three secondary schools. Selected pupils were interviewed numerous times about their geography classroom experiences and ideas about the subject in general. A detailed…

A series of 8 experiments investigated the association between pictorial and verbal representations and the psychological distance of the referent objects from the observer. The results showed that people better process pictures that represent proximal objects and words that represent distal objects than pictures that represent distal objects and…

Previous studies that have found attentional capture effects for stimuli of motivational significance do not directly measure initial attentional deployment, leaving it unclear to what extent these items produce attentional capture. Visual prior entry, as measured by temporal order judgments (TOJs), rests on the premise that allocated attention…

D. R. Proffitt and colleagues (e. g., D. R. Proffitt, J. Stefanucci, T. Banton, & W. Epstein, 2003) have suggested that objects appear farther away if more effort is required to act upon them (e.g., by having to throw a ball). The authors attempted to replicate several findings supporting this view but found no effort-related effects in a variety…

We investigated linguistic and visuospatial processing during pictorial reasoning in high-functioning autism (HFA), Asperger's syndrome (ASP), and age and IQ-matched typically developing participants (CTRL), using three conditions designed to differentially engage linguistic mediation or visuospatial processing (visuospatial, V; semantic, S;…

Explanations for the attentional blink (AB; a deficit in identifying the second of two targets when presented 200-500ms after the first) have recently shifted from limitations in memory consolidation to disruptions in cognitive control. With a new model based on the threaded cognition theory of multi-tasking we propose a different explanation: the…

Humans and animals form internal representations of external space based on their own body movement (dead reckoning) as well as external landmarks. It is poorly understood, however, how different types of information are integrated to form a unified representation of external space. To examine the role of dentate gyrus (DG) in this process, we…

In 4 experiments, the authors examined sex differences in audiospatial perception of sounds that moved toward and away from the listener. Experiment 1 showed that both men and women underestimated the time-to-arrival of full-cue looming sounds. However, this perceptual bias was significantly stronger among women than among men. In Experiment 2,…

It is well established that working memory is related to reading comprehension ability. However, its role in explaining specific reading comprehension difficulties is still under debate: the issue mainly concerns whether the contribution of working memory is dependent on task modality (verbal tasks being more predictive than visuo-spatial tasks)…

This paper reports on a project in which students' interactions with learning environments are investigated from the perspective of the spatial factors. Our research examines a significant dimension generated under the interrelationship between the subject and the virtual space, by establishing that spatial dimensions may determine the level of…