Some activities with tangrams and their use for investigating fractions, constructions, and percentages are presented, with worksheets included. (MNS)

Sex differences in spatial ability were examined in 410 Israeli college students using standard tests of mental rotation. On related abilities tests, males performed better than females on a numerical skills test, and females performed better on an associative memory test. No significant sex differences were found on other ability tests. (SLD)

A 5-year-old preschool child with a visual impairment and significant developmental delay underwent training to learn to reach and locate objects from a sitting position and to locate and move toward given objects in the environment using the Infant Sonicguide. Time constraints prevented achievement of the second goal. (Author/SW)

Examines the potential contribution of different neural systems to developmental change in the duration of visual fixation, and the individual differences in that variable that are predictive of subsequent cognitive function. Presents hypotheses concerning two specific and independent neural systems and how they might contribute to individual and…

Presents a five lesson unit at the fifth grade level to teach the geometric concept of similarity using manipulative materials and multiple representations. The summary presents rationale for teaching and classroom management decisions. (MDH)

A model is proposed for the influence of individual differences on performance when computer-based technology is introduced. The primary cognitive factor driving differences in performance is spatial visualization ability. Four techniques for mitigating the negative impact of low spatial visualization are discussed: spatial metaphors, graphical…

In this study of sensitivity to viewpoint, children between the ages of 6 and 14 years were asked to draw an L-shaped array of 3 cubes from 1 of 3 views. At every age, children showed sensitivity to their view in the sense that there were consistent differences between the drawings produced in the three viewing conditions. (SH)

Twenty-four adults with mild mental retardation were compared with equal-mental age children and adults without mental retardation on tactile processing asymmetries. Results suggest that hemispheric processing is dependent on information processing requirements rather than type of stimulus. (Author/JDD)

Article discusses research on orientation and mobility (O&M) for individuals with visual impairments, examining constant, variable, and absolute error (descriptive statistics that quantify fundamentally different characteristics of distributions of spatially directed behavior). It illustrates the statistics with examples, noting their…

A visual orienting task was given to 11 high functioning male adolescents and adults with autism. Findings suggested that autistic people have difficulty processing briefly presented cue information and problems disengaging and shifting attention within the visual modality. Results support previous ideas that attentional dysfunction may underlie…

Individual differences in performance on 4 computer-controlled visual memory and recognition tasks as a function of performance on 5 paper-and-pencil spatial tests were studied for 90 psychology students attending the University of Rennes (France). Results show that spatial thinking is partially supported by visual memory. (SLD)

Children and adults performed a divided attention task and two selective attention tasks with shapes that were either spatially integrated or separated. Results indicate that integrated stimuli are initially perceived as wholes, and separated stimuli as features, at all ages. (BC)

This study investigated whether rotating virtual reality (VR) three-dimensional (3D) objects had a positive effect on the ability of 21 deaf and hard-of-hearing children to use inductive processes when dealing with shapes. Results indicated that practice with VR 3D spatial rotations significantly improved inductive thinking when compared with a…

Considers the use of thematic maps in the primary grades as a means to exploring the five themes of geography. Discusses an experiment that evaluated the ability of first grade students in interpreting thematic maps and describes a lesson that introduces thematic maps to primary grade students. (CMK)

Discusses the extent of students' difficulties with spatial structuring in volume and packing problems. Explains how to help students develop more powerful ways of thinking about such problems. (ASK)