Given the role of education in shaping social ideology, there is value in considering how learning spaces affect students' perceptions of inclusivity and social justice. This paper posits that ability as a central focus in education can intersect with marginalization arising from race, gender, class, and indigeneity, towards potential…

Augmented reality (AR) as a mobile educational technology enables self-directed and interactive learning by anchoring multimedia-enhanced three-dimensional (3D) content at selected locations. Numerous systematic and meta-reviews for education, specifically for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), have demonstrated a wide range…

Background: Spatial knowledge about an environment is an important determinant of ability to move effectively within it and of personal autonomy. Individuals with Down's syndrome (DS) have difficulty managing configural visuospatial information. Method: Twenty-nine individuals with DS and 29 typically developing (TD) children, matched for mental…

Interpreting iconic gestures can be challenging for children. Here, we explore the features and functions of iconic gestures that make them more challenging for young children to interpret than instrumental actions. In Study 1, we show that 2.5-year-olds are able to glean size information from handshape in a simple gesture, although their…

Attention is an important, multifaceted cognitive domain that includes many key cognitive processes involved in learning. This study aimed to identify the predictive links between different components of attentional skills and core calculation skills development, using two standardized measures assessing calculation (AC-MT 6-11) and attention…

Introduction: This study examines the spatial abilities of middle school students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness and low vision) in the context of spatial visualization. The study also aims to examine the strategies used by such students in solving questions requiring spatial ability. Methods: Participants comprised eight students with…

Embodiment is particularly relevant for learning anatomy as the knowledge to be acquired is related to the body itself. Several tools using three-dimensional (3D) anatomical structures and avatars (e.g. augmented reality; virtual reality; immersive anatomy; 3D animations) were developed to enrich students' experience by including gestures and body…

Why are spatial metaphors, like the use of "high" to describe a musical pitch, so common? This study tested one hundred and fifty-four 3- to 5-year-old English-learning children on their ability to learn a novel adjective in the domain of space or pitch and to extend this adjective to the untrained dimension. Children were more…

Both critical thinking and creative thinking have been essential in building and reshaping human civilization and intellectual landscapes. Teaching aims to educate and train students to become competent, creative, and critical thinkers. An overarching educational goal is that students should be able to collect and analyze data, build knowledge,…

The current study examined the neural correlates of spatial rotation in eight engineering undergraduates. Mastering engineering graphics requires students to mentally visualize in 3D and mentally rotate parts when developing 2D drawings. Students' spatial rotation skills play a significant role in learning and mastering engineering graphics.…

The paper explores one episode from a larger study, where a multilingual student (10-year-old) described her understanding of what makes a shape 2D or 3D. Bakhtin's dialogic theory and Garfinkel's ethnomethodology inform the theoretical framework. Transcribed data of the episode is presented, which is analysed at micro-level and macro-level. The…

The development of numerical and arithmetic abilities constitutes a crucial cornerstone in our modern and educated societies. Difficulties to acquire these central skills can lead to severe consequences for an individual's well-being and nation's economy. In the present review, we describe our current broad understanding of the functional and…

Contemporary research is considering new forms of literacy that extend beyond the skills required to process alphanumeric data. The skills involved in visualising, reasoning, and communicating about 2D and 3D spatial information are commonly referred to as 'Spatial Literacy'. Research has highlighted a positive relationship between Spatial…

Social abilities relate to performance on visual-spatial perspective-taking (VSPT) tasks for hearing nonsigners but may relate differently to VSPT abilities for deaf signers because of their distinct linguistic and social experiences. This research investigated whether deaf adults approach VSPT tasks nonsocially (as previously suggested for deaf…

It was shown previously that observers can learn to exploit an uneven spatial distribution of singleton distractors to better shield visual search from distractors in the frequent versus the rare region (i.e., distractor location probability cueing; Sauter, Liesefeld, Zehetleitner, & Müller, 2018). However, with distractors defined in the same…