What do Spatial Skills have to do with STEM?

Linda Jacobs Swarlis, Ph.D.STEM for Girls Think Tank

Nashville, TNNovember 12, 2010   

My Background and Interest Current Spatial Ability Research Impact on STEM Learning Strategies for Improvement of Spatial

Intelligence The Future-- Current Research and

Implementation Initiatives

Outline

Ph.D. scholarship Role of spatial experience and spatial

intelligence Research across the disciplines National attention, especially in psychology

and engineering

Perfect Storm

Gender research results can be used to examine characteristics of groups, not to predict success or failure of individuals. Ability levels can and do overlap between the sexes.

(Halpern, 2000)

Caution

Not one ability, consists of many abilities. It is the skill in visualizing, creating, manipulating, rotating, perceiving, and remembering information in nonverbal and symbolic forms.

Spatial ability requires representation, rotation, and inversion of objects in 3D when they are presented in 2D.

Spatial Ability/Spatial Intelligence

Sample Questions

Mathematicians visualize mathematical relationships

Database structure, Information visualization Physical scientists visualize models of the

physical world Diagrams and drawings Solving algebraic word problems Searching for numerical patterns Graphing Conceptualizing mathematical functions Mapping

Examples of the Importance and Uses of Spatial Ability

The diagrams were taken from Wai, J., Lubinski, & Benbow, C.P. (2009).

Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over 50 years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 817-835.

It is worth reading the article in its entirety to understand the scope and importance of their findings.

The following two slides were added after the presentation

Wai, J., Lubinski, & Benbow, C.P. (2009). Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over 50 years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 817-835.

Project Talent: 1960-1974

Wai, J., Lubinski, & Benbow, C.P. (2009). Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over 50 years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 817-835.

Results from Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) ‘71- Pres

Results from Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY) ‘71- Pres.

Results from Project Talent, ’60-’74

Preparing the Next Generation of STEM Innovators: Identifying and Developing Our Nation’s Human Capital

◦ Report published by the National Science Board, May 5, 2010

National Science Foundation

Long term prosperity of our Nation will increasingly rely on talented and motivated individuals who will comprise the vanguard of scientific and technological innovation.

Every student in the U.S. deserves the opportunity to achieve at his or her full potential.

Two Reasons for the Report

Current verbal and mathematical assessments would miss 70% of students scoring in the top 1% of spatial ability

90% STEM doctorate holders scored in the top quartile of spatial ability during adolescence

Statistics

Spatial Ability for STEM

IA. Renewed emphasis on differentiated instruction, enrichment

IE. Partnerships with higher education institutions, museums, industry, content developers, research laboratories and centers

IG. Expanded cyber learning opportunities IH. Creation of a national database of formal

and informal education opportunities for highly talented students, publicize and promote

Recommendations with Implications for Schools

IIB. “Expand existing talent assessment tests and identification strategies to the three primary abilities (qualitative/mathematical, verbal and spatial) so that spatial talent is not neglected.”

Identify and Nurture all Types of Talents

IID. “Encourage pre-service education and professional development for education professionals (including teachers, principals, and counselors) in the area of talent identification and development.

Pre-service and Professional Development

The Beginning….

Preferred approach to organizing and representing information by individuals

Field DependenceField Independence

Cognitive Styles

World War II pilots Textbook reading Cyberspace

Field dependencefield independence

Hidden Figures Test(Miyake, Witzki, Emerson, 2001)

Solution

Cognitive Styles and Hypermedia Navigation: Development of a Learning Model

Chen & Macredie (2000)

Prefer Sequential InstructionsNeed to Work Step-by-Step before Understanding

the “Big Picture”Prefer that the Instructor be PresentCan Get “Lost” in an Online Environment

Field dependent learners

Analytic Prefer free navigation Internally directed Prefer to Work Independently and Choose

Own Sequence Do Not Get Lost Online as Easily as Field

Dependent Individuals Prefer the “Big Picture” First

Field-Independent Learners in Hypermedia

Ford, Miller, & Moss. (2001) The role of individual differences in Internet searching: An empirical study. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology.

Internet Searching

69 Master’s degree students did research on an assigned topic using AltaVista

Topic: legal implications for an employer of an on-the-job work injury

Ford, Miller, & Moss (2001)

Cognitive styles Prior Internet experience Internet perceptions Study approaches Age Gender

(Ford, et al. , 2001)

Individual Differences Examined

The information retrieved was judged to be relevant if it was written for the employer.

If the information was about the injury from an employee perspective, it was judged to be not relevant.

Relevance

Male genderLow cognitive complexity Imager as opposed to verbalizer Older individuals

Retrieval effectiveness linked to

Verbalizer cognitive style High levels of cognitive complexity Fear of failure Poor time management

Ford, Miller, & Moss (2001)

Poor retrieval performance linked to

A number of variables for retrieval failure may be classified as examples of low self-efficacy

Self-efficacy

Significantly associated with females Feelings of not being in control Inability to avoid irrelevant material and

stay on target

Retrieval failure

All participants were highly successful academically and experienced in Information Technology (IT)

IT was a central component of the Master’s degree program that all participants were pursuing

Counterintuitive Results

“It may be that even high achieving females now studying IT may be encumbered by the effects of biased training and education in their primary and secondary education of some years ago.”

Ford, et al. (2001), p. 1061

Nature or Nurture?

Kozhevnikov, Hegarty, & Mayer. (2002) Revising the visualizer-verbalizer dimension: Evidence for two types of visualizers.

Revising the Visualizer-Verbalizer Dimension

Visual imagery – representation of a visual appearance of an object

Spatial imagery – representation of the spatial relationship between parts of an object, the location of an object in space, and their movements and not limited to the visual modality (could be auditory or tactile)

Visual vs. Spatial Imagery

Visualizers with high spatial ability (spatial type) – High spatial

Visualizers with low spatial ability (iconic type) – – High visual, low spatial

Verbalizers

Visualizer-Verbalizer

Visual memory

Visual artists have higher scores on visual memory tests than people with high spatial ability

May need help interpreting graphs because people with low spatial ability interpret graphs more literally

Visualizers with Low Spatial Ability

Connections between spatial ability and field-independence

Sternberg (2001)

)

Field-independence

Unlike most spatial ability tests, the MRT does not correlate well to any tests of verbal ability. It is a true spatial test.

Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978

Mental Rotations Test

Handout

Sample MRT Questions

Significant relationship between mental rotation skills and SAT Mathematics scores for females (between .35 and .38)

Nuttall, Casey, & Pezaris, 2005

Skill in mental rotation can significantly predict SAT-M performance

Casey, Nuttall, & Pezaris, 1997

Mental Rotation & SAT M

Egan, D.E. (1988)

“Differences among people usually account for much more variability in performance than differences in system designs or differences in training procedures.”

Individual Differences in Human-Computer Interaction

Text Editing – 2:1 Programming – 6:1, 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, 2:1 Information Search – 2:1, 3:1, 4:1

Comparing 1st Quartile to the 4th Quartile, the range difference is even greater, as much as 30:1 for programming

3rd Quartile to 1st Quartile Compared

Experience – Often the most powerful predictor of performance

Some differences may be a part of selection artifact, experts begin as good students and build on positive experiences

Predictors of Difference in Performance (Egan, 1988)

Michigan Technological University

Spatial Visualization Course after failure on PSVT:R = 77% retention female engineering students

Retention of female students who opted not to enroll in the course = 48%

AAUW, Sheryl Sorby

Drafting Courses Engineering Map-reading and Real World Navigation Computer Games -- Tetris

Spatial Training & Spatial Experience at the High School and College Level

Water Level Test

So What Can be Done in the Early Years?

Water Level Test

Interventions that make a difference◦ Mapping exercises and Self-Explanation, NSEW◦ Block building◦ Math Talk◦ Spatial Language◦ Measurement◦ Power of Gesture◦ Visual Representations – Graphs, Drafting◦ Perspective taking, Zooming in and Zooming Out◦ Aiming games◦ Mechanics

What can we do in Early Childhood?

NSEW Navigation Map Reading Map Creation Self Explanation Scales

Mapping

Encourage Higher Structure Examine for Stability Enclosures Arches Complexity

Blockbuilding

Counting Cardinality Equivalence Nonequivalence Number Symbols Conventional Nominitive Ordering Calculation Place holding

Klibanoff, et al, 2006

Math Talk

Examples

◦ Above, below, beside◦ Out, in, outside, inside, middle, between◦ Here, there, front, back, side, top, bottom◦ Up, down, under, over, around, tall, short, low◦ Line (it) up, row, next to, corner

Spatial Language

Need to Understand Measuring Units, not the Number on the Item Being Used to Measure

Rulers Tape Measures Yardsticks

Measurement

Sex Differences Spatial Understanding Increases when Using

Gestures

Gesture

Graphs Drafting Origami

Visual Representations

Zooming In Zooming Out Shifting perspectives Changes in scale

Perspectives

Physical Games Video Games JavaGami Tetris

Games

Tools How Things Work

Mechanics

Olsen, Eliot, & Hardy (1988)◦ jewelry making, photography, chess playing,

hurdles, skiing, soccer, knitting, carpentry Newcombe, Bandura, & Taylor (1983)

◦ embroidery, gymnastics, house plan sketching, soccer, compass use, figure skating, pottery with wheel

Spatial activities

Mary Beth Casey’s Background Curious George and PBS Boston College

Round the Rug

Cell phone and spatial ability

Misc….

Students who struggle with visuospatial skills may opt out of potentially lucrative and intellectually appropriate careers because they do not think that they will be successful.

Spatial Curriculum and STEM

What are the implications for learners, workers, library patrons, and Internet users with low spatial intelligence in an increasingly online world?

Spatial Curriculum and the Future

Penn State Main Campus – Mapping Penn State – Behrend Campus (Erie)-- VIZ Michigan Technological University --

Engineering Temple University (SILC, Spatial Intelligence

and Learning Center) University of Wisconsin – Gender and Math National Research Council –Thinking

Spatially

Research Initiatives

Questions?

Thanks for the Opportunity