1. Spa$al
thinking
in
STEM
educa$on:
Evidence
and
issues
microbiology
meteorology
engineeri
ng
geologyphysics
astronomy
anatomy
neuroscience
Cheryl
A.
Cohen,
PhD
2. Goals
of
presenta$on
• General
introduc$on
to
spa$al
thinking
• Examples
of
spa$al
thinking
in
science
educa$on
• Spa$al
thinking
from
a
cogni$ve
perspec$ve
• Empirical
evidence
that
spa$al
thinking
contributes
to
science
learning
• Exper$se
effect
• Evidence
for
malleability
of
spa$al
thinking
• Open
ques$ons
4. Everyday
spa$al
thinking
• Packing
the
trunk
of
your
car
• Assembling
the
cabinet
you
bought
at
IKEA
• Using
a
map
to
find
your
way
in
a
new
town
5. Cogni$ve
processes
From
the
perspec$ve
of
cogni$ve
psychology,
spa$al
thinking
refers
to
the
mental
processes
of:
– encoding
– storing
– manipula$ng
– drawing
inferences
from
percep$ons
and
images
depic$ng
spa$al
rela$onships
in
2,
3,
and
more
dimensions.
Individuals
vary
in
their
capacity
for
these
processes.
6. Spa$al
thinking
and
working
memory
– encoding
– storing
– manipula$ng
There
is
evidence
that
individual
differences
in
these
working
memory
resources
contribute
to
individual
differences
in
spa$al
thinking
ability.
Working
memory
processes
7. Some
qualita$ve
differences
in
spa$al
ability
Individuals
who
underperform
on
spa$al
tasks:
– tend
to
lose
informa$on
when
they
aRempt
to
mentally
transform
images
(Just
&
Carpenter,
1985)
– have
difficulty
changing
their
view
perspec$ve
(Kozhevnikov
&
Hegarty,
2001)
– have
difficulty
mapping
2D
informa$on
onto
3D
structures
(Cohen
&
Hegarty,
2007)
8. Meta-‐analysis
of
sex
differences
in
spa$al
skills
Voyer,
Voyer
&
Bryden
(1995)
Analyzed
286
studies
showing
significant
differences
in
spa$al
performance
by
sex.
Found
significant
effect
size
differences
favoring
males
on
a
number
of
spa$al
tests.
Most
robust
difference
was
on
mental
rota$on
tests
d
=
.65
10. Spa$al
thinking
in
STEM
• We
live
in
three
dimensional
space.
• As
scien$sts
we
try
to
understand
the
physical
forces
that
act
within
it.
11. Applica$ons
of
spa$al
thinking
in
science
learning
• Represent
and
solve
problems
related
to
physical
forces
• Create
and
understand
the
spa$al
rela$onships
within
and
between
physical
en$$es
(biology,
geology)
• Understand
models
explaining
complex
(or
invisible)
processes
• Comprehend
graphics,
diagrams
and
3D
visualiza$ons
17. Factor
analy$c
approach
History
of
research
in
cog
psych
on
the
components
and
processes
involved
in
spa$al
thinking.
Thurstone
(1938):
Primary
Mental
Abili0es.
– Intelligence
is
not
a
single
en$ty,
but
is
composed
of
separable
factors
– Iden$fied
seven
primary
factors,
including
spa$al
visualiza$on
18. Factor
analy$c
approach
• Factor
analy$c
studies
have
classified
different
types
of
spa$al
skills
• A
widely
used
classifica$on
is
by
Carroll
(1995)
• Reanalyzed
more
than
90
factor
analy$c
studies
• Spa0al
visualiza0on
was
the
most
commonly
measured
spa$al
factor.
19. Spa$al
visualiza$on
• Spa0al
visualiza0on:
the
processes
of
apprehending,
encoding,
and
mentally
manipula$ng
three-‐dimensional
spa$al
forms
(Carroll,
1993).
• “power
in
solving
increasingly
difficult
problems
involving
spa$al
forms”
(p.
315)
20. Mental
Rota$on
Standard
A
B
C
D
Instruc;ons:
Circle
the
figure
that
is
a
rotated
version
of
the
standard.
Mental
rota$on
skill
is
classified
as
a
form
of
spa$al
visualiza$on
in
some
factor
analyses
23. How
did
you
solve
this
problem?
• Did
you
mentally
slice
the
figure
and
imagine
what
you
would
see?
• Did
you
use
an
analy$c
strategy,
such
as
matching
the
features
of
the
answer
choices
to
the
spa$al
proper$es
of
the
test
figure?
24. Strategies
• Imagis;c
strategies:
using
internal
visual
spa$al
images
to
reason
about
scien$fic
phenomena
• Analy;c
strategies:
using
algorithms
and
heuris$cs
to
reason
about
external
representa$ons
26. Empirical
evidence
• Longitudinal
studies
• Correla$onal
studies
of
science
students
27. Longitudinal
studies
Longitudinal
studies
of
intellectually
talented
youth
are
the
strongest
source
of
evidence
that
spa$al
thinking
skills
contribute
to
success
and
par$cipa$on
in
science
Spa$al
ability
accounts
for
a
sta$s$cally
significant
propor$on
of
the
variance
in
par$cipa$on
in
science,
over
and
above
SAT
Mathema$cal
and
SAT
Verbal
scales
(Shea,
Lubinski
&
Benbow,
2001;
Webb,
Lubinski
&
Benbow,
2007).
28. Project
Talent
Study
(Wai,
Lubinski
&
Benbow,
2009)
• n
=
400,000
• stra$fied
random
sample
• measured
spa$al
ability
at
age
13
• followed
students
for
11+
years
• people
who
received
degrees
in
mathema$cs,
engineering
and
physical
sciences
and
those
who
went
on
to
pursue
scien$fic
occupa$ons
had
significantly
higher
spa$al
abili$es
at
age
13
than
those
who
received
degrees
in
other
fields
or
prac$ced
other
professions
29. Spa$al
ability
predicts
higher
level
achievements
• Spa$al
ability
predicts
receiving
a
Ph.D.
in
science
as
opposed
to
receiving
a
bachelors’
degree
in
science)
and
crea$ve
accomplishments
(such
as
patents)
Kell,
Lubinski,
Benbow
&
Stanley,
2013
30. Correla$onal
studies
of
STEM
students
Correla$onal
studies
measure
the
spa$al
abili$es
of
students
in
science
classes,
or
in
a
laboratory
and
examine
the
correla$ons
of
these
ability
measures
with
various
aspects
of
science
achievement.
• Biology/medicine
• Chemistry
• Physics/engineering
31. Correla$onal
studies:
Anatomy
Rochford
(1985):
Spa$al
ability
predicted
performance
among
second
year
medical
students
on
test
items
that
had
spa$al
content.
Students
had
difficul$es
in
processes
of
sec$oning,
transla$ng,
rota$ng
and
visualizing
shapes.
32. Correla$onal
studies:
Anatomy
The
ability
to
draw
the
cross-‐sec$on
of
a
novel
three-‐dimensional
object
was
correlated
with
tests
of
mental
rota$on
(r
=
.39,
p
<
.05)
and
perspec$ve
taking
ability
(
r
=
.59,
p
<
.01).
(see
next
slide
for
task)
33. Instruc;ons
Imagine
you
are
looking
at
the
figure
on
the
right
from
the
perspec$ve
of
the
arrow.
Draw
the
cross
sec$on
of
the
figure
where
it
is
intersected
by
the
line.
Correct
answer
Selected
par;cipant
drawings
Cohen
&
Hegarty
(2007)
34. Correla$onal
studies:
Chemistry
• Bodner
and
McMillan
(1986)
found
significant
correla$ons
(ranging
from
.29–.35)
between
measures
of
spa$al
visualiza$on
and
measures
of
performance
in
an
introductory
organic
chemistry
course.
• Other
studies
indicated
small
but
significant
correla$ons
(in
the
.2–.3
range)
between
measures
of
spa$al
ability
and
performance
in
college
courses
in
both
general
chemistry
(Carter,
LaRussa,
&
Bodner,
1987)
and
organic
chemistry
(Pribyl
&
Bodner,
1987).
• Spa$al
ability
was
not
significantly
correlated
with
items
that
measured
rote
knowledge
or
the
applica$on
of
simple
35. Correla$onal
studies:
Chemistry
Significant
effects
of
spa$al
ability
(range
of
.32
-‐
.38
in
different
studies)
on
ability
to
translate
between
different
diagramma$c
representa$ons
in
organic
chemistry
(Stull,
Hegarty,
Dixon,
&
S$eff,
2012).
36. Correla$onal
studies:
Physics
Kozhevnikov
and
Thornton
(2006)
found
correla$ons
of
.28-‐.32
between
a
measure
of
spa$al
visualiza$on
ability
and
mechanics
problem
solving
that
force
and
mo$on
events.
(see
next
slide
for
sample
problem)
37. A
sled
on
ice
moves
in
the
ways
described
in
ques$ons
1–7
below.
Fric$on
is
so
small
that
it
can
be
ignored.
A
person
wearing
spiked
shoes
standing
on
the
ice
can
apply
a
force
to
the
sled
and
push
it
along
the
ice.
Choose
the
one
force
(A
through
G),
which
would
keep
the
sled
moving
as
described
in
each
statement
below.
38. Correla$onal
studies:
Physics
• Hegarty
and
Sims
(1994)
found
correla$ons
between
spa$al
ability
and
ability
to
infer
the
mo$on
of
different
machine
components
when
the
machine
was
working
(mental
anima$on).
(see
next
slide
for
sample
problem)
39. Instruc;ons:
Given
the
pulley
system
above,
verify
if
the
statements
below
are
true
or
false:
Hegarty
&
Sims,
40. Issues
in
interpreta$on
of
correla$onal
studies
• Correla$onal
studies
are
oqen
based
on
small
sample
sizes
• Researchers
focus
on
par$cularly
demanding
tasks
• Most
observed
correla$ons
of
spa$al
ability
with
science
achievement,
while
sta$s$cally
significant,
are
small
41. Exper$se
effect
• Correla$ons
between
spa$al
ability
and
performance
in
science
are
more
evident
for
beginning
science
students
than
for
advanced
students
or
prac$$oners
(Hambrick
et
al.,
2012)
• Spa$al
abili$es
may
be
more
important
at
the
early
stages
of
science
learning,
with
domain-‐
specific
strategies
and
conceptual
knowledge
playing
a
greater
role
at
later
stages
(URal
&
Cohen,
2012).
43. Can
spa$al
thinking
skill
be
improved?
• URal
et
al.,
(2013):
Meta-‐analysis
of
217
research
studies
• Examined
three
types
of
studies:
– Training
that
used
video
games
– Semester-‐long
course
– Prac$ce
and
strategic
instruc$on
44. Training
meta-‐analysis
Criteria
for
inclusion
in
meta-‐analysis:
–
spa$al
training
was
educa$onally
relevant
–
durability:
training
effects
lasted
longer
than
a
few
days
– there
was
some
transfer
to
non-‐trained
problems
and
tasks.
45. Training
meta-‐analysis
• Considered
the
effects
of
several
moderators,
including
the
presence
and
type
of
control
groups,
sex,
age,
and
type
of
training.
• Aqer
elimina$ng
outliers,
the
average
effect
size
(Hedges’s
g)
for
training
rela$ve
to
control
was
0.47
(SE
=
0.04).
47. The
Na$onal
Research
Council
(NRC;
2006)
surveyed
educa$on
at
all
levels
(K-‐undergrad)
and
found
that
spa$al
thinking
was…
…“not
just
undersupported
but
underappreciated,
undervalued,
and
therefore
underinstructed”
(p.
5)
.
• The
NRC
called
for
a
na$onal
commitment
to
develop
spa$al
thinking
across
all
areas
of
the
school
curriculum.
Spa$al
skills
are
not
explicitly
trained
48. PaRerns
of
persistence
in
STEM
• Price
(2010):
– Followed
more
than
140,000
science
majors
at
Ohio
State
University
– More
than
40%
did
not
complete
STEM
major
• Min
et
al.,
(2011):
– Analyzed
paRerns
of
dropout
and
persistence
in
engineering
– Dropout
from
program
is
most
likely
to
occur
around
the
third
semester.
49. Open
research
ques$ons
• Given
evidence
for
the
malleability
of
spa$al
thinking
skill,
would
iden$fica$on
of
spa$al
ability
and
subsequent
scaffolding
improve
reten$on
in
STEM?
50. Open
research
ques$ons
• How
do
other
affec$ve/cogni$ve
variables
contribute
to
persistence
in
STEM?,
e.g,
– mo$va$on
– self-‐efficacy
– stereotype
effect
(females
and
underrepresented
minori$es)
– incremental
vs.
en$ty
theories
of
intelligence
(is
it
possible
to
improve
spa$al
thinking?)
51. References
• A
bibliography
of
studies
cited
in
this
talk
is
available
upon
request.
52. Acknowledgements
Hegarty
(2014).
Spa$al
thinking
in
undergraduate
science
educa$on.
Spa0al
Cogni0on
and
Computa0on:
14:
142-‐167.
