Developing 3-D Spatial Skills for non-engineering

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Developing 3-D Spatial Skills for non-engineering
K-12 StudentsPreliminary ResultsPaul
Charlesworth, Lisa Parolini, Sheryl
SorbyMichigan Technological University,
Houghton, MI
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Introduction

• Spatial visualization is considered to be one of
  seven human intelligences and is an active topic
  in educational research.
• Based on previous research, two themes emerge
• Well-developed 3-D spatial skills are critical to
  success in STEM fields, and
• The 3-D spatial skills of women typically lag
  significantly behind their male counterparts.

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Gender Differences

• Theories for gender differences
• Recessive characteristic of X-chromosome
• Male sex hormone
• Environmental factors
• Truth is likely an interaction of many factors
  resulting in traditional stereotypes.

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Spatial Skills Development

• 1977 Guay. Purdue Spatial Visualization Test
  Rotations.
• 1989 Gimmestad. Pilot study at Michigan Tech
  using PSVTR.
• 1993 Baartmans and Sorby. NSF-funded textbook
  for 3-D Spatial Skills.
• 1998 Sorby. NSF-funded software for 3-D Spatial
  Skills.
• 2004 NSF-funded Gender Differences Study

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Non-Engineering Students

• 95 of MTUs 6000 students study science,
  engineering, or technology
• Study focuses on 170 non-engineering students
• Student divided based on Purdue pretest
• Workbook
• Software
• Workbook Software
• Regression to mean reduced by balancing scores

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Test Results
PSVTR Gain MCT Gain
Software Only 8.4 (plt0.005) 6.5(plt0.01)
Workbook Only 11.6(plt0.0005) 8.4(plt0.001)
Workbook Software 11.2(plt0.005) 13.8(plt0.0005)
Comparison Group 5.3(plt0.025) NA
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Survey Results 01

• No gender difference (plt0.37) regarding treatment
• 62 of students preferred software only group
• Females spent more time on each activity
• lt30 mins (Male 40, Female 21)
• gt60 min (Male 9, Female 35)
• Time spent on activity depended on activity
• 72 of software group lt30 mins
• 16 of workbook group lt30 mins
• 13 of workbook software group lt30 mins

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Survey Results 02

• Male students expressed higher confidence levels
• Female students were more positive than males, by
  expressing higher levels of learning (p0.03)

Confidence Level Males (n66) Females (n29)
Not Confident 1.5 27.6
Very Confident 31.8 0
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Conclusions

• Students made statistically significant gains on
  tests that measure spatial skills
• Groups using workbook achieved higher gains
  compared software alone
• Gains for software group comparable to control
• Gender differences in gains were not observed
• Students preferred the intervention with lowest
  gains

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Spatial Skills in K-12 Students

• Small secondary school in a rural setting
• At-risk and economically disadvantages students
• 44 of students qualify for free or reduced lunch
• Eight grade MEAP scores above state average
• Eight grade class consists of 37 students
• Study group consists of 16 students
• All honor roll
• 12 females and 4 males

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Methodology

• Students spent 2-3 days each week on a module
• Each class period was 54 minutes each
• Teacher previewed each modules introduction
• Teacher observed and assisted students
• Students worked in pairs on software workbook
• Students evaluated modules upon completion

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Results

• Majority of students felt
• That they understood the materials
• That they had enough time to complete exercises
• Preferred working with both software and workbook
• Felt that working together helped
• Gains in spatial skills (PSVTR)
• Average gain was 20.5
• Statistically significant (t-test, plt0.005)

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Conclusions Thanks

• Spatial visualization training for college
  students is suitable for a younger audience
• Amount of time required by 8th grade students was
  typically longer than college students
• Results were used to design a full-scale study
  with middle and high school students (in
  progress).
• A new instrument is being developed that combines
  elements from multiple spatial tests.
• National Science Foundation Grant HRD-0429020