Abstract
Spatial skills are strong predictors of success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) subjects and pursuit of careers in STEM fields. Spatial skills have been shown to be malleable, improving in response to training, and recent research has demonstrated that these improvements can transfer to mathematics achievement. Existing research examining transfer mostly focuses on pre-school and elementary children, with a relatively small number of studies targeting middle-school and undergraduate students. Furthermore, existing intervention research has relied almost exclusively on quantitative measures with the goal of demonstrating that specific spatial skills support specific mathematical outcomes. Consequently, although existing studies have been able to establish transfer in certain contexts, they have not been able to provide a comprehensive explanation of the mechanisms underpinning transfer – that is, in practical terms, how does spatial training support mathematics achievement?The present research project utilises both quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the effect of a spatial training intervention on Year 11 students’ spatial reasoning skills and mathematical achievement. It consists of three distinct parts, each addressing existing limitations in the current spatial intervention literature. Part 1 consists of a quantitative intervention adapting an existing spatial training intervention (originally developed for use with undergraduate engineering students) for use with Year 11 mathematics students and delivery by classroom teachers. Using a pre-/post-test design, students were randomly assigned to the intervention condition or to a business-as-usual control (n = 73). This study found that the adapted spatial training program was successful in improving students’ spatial skills and that these improved skills transferred to performance on Measurement and Geometry problems, but not Number and Algebra. This established spatial transfer to mathematics in a new population and provided a possible model by which existing spatial training interventions can be adapted for use with different populations.
Part 2 consists of a systematic literature review of spatial intervention literature investigating the ways in which existing studies have examined mechanism and the mechanistic explanations they provide for instances of transfer. This review reveals a gap in current mechanistic explanations for transfer, which do not consider the role which strategy might play in facilitating transfer to mathematics. It highlights the need for more sophisticated models for understanding the complex ways in which spatial training might support mathematical achievement. Specifically, it emphasises the importance of considering how strategy, in tandem with improvements in spatial skills, might support mathematics performance and how they might interact with one another.
Part 3 consists of a qualitative study focusing on analysing students’ written work and verbal explanations around strategic decision-making to examine possible mechanisms of transfer. Students (𝑛=5) completed semi-structured interviews before and after completing the intervention. Interviews examined changes in students’ strategic approach and use of representations when solving mathematics problems in response to the intervention. The study found evidence that improving students’ spatial skills led to increased quality of representations as well as affording students with the necessary cognitive resources to pursue more effective spatial strategies when solving mathematics problems. This demonstrated the utility of applying qualitative measures to better understand the mechanisms underpinning transfer to mathematics. Specifically, by examining changes in students’ working in response to spatial training it was possible to identify the qualitative ways in which spatial training led to improvements in mathematical achievement.
| Date of Award | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Ilyse RESNICK (Supervisor) & Tom Lowrie (Supervisor) |
Cite this
- Standard