• Research in Mathematical Education
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.91-106
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• 2012

Spatial ability has been valued as a talent domain and important skill in mathematics education because it enhanced an intuitive view and an understanding in many areas of mathematic. In addition, spatial ability highly correlates with mathematics achievement, indicating its crucial role in success in mathematics education. Some researchers founded gender differences in mathematics and spatial ability, and indicated that spatial ability served as a mediator of gender difference in mathematics. This study explored the spatial ability of 349 Korean middle school students (Grade 7-9), and investigated the association among students' spatial ability and their mathematics achievement, gender, and grade. The result of this study shows that spatial ability correlates positively with mathematics achievement. While gender difference did not exist in mathematics, significant gender difference existed in spatial ability favoring male students.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.303-313
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• 2013

Spatial ability has been valued as one component of intelligence and associated with the achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and important in STEM education. The purpose of this study is to assess elementary school students' spatial ability and analyze the relationship with mathematical achievement, gender and grade level. This study explored the spatial visualization ability of 1288 elementary school students (grade 4-6) in Seoul and Gangwon province and investigated association between spatial ability and students' mathematics achievement, the students' spatial ability according to their gender and grade level. As a result, this study showed that there were significant correlations between spatial ability and mathematical achievement. And also, boy students were better than girl students in spatial ability and higher grader were better than lower graders in spatial ability. According to these results, spatial ability should be included as one of the important components in identifying students for gifted education programs. Furthermore, more research is needed on how to effectively structure educational opportunities to students both who have high spatial ability and have low spatial ability.