• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.647-658
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to analyze students' learning characteristics regarding spatial ability, orienteering ability and earth science content learning ability and their relationship through development and application of earth science activities using orienteering. The programme aims to improve students' spatial ability using orienteering activity which requires spatial ability. Topics in the programme included map, compass, contour, movement of celestial, and constellation application. Students were to orienteer in the field using the method they learned in class. This programme was applied to five 7th graders. The results are, first, students who have positive attitude toward science and do well at school tended to perceive their orienteering ability high. Second, all parts of spatial ability, spatial visualization, spatial orientation, spatial relation were used during orienteering, especially spatial visualization and spatial orientation. The relationship between spatial ability, orienteering ability, and earth science content learning abilities was not clear. However, orienteering ability and earth science content learning ability were in similar tendency.

• 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.

• Korean Journal of Child Studies
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.293-306
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• 1999

This study investigated children's spatial skills and short term memory ability based on their practice with computer games. The 40 four-year-old and 40 six-year-old subjects were divided by experimental and control groups. Spatial skills of children were assessed by visual speed, mental rotation, and spatial visualization tasks. Short term memory was measured with a digit span task. Results showed that computer game practice enhanced children's memory ability and spatial skills. Even 4-year-olds performed better on mental rotation and spatial visualization tasks after practice. The treatment effect was significant for visual speed of 6-year-olds, short term memory ability and mental rotation of 4-year-olds, and spatial visualization of both 4- and 6-year-olds.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.353-373
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to provide instructional suggestions by investigating the spatial sense and spatial reasoning ability of 6th grade students. The questionnaire consisted of 20 questions, 10 for spatial visualization and 10 for spatial orientation. The number of subjects for the survey was 145. The processes through which the students solved the problems were the basis for the assessment of their spatial reasoning. The result of the survey is as follows: First, students performed better in spatial visualization than in spatial orientation. With regard to spatial visualization, they were better in transformation than in rotation. With regard to spatial orientation, students performed better in orientation sense and structure cognitive ability than in situational sense. Second, the students that weren't excellent in spatial visualization tended to answer the familiar figures without using mental images. The students who lacked spatial orientation experienced difficulties finding figures observed from the sides. Third, students had high frequency rate on the cognition and use of transformation, the development and application of visualization methods and the use of analysis and synthesis. However they had a lower rate on a systematic approach and deductive reasoning. Further detailed investigation into how students use spatial reasoning, and apply it to actual teaching practice as a device for advancing their geometric thinking is necessary.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.280-299
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• 2015

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an instruction using geologic planar figures on high school students' ability of spatial visualization and geologic spatial ability and also to explore its applicability as an instructional strategy through the investigation of students' perception about the instruction using mixed methodology. For this purpose, we developed 10 planar figures of geologic structures (2 horizontal layers, 2 vertical layers, 4 angular layers, 1 fault, and 1 fold), and tested students' spatial visualization ability and geologic spatial ability before and after the implementation in class. In addition, in order to investigate students' perception on the instruction, we conducted quantitative research using questionnaires comprised of the cognitive and the affective domain, and followed by focus group interview that was conducted to obtain deeper understanding of their perception. Findings revealed that the instruction using geologic planar figures was effective to enhance spatial visualization ability and geologic spatial ability. It was also helpful for students to enhance their ability to perceive the spatial configuration of the geologic structures as well as the ability to penetrate visually into the images of the structures. The results of the students' perception on the instruction showed that the students recognized the instruction using geologic planar figures as a strongly positive teaching method both in the cognitive and affective domain. We concluded that geologic planar figures could be used as an effective tool for the lesson of 'mapping and interpreting of geological map', and be highly applicable for the advanced class in high schools.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.159-171
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• 2014

Spatial ability has been valued as one component of intelligence and as an talented domain. And it is associated with the achievements in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. So, the instrument for measuring spatial ability is very important. The purpose of this study is to develop Spatial Visualization Tests for Elementary School Children and examine internal consistency reliability evidence and construct validity evidence on confirmatory factor analysis of that instrument. For this purpose, 'The Spatial Visualization Tests for Elementary School Children was administered to 1482 Korean elementary school students. As a result, this study show that internal consistency reliability evidence using Cronbach' alpha showed item consistency and construct validity evidence from confirmatory factor analysis in the Spatial Visualization Tests for Elementary School Children. And also, this study show ed that item difficulty and item discrimination of the Spatial Visualization Tests for Elementary School Children were within an acceptable range.

• Journal of Engineering Education Research
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.42-50
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• 2015

In spite that spatial ability has been recognized as an important element of academic achievement in engineering studies, researches on the topic are rather limited in Korea. In this study, the relationship between spatial visualization skill and academic achievement of engineering students was investigated based on the several variables such as gender, high school education background and college course achievement. The result showed that there were significant relevance between spatial visualization skill and gender, high school type, achievement of high school level math & physics, and college course work grade of computer graphic and capstone design. According the case study, from the entry time of engineering college, support programs to reinforce spatial visualization skill are required for lower skill groups such as female and graduate from art course in high school. Also, college curriculum such as Engineering graphics, Capstone design are substantial to improve spatial visualization skill. However, more diversified sample groups and research methods are required in order to draw in depth results.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.283-312
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• 2012

Problem-solving ability is one of the most important learning outcomes for students to compete and accomplish in a knowledge-based society. It has been empirically proven that visualization plays a central role in problem-solving. The best performing problem-solver might have a strong visualization tendency. However, there is little research as to what factors of visualization tendency primarily related to problem-solving ability according to phases of problem-solving. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationship between visualization tendency and problem-solving ability, to determine which factors of visualization tendency influence problem-solving ability in each phase of problem-solving, and to examine different problem-solving ability from the perspective of the levels of visualization tendency. This study has found out that visualization tendency has a significant correlation with problem-solving ability. Especially, Generative Visualization and Spatial-Motor Visualization as sub-visualization tendency were more strongly related to each phase of problem-solving. It indicates that visualization tendency to generate and operate mental processing can be considered a major cognitive skill to improve problem-solving ability. Furthermore, students who have high visualization tendency also have significantly higher problem-solving ability than students with low visualization tendency. It shows that the levels of visualization tendency can predict variables related to students' problem-solving ability.

• School Mathematics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.277-289
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• 2007

This research aims to look into the mathematically gifted 6th and 7th graders spatial visualization ability of solid figures. The subjects of the research was six male elementary school students in the 6th grade and one male middle school student in the 1th grade receiving special education for the mathematically gifted students supported by the government. The task used in this research was the problems that compares the side lengths and the angle sizes in 4 pictures of its two dimensional representation of a regular icosahedron. The data collected included the activity sheets of the students and in-depth interviews on the problem solving. Data analysis was made based on McGee's theory about spatial visualization ability with referring to Duval's and Del Grande's. According to the results of analysis of subjects' spatial visualization ability, the spatial visualization abilities mainly found in the students' problem-solving process were the ability to visualize a partial configuration of the whole object, the ability to manipulate an object in imagination, the ability to imagine the rotation of a depicted object and the ability to transform a depicted object into a different form. Though most subjects displayed excellent spatial visualization abilities carrying out the tasks in this research, but some of them had a little difficulty in mentally imagining three dimensional objects from its two dimensional representation of a solid figure.

• 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.