Spatial Reasoning Skills: What are they? Why are they Important? How can we help our students improve them?

We go to the gym to improve our fitness, take short courses to learn new skills, and read books to increase our knowledge, but how often do we pay attention to improving our spatial reasoning skills? We can’t function in daily life without being able to navigate our way through space or make decisions about the spatial relationships between objects. Every time we select the best size container to store dinner leftovers, decorate our Christmas trees, or park our cars, we are putting our spatial reasoning skills to work. Chances are we’ve all made comments about our own spatial reasoning abilities, or those of others. “I’m hopeless at reading maps, my partner is really good at packing the car etc.” We tend to speak about our spatial abilities as something we either have or we do not.

Recent research is showing that there is more to spatial reasoning than being able to manoeuvre your car into a tight parking space. In fact, we now know that spatial reasoning skills play an important role in successful STEM learning, and STEM based careers. What’s more, there is also evidence that spatial skills are malleable and can be improved with practice, particularly at a young age. It is exciting to think, that as teachers, we can help our students develop skills that will not only improve their daily lives but also help them achieve success in STEM learning and future career pathways.

I’d like to share three types of spatial reasoning skills, five highlights from spatial reasoning research, and five of my favourite spatial activities for the primary classroom.

3 types of spatial reasoning that we all need:
• Mental rotation: - being able to visualise what a 2D or 3D object will look like once it has been turned by a specific angle.

• Spatial visualisation: - being able to mentally manoeuvre 2D and 3D objects and keep track of multiple manipulations and transformations.

• Spatial orientation: - being able to mentally navigate a pathway through space.

5 interesting findings from spatial reasoning research:
• Spatial reasoning skills are proving to be the most accurate predictor of future success in STEM. A longitudinal study (1) over 50 years starting with 400,000 middle school students showed that students with high spatial thinking skills were more likely to choose and succeed in tertiary STEM subjects and choose to pursue STEM careers, compared to their peers with low spatial thinking skills.

• Spatial skills in people of all ages, genders, and initial skill levels, can be improved (2) by engaging in activities such as playing with spatial toys, video games, puzzles, and 3D modelling.

• Spatial skills can be explicitly taught (3) by providing regular practice activities and intentional training.

• Improving students’ spatial thinking can improve learning outcomes in other areas of STEM. One study found that by focusing on developing the spatial abilities of primary school students, their accuracy in calculating number problems also improved.(4)

• Spatial skills are a key component of early mathematical success. For example, one study found that children aged 4-6 years who could accurately reproduce a stacked block pattern, could also count higher and group objects by number more accurately than those who could not reproduce an accurate block structure.(5)

My 5 favourite activities for developing spatial reasoning skills
• Using simple 3D modelling software to manipulate and represent 2D and 3D objects. I have noticed that when students are asked to represent their ideas in both 2D drawings and 3D models, their models in both modes become more accurate and recognisable.

• Asking students to design, and give instructions for treasure hunt games, as well as following the instructions of other students, is a great way to practice spatial language and develop spatial orientation. This works especially well when students need to give navigational directions to find an object from another student’s perspective.

• Barrier games using Lego or block models. One student is given a set of blocks and follows another student’s directions to build a model. The model needs to be an exact replica of a previously assembled model that the builder cannot see. This challenges both students to think spatially, visualise spatial arrangements, and interpret them using language that both students can make sense of.

• Try completing a simple task such as pouring a drink, tying your shoelaces, writing your name, or drawing a picture while only looking at your reflection in a mirror. This can be quite tricky and is a great way to practice mental rotation and spatial visualisation.

• Creating and solving mazes using digital or physical 3D objects is a great spatial activity, especially when the mazes have to meet certain criteria such as having a certain number of left-hand turns. Giving directions for someone else to solve a maze also requires spatial orientation.

I’m heading off now to try and retrace my steps to where I parked my car. Wish me luck as I work on improving my spatial orientation skills!

Mandi will be presenting in the STEM across the Curriculum Conference in Melbourne (17 & 18 June 2022) and Brisbane (5 & 6 August 2022)

References
1 Wai, J., Lubinski, D., & Benbow, C. P. (2009). Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over 50 years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(4), 817.

2 Milani, L., Grumi, S., & Di Blasio, P. (2017) Positive effects of videogame use on visuospatial Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy

3 Building Blocks for Developing Spatial Skills: Evidence From a Large, Representative U.S. Sample Jamie J. Jirout, Nora S. NewcombeFirst Published January 27, 2015 Research Article Find in PubMed

4 Yi-Ling Cheng & Kelly S. Mix (2014) Spatial Training Improves Children's Mathematics Ability, Journal of Cognition and Development, 15:1, 2-11, DOI: 10.1080/15248372.2012.725186

5 Verdine, B. N., Golinkoff, R. M., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Newcombe, N. S., Filipowicz, A. T., & Chang, A. (2014b). Deconstructing building blocks: Preschoolers' spatial assembly performance relates to early mathematical skills. Child Development, 85(3), 1062-1076.