Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University Spatial Thinking Assessment An Invitation to Participate SEAGA 2012 Robert Bednarz Texas A&M University College Station, Texas, USA Jongwon Lee Ewha Womans University Seoul, South Korea
Dec 14, 2015
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Thinking Assessment An Invitation to Participate
SEAGA 2012
Robert BednarzTexas A&M University
College Station, Texas, USA
Jongwon LeeEwha Womans University
Seoul, South Korea
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Outline
• What is spatial thinking?• Importance of Spatial Thinking• Spatial Thinking vs Spatial Ability• Assessing Spatial Thinking (STAT)• Use STAT and Contribute to the Data
Base
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Thinking Defined
National Research Council’s Learning to Think Spatially offers a new conceptualization
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Thinking
• Knowledge, skills, and habits of mind
To useConcepts of spaceTools of representationProcesses of reasoning
To structure problems, find answers, and express solutions to these problems.
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Outline
• What is spatial thinking?• Importance of Spatial Thinking• Spatial Thinking vs Spatial Ability• Assessing Spatial Thinking (STAT)• Use STAT and Contribute to the Data
Base
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Importance of Spatial Thinking
• Geography–One of two perspectives mentioned by
both the National Geography Standards: Geography for life–One of two enduring themes of academic
geography identified by Turner in “Contested identities: human-environment geography and disciplinary implications in a restructuring academy
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Importance of Spatial Thinking
• Geo-spatial technology (GST)– Importance of “representations” noted in
Learning to Think Spatially– Recognition of the role GIS can play as a
support system for spatial thinking–Necessity for spatial thinking to exploit the
advantages of GST–Growing opportunities in the workforce
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Importance of Spatial Thinking
• Science and other disciplines– Crick and Watson’s model of the structure
of DNA as a double-helix– Inferring subsurface structures from
surficial features and interpreting seismic diagrams by geoscientists–Using graphical analysis to handle the ever-
growing volume of data
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Outline
• What is spatial thinking?• Importance of Spatial Thinking• Spatial Thinking vs Spatial Ability• Assessing Spatial Thinking (STAT)• Use STAT and Contribute to the Data
Base
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Thinking vs Spatial Ability
• Ability–Visualization• Rotation
– Perspective• Table-top scale• Timed tests
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Ability
• Little correlation between visualization and rotation and geography-relevant tasks– Navigation, performance in geography, GIS or
cartography
• Researchers began to argue for a broadening of spatial abilities
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Ability Augmented
• Spatial relations proposed– Patterns, correlation, way finding,
overlaying, distributions, sketch mapping
• Definition remains controversial
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Thinking• An amalgam– Concepts (knowledge)– Tools (spatial representations)– Reasoning (ways of thinking)
• More inclusive (identifying spatial patterns, distributions, and correlation; way finding; and sketch mapping)
• Scale
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Outline
• What is spatial thinking?• Importance of Spatial Thinking• Spatial Thinking vs Spatial Ability• Assessing Spatial Thinking (STAT)• Use STAT and Contribute to the Data
Base
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Spatial Thinking Assessment
• Measuring skills beyond visualization and perspective
• Spatial Thinking Ability Test (STAT)
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
STAT
• Two equivalent forms• Sixteen multiple-choice questions• Both hard-copy and digital versions
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Impact of Teacher Training
• Impact of Teachers’ Guide to Modern Geography
• Introduction of spatial thinking skills into classrooms
• Teachers showed significant improvement
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Components of Spatial Thinking• Students at all levels found the same
questions easy or challenging
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Components of Spatial Thinking
• Factor Analysis– Six factors were identified• Little support for the hypothesized components• Three of four questions grouping on the first factor are
related to map visualization and overlay• Four on the second concern point, line, and area
symbols• Discerning patterns and performing boolean operations
characterize the third• The final two are determined by single questions
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Outline
• What is spatial thinking?• Importance of Spatial Thinking• Spatial Thinking vs Spatial Ability• Assessing Spatial Thinking (STAT)• Use STAT and Contribute to the Data
Base
Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University
Contribute to the Data Base• Free access– Paper or digital
• Internationally administered– Great Britain, South Africa, South Korea,
Turkey, Germany• Share your results– Gender– Culture– Education