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

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 use Concepts of space Tools of representation Processes 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 Impact of GIS Learning

Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University Components of Spatial Thinking

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

Geography Education Research Cluster—Texas A&M University