Importance of assessing spatial ability in intellectually talented young adolescents: A 20-year longitudinal study.

Shea, Daniel L.; Lubinski, David; Benbow, Camilla Persson

doi:10.1037//0022-0663.93.3.604

Cited by 11 publications

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Gender Differences in Spatial Ability: Implications for STEM Education and Approaches to Reducing the Gender Gap for Parents and Educators

Reilly

Neumann

Andrews

2016

Visual-Spatial Ability in STEM Education

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While men and women do not differ in levels of general intelligence, gender differences do exist for more specific cognitive abilities. In particular, gender gaps in spatial ability are the largest of all gender differences in cognitive abilities. Research on gender differences in spatial ability is reviewed, including the role that parents and educators can play in encouraging these skills using formal instruction, at home and through play. A variety of psychobiosocial factors contribute to these gender differences. Research has shown that the development of spatial ability lays down the foundation for quantitative reasoning, a collective term for mathematical and science skills. For this reason, some researchers have claimed that they contribute to the underrepresentation of women in STEM-fields. However, like other cognitive skills, instruction and practice can yield dramatic improvements in performance on spatial tasks, reducing the magnitude of gender differences. There is also evidence of transfer effects and persistence across the passage of time. A growing number of educational psychologists have argued that early education of spatial intelligence is necessary as a matter of equity for all students, and that it may offer substantial benefits for the later development of mathematical and scientific skills across all ability levels. Parents and caregivers can also encourage children by using spatial language, providing children with enrichment activities that offer spatial learning experiences. Concerted efforts to address the gender gap in spatial ability has the potential to translate into a reduction of the gender gap in STEM, but further research is required to determine which types of training and at what intervals is most efficacious.

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Gender Differences in Spatial Ability: Implications for STEM Education and Approaches to Reducing the Gender Gap for Parents and Educators

Reilly

Neumann

Andrews

2016

Visual-Spatial Ability in STEM Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Phenotypic and genetic evidence for a unifactorial structure of spatial abilities

Rimfeld

Shakeshaft

Malanchini

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Spatial abilities encompass several skills differentiable from general cognitive ability (). Importantly, spatial abilities have been shown to be significant predictors of many life outcomes, even after controlling for To date, no studies have analyzed the genetic architecture of diverse spatial abilities using a multivariate approach. We developed "gamified" measures of diverse putative spatial abilities. The battery of 10 tests was administered online to 1,367 twin pairs (age 19-21) from the UK-representative Twins Early Development Study (TEDS). We show that spatial abilities constitute a single factor, both phenotypically and genetically, even after controlling for This spatial ability factor is highly heritable (69%). We draw three conclusions: () The high heritability of spatial ability makes it a good target for gene-hunting research; () some genes will be specific to spatial ability, independent of ; and () these genes will be associated with all components of spatial ability.

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Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children

Raudenbush

Hernandez

Goldin‐Meadow

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Social inequality in mathematical skill is apparent at kindergarten entry and persists during elementary school. To level the playing field, we trained teachers to assess children’s numerical and spatial skills every 10 wk. Each assessment provided teachers with information about a child’s growth trajectory on each skill, information designed to help them evaluate their students' progress, reflect on past instruction, and strategize for the next phase of instruction. A key constraint is that teachers have limited time to assess individual students. To maximize the information provided by an assessment, we adapted the difficulty of each assessment based on each child’s age and accumulated evidence about the child’s skills. Children in classrooms of 24 trained teachers scored 0.29 SD higher on numerical skills at posttest than children in 25 randomly assigned control classrooms (P = 0.005). We observed no effect on spatial skills. The intervention also positively influenced children’s verbal comprehension skills (0.28 SD higher at posttest, P < 0.001), but did not affect their print-literacy skills. We consider the potential contribution of this approach, in combination with similar regimes of assessment and instruction in elementary schools, to the reduction of social inequality in numerical skill and discuss possible explanations for the absence of an effect on spatial skills.

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Importance of assessing spatial ability in intellectually talented young adolescents: A 20-year longitudinal study.

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

Gender Differences in Spatial Ability: Implications for STEM Education and Approaches to Reducing the Gender Gap for Parents and Educators

Gender Differences in Spatial Ability: Implications for STEM Education and Approaches to Reducing the Gender Gap for Parents and Educators

Phenotypic and genetic evidence for a unifactorial structure of spatial abilities

Longitudinally adaptive assessment and instruction increase numerical skills of preschool children

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