Six Myths About Spatial Thinking

International Journal of Science Education

Volumn 34, Issue 6, 2012, Pages 955-971

  Newcombe, Nora S ^a   Stieff, Mike ^b  

^a TEMPLE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO   (United States)

Author keywords

Literature review; Technology education; Visualization

Indexed keywords

EID: 84859334180     PISSN: 09500693     EISSN: 14645289     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09500693.2011.588728     Document Type: Review

References (107)

1. Abdullah, S. and Shariff, A. 2008. The effects of inquiry-based computer simulation with cooperative learning on scientific thinking and conceptual understanding of gas laws. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 4(4): 387-398.
2. Acher, A. S. 2009. Modeling materials in the early school years, Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA
3. Acher, A. S. and Reiser, B. 2010. Middle school students and teachers making sense of the modeling practice in their classrooms, Paper presented at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching, Philadelphia, PA
4. Alias, M., Black, T. R. and Gray, D. E. 2002. Effect of instructions on spatial visualisation ability in civil engineering students. International Education Journal, 3(1): 1-12.
5. Arroyo, I., Woolf, B. P. and Beal, C. R. 2006. Addressing cognitive differences and gender during problem solving. Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning, 4: 31-63.
6. Baenninger, M. and Newcombe, N. S. 1989. The role of experience in spatial test performance: A recta-analysis. Sex Roles, 20: 327-344.
7. Barnea, N. and Dori, Y. J. 1999. High school chemistry students' performance and gender differences in a computerized molecular modeling learning environment. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 8(4): 257-271.
8. Bergvall, V. L., Sorby, S. A. and Worthen, J. B. 1994. Thawing the freezing climate for women in engineering education: Views from both sides of the desk. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 1: 323-346.
9. Bodemer, D., Ploetzner, R., Bruchmuller, K. and Hacker, S. 2005. Supporting learning with interactive multimedia through active integration of represeantion. Instructional Science, 33: 73-95.
10. Boles, D. B. 1980. X-linkage of spatial ability: A critical review. Child Development, 51: 625-635.
11. Brownlow, S., McPheron, T. K. and Acks, C. A. 2003. Science background and spatial abilities in men and women. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 12(4): 371-381.
12. Campbell, S. M. and Collaer, M. L. 2009. Stereotype threat and gender differences in performance on a novel visuospatial task. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 33: 437-444.
13. Cantu, L. L. and Herron, J. D. 1978. Concrete and formal Piagetian stages and science concept attainment. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 15(2): 135-143.
14. Carter, C. S., LaRussa, M. A. and Bodner, G. M. 1987. A study of two measures of spatial ability as predictors of success in different levels of general chemistry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24(7): 645-657.
15. Casasola, M., Bhagwat, J. and Burke, A. S. 2009. Learning to form a spatial category of tight-fit relations: How experience with a label can give a boost. Developmental Psychology, 45(3): 711-723.
16. Ceci, S. J. and Williams, W. M. 2010. The mathematics of sex: How biology and society conspire to limit talented women and girls, New York: Oxford University Press.
17. Christie, S. & Gentner, D. (in press). Language and cognition in development. In M.M. Spivey, K. McRae, & M. Joanisse (Eds.), The cambridge handbook of psycholinguistics. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
18. Coleman, S. L. and Gotch, A. J. 1998. Spatial perception skills of chemistry students. Journal of Chemical Education, 75(2): 206-209.
19. Dabbs, J. M., Chang, E., Strong, R. and Milun, R. 1998. Spatial ability, navigation strategy, and geographic knowledge among men and women. Evolution and Human Behavior, 19: 89-98.
20. de Azevedo, A. M. P., Lazzarott, G. B., Timm, M. I. and Zaro, M. A. 2008. "Developmental and experience in teaching biochemistry with a multimedia study environment". In Computers and education: Towards educational change and innovation, Edited by: Mendes, A. J., Pereira, I. and Costa, R. 147-155. London: Springer.
21. Devetak, I. and Glažar, S. A. 2010. The Influence of 16-year-old students' gender, mental abilities, and motivation on their reading and drawing submicrorepresentations achievements. International Journal of Science Education, 32(12): 1561-1593.
22. Devon, R., Engle, R. and Turner, G. 1998. The effects of spatial visualization skill training on gender and retention in engineering. Journal of Women and Minorities in Engineering, 4: 371-380.
23. Dickerson, D. L., Penick, J. E., Dawkins, K. R. and Sickle, M. V. 2007. Groundwater in science education. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18: 45-61.
24. Dunn, R. and Dunn, K. 1978. Teaching students through their individual learning styles: A practical approach, Reston, VA: Reston Publishing Company.
25. Felder, R. M. 1993. Reaching the second tier: Learning and teaching styles in college science education. Journal of College Science Teaching, 23(5): 286-290.
26. Felder, R. M. and Silverman, L. K. 1988. Learning and teaching styles in engineering education. Engineering Education, 78(7): 674-681.
27. Feng, J., Spence, I. and Pratt, J. 2007. Playing an action video game reduces gender differences in spatial cognition. Psychological Science, 18(10): 850-855.
28. Ferk, V., Vrtacnik, M., Blejec, A. and Gril, A. 2003. Students' understanding of molecular structure representations. International Journal of Science Education, 25(10): 1227-1245.
29. Gallistel, C. R. 2002. Language and spatial frames of reference in mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(8): 321-322.
30. Gentner, D. and Bowerman, M. 2009. "Why some spatial semantic categories are harder to learn than others: The typological prevalence hypothesis". In Crosslinguistic approaches to the psychology of language: Research in the tradition of Dan Isaac Slobin, Edited by: Guo, J., Lieven, E., Ervin-Tripp, S., Budwig, N., Özçaliskan, S. and Nakamura, K. 465-480. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
31. Goodstein, M. P. and Howe, A. C. 1978. Application of Piagetian theory to introductory chemistry instruction. Journal of Chemical Education, 55: 171-172.
32. Goodwin, W. M. 2009. Visual representations in science. Philosophy of Science, 76(3): 372-390.
33. Gordon Research Conferences. (2010). Gordon Research Conferences-Conference Portfolio (Visualization in Science & Education). Retrieved December 13, 2010, fromhttp://www.grc.org/conferences.aspx?id=0000385
34. Gur, R. C. and Gur, R. E. 2007. "Neural substrates for sex differences in cognition". In Why aren't more women in science? Top researchers debate the evidence, Edited by: Ceci, S. J. and Williams, W. M. 189-198. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
35. Hampson, E. 1990. Estrogen-related variation in human spatial and articulatory-motor skills. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 15: 97-111.
36. Hausmann, M., Slabbekoorn, D., van Goozen, S. H., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. and Güntürkün, O. 2000. Sex hormones affect spatial abilities during the menstrual cycle. Behavioral Neuroscience, 114: 1245-1250.
37. Hegarty, M. 2010a. "Components of spatial intelligence". In The psychology of learning and motivation, Edited by: Ross, B. H. 265-297. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
38. Hines, M. 2010b. Sex-related variation in human behavior and the brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 14(10): 448-456.
39. Hsi, S., Linn, M. C. and Bell, J. E. 1997. The role of spatial reasoning in engineering and the design of spatial instruction. Journal of Engineering Education, 86(2): 151-158.
40. Huttenlocher, J., Vasilyeva, M., Newcombe, N. S. and Duffy, S. 2008. Developing symbolic capacity one step at a time. Cognition, 106: 1-12.
41. Hyde, J. S., Fennema, E. and Lamon, S. J. 1990. Gender differences in mathematics performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 107(2): 139-155.
42. Höffler, T. N., Prechtl, H. and Nerdel, C. 2010. The influence of visual cognitive style when learning from instructional animations and static pictures. Learning and Individual Differences, 20: 479-483.
43. Johnson, C., Ross, R., Ahern, S., Ahrens, J., Bethel, E. W., Ma, K.-L. and Thomas, J. 2007, October. Visualization and knowledge discovery: Report from the DOE/ASCR workshop on visual analysis and data exploration at extreme scale, Salt Lake City: Department of Energy. Retrieved from http://www.sci.utah.edu/vaw2007/DOE-Visualization-Report-2007.pdf
44. Jones, C. M., Braithwaite, V. A. and Healy, S. D. 2003. The evolution of sex differences in spatial ability. Behavioral Neuroscience, 117(3): 403-411.
45. Korakakis, G., Pavlatou, E. A., Palyvos, J. A. and Spyrellis, N. 2009. 3D visualization types in multimedia applications for science learning: A case study for 8th grade students in Greece [Article]. Computers & Education, 52(2): 390-401.
46. Kozhevnikov, M. 2007. Cognitive styles in the context of modern psychology: Toward an integrated framework of cognitive style. Psychological Bulletin, 133(3): 464-481.
47. Kozhevnikov, M., Hegarty, M. and Mayer, R. E. 2002. "Spatial abilities in problem solving in kinematics". In Diagrammatic representation and reasoning, Edited by: Anderson, M., Meyer, B. and Olivier, P. 155-171. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
48. Kozhevnikov, M., Kosslyn, S. M. and Shepard, R. N. 2005. Spatial versus object visualizers: A new characterization of visual cognitive style. Memory & Cognition, 33: 710-726.
49. Kozhevnikov, M., Motes, M. A. and Hegarty, M. 2007. Spatial visualization in physics problem solving. Cognitive Science, 31: 549-579.
50. Kozhevnikov, M. and Thornton, R. K. 2006. Real-time data display, spatial visualization ability, and learning force and motion concepts. Journal of Science Education and Technology, Instruction, Cognition and Learning, 15(1): 111-132.
51. Kozma, R. and Russell, J. 1997. Multimedia and understanding: Expert and novice responses to different representations of chemical phenomena. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 34(9): 949-968.
52. Kriz, S. and Hegarty, M. 2007. Top-down and bottom-up influences on learning from animations. International Journal of Human Computer Studies, 65: 911-930.
53. Lawson, A. E. 1982. The relative responsiveness of concrete operational seventh grade and college students to science instruction. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 19(1): 63-77.
54. Levine, S. C. 2009, October. Individual differences in preschooler's mathematical and spatial knowledge: Parent talk matters, Paper presented at the Cognitive Development Society, San Antonio, TX
55. Levine, S. C., Huttenlocher, J., Taylor, A. and Langrock, A. 1999. Early sex differences in spatial ability. Developmental Psychology, 35: 940-949.
56. Levine, S. C., Vasilyeva, M., Lourenco, S., Newcombe, N. S. and Huttenlocher, J. 2005. Socioeconomic status modifies the sex difference in spatial skill. Psychological Science, 16: 841-845.
57. Levinson, S. C. 2003. Space in language and cognition: Explorations in cognitive diversity, New York: Cambridge University Press.
58. Li, P. and Gleitman, L. 2002. Turning the tables: Language and spatial reasoning. Cognition, 83(3): 265-294.
59. Liben, L. S. 2006. "Education for spatial thinking". In Handbook of child psychology, 6, Edited by: Renninger, K. A., Sigel, I. E., Damon, W. and Lerner, R. M. Vol. 4, 197-247. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
60. Linn, M. C. and Petersen, A. C. 1985. Emergence and characterisation of gender differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 56: 1479-1498.
61. Lord, T. 1990. Enhancing learning in the life sciences through spatial perception. Innovative Higher Education, 15(1): 5-16.
62. Lord, T. and Nicely, G. 1997. Does spatial aptitude influence science-math subject preferences of children?. Journal of Elementary Science Education, 9(2): 67-81.
63. McGlone, M. S. and Aronson, J. 2006. Stereotype threat, identity salience, and spatial reasoning. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27: 486-493.
64. National Research Council. (2006). Learning to think spatially. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
65. Newcombe, N. S. 2010a. "On tending to our scientific knitting: Thinking about gender in the context of evolution". In Handbook of gender research in psychology, Edited by: Chrisler, J. and McCreary, D. 259-274. New York: Springer.
66. Newcombe, N. S. 2010b. "What is neoconstructivism?". In Neoconstructivism: The new science of cognitive development, Edited by: Johnson, S. P. v-viii. New York: Oxford University Press.
67. Newcombe, N. S., Bandura, M. and Taylor, D. G. 1983. Sex differences in spatial ability and spatial activities. Sex Roles, 9: 377-386.
68. Newcombe, N. S. and Frick, A. 2010. Early education for spatial intelligence: Why, what, and how. Mind, Brain, and Education, 4(3): 102-111.
69. Newcombe, N. S. and Huttenlocher, J. 1992. Children's early ability to solve perspective-taking problems. Developmental Psychology, 28: 635-643.
70. Newcombe, N.S., & Huttenlocher, J. (2000). Making space: The development of spatial representation and reasoning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
71. Newcombe, N.S., & Huttenlocher, J. (2006). Development of spatial cognition. In D. Kuhn & R.S. Siegler (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (6th ed., pp. 734-776). Hobboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons.
72. Newcombe, N.S., & Shipley, T.F. (in press). Thinking about spatial thinking: New typology, new assessments. In J.S. Gero (Ed.), Studying visual and spatial reasoning for design creativity. Springer.
73. Orion, N., Ben-Chaim, D. and Kali, Y. 1997. Relationship between Earth-Science education and spatial visualization. Journal of Geoscience Education, 45: 129-132.
74. Ozdemir, G. 2010. Exploring visuospatial thinking in learning about mineralogy: Spatial orientation ability and spatial visualization ability. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 8(4): 737-759.
75. Pallrand, G. J. and Seeber, F. 1984. Spatial ability and achievement in introductory physics. Journal of Research in College Science Teaching, 21(5): 507-516.
76. Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D. and Bjork, R. 2008. Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3): 105-119.
77. Peters, M., Laeng, B., Latham, K., Jackson, M., Zaiyounda, R. and Richardson, C. 1995. A redrawn Vandenberg and Kuse mental rotations test: Different versions and factors that affect performance. Brain and Cognition, 28(1): 39-58.
78. Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B. 1967. The child's conception of space, New York: W. W. Norton & Co.
79. Piburn, M. D., Reynolds, S. J., McAuliffe, C., Leedy, D. E., Birk, J. P. and Johnson, J. K. 2005. The role of visualization in learning from computer-based images. International Journal of Science Education, 27(5): 513-527.
80. Pribyl, J. R. and Bodner, G. M. 1987. Spatial ability and its role in organic chemistry: A study of four organic courses. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 24(3): 229-240.
81. Rosenberg, L. and Park, S. 2002. Verbal and spatial functions across the menstrual cycle in healthy young women. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 27(7): 835-841.
82. Saucier, D. and Ehresman, C. 2010. "The physiology of sex differences". In Handbook of gender research in psychology, Edited by: Chrisler, J. C. and McCreary, D. R. 215-233. New York: Springer.
83. Schmidt, W. H., Wang, H. A. and McKnight, C. C. 2005. Curriculum coherence: An examination of U.S. mathematics and science content standards from an international perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(5): 525-529.
84. Schwartz, D. L. and Black, J. 1996. Shuttling between depictive models and abstract rules: Induction and fallback. Cognitive Science, 20(4): 457-497.
85. Schwartz, D. L. and Black, T. 1999. Inferences through imagined actions: Knowing by simulated doing. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25: 116-136.
86. Selman, R. L., Krupa, M. P., Stone, C. R. and Jaquette, D. S. 1982. Concrete operational thought and the emergence of the concept of unseen force in children's theories of electromagnetism and gravity. Science Education, 66(2): 181-194.
87. Shea, D. L., Lubinski, D. and Benbow, C. P. 2001. Importance of assessing spatial ability in intellectually talented young adolescents: A 20-year longitudinal study. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(3): 604-614.
88. Shibley, I. A., Milakofsky, L., Bender, D. S. and Patterson, H. 2003. College chemistry and piaget: An analysis of gender difference, cognitive abilities, and achievement measures seventeen years apart. Journal of Chemical Education, 80(5): 569-573.
89. Shusterman, A. J. and Spelke, E. 2005. "Investigations in the development of spatial reasoning". In The innate mind: Structure and contents, Edited by: Carruthers, P., Laurence, S. and Stich, S. P. 89-106. New York: Oxford University Press.
90. Small, M. Y. and Morton, M. E. 1983. Spatial visualization training improves performance in organic chemistry. Journal of College Science Teaching, 13(1): 41-43.
91. Sorby, S. A. 2001. A course in spatial visualization and its impact on the retention of female engineering students. Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 7(2): 153-172.
92. Sorby, S. A. and Wysocki, A. F. 1999. "Improving 3-D spatial visualization skills with multimedia software". In Proceedings of the 20th annual conference of the European Association for Computer Graphics, Edited by: Alberti, M. A., Gallo, G. and Jelinek, I. 71-73. Milan, Italy: The Eurographics Associations.
93. Sprenger, M. (2003). Differentiation through learning styles and memory (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
94. Stieff, M. 2007. Mental rotation and diagrammatic reasoning in science. Learning and Instruction, 17(2): 219-234.
95. Stieff, M. 2011. When is a molecule three-dimensional? A task-specific role for imagistic reasoning in advanced chemistry. Science Education, 95(2): 310-336.
96. Stieff, M., Hegarty, M. and Deslongchamps, G. 2011. Coordinating multiple representations in scientific problem solving: Evidence from concurrent verbal and eye-tracking protocols. Cognition & Instruction, 29(1): 123-145.
97. Stieff, M., Hegarty, M., & Dixon, B.L. (2010). Alternative strategies for spatial reasoning with diagrams. In A.K. Goel, M. Jamnik, N.H. Narayanan (Eds.), Diagrammatic Representation and Inference (pp. 115-127). New York, NY: Springer.
98. Stieff, M. and Raje, S. 2010. Expert algorithmic and imagistic problem solving strategies in advanced chemistry. Spatial Cognition & Computation, 10(1): 53-81.
99. Summers, L. (2005, January). Remarks at the NBER conference on diversifying the science and engineering workforce. Paper presented at Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce: Women, Under-represented Minorities and Their S&E Careers. Cambridge, MA. Retrieved May 31, 2011, from http://president.harvard.edu/speeches/summers_2005/nber.php
100. Tanner, K. D. and Allen, D. E. 2004. Approaches to biology teaching and learning: Learning styles and the problem of instructional selection-Engaging all students in science courses. Cell Biology Education, 3: 197-201.
101. Terlicki, M., Newcombe, N. S. and Little, M. 2008. Durable and generalized effects of spatial experience on mental rotation: Gender differences in growth patterns. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 22: 996-1013.
102. Twyman, A. D. and Newcombe, N. S. 2010. Five reasons to doubt the existence of a geometric module. Cognitive Science, 34: 1315-1356.
103. Urhahne, D., Nick, S. and Schanze, S. 2009. The Effect of three-dimensional simulations on the understanding of chemical structures and their properties. Research in Science Education, 39(4): 495-513.
104. Uttal, D. H., Meadow, N., Hand, L., Lewis, A., Warren, C., & Newcombe, N. S. (under review). Spatial training: What works, for whom and for how long?
105. Voyer, D., Voyer, S. and Bryden, M. P. 1995. Magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities: A meta-analysis and consideration of critical variables. Psychological Bulletin, 117: 250-270.
106. Wai, J., Lubinski, D. and Benbow, C. P. 2009. Spatial ability for STEM domains: Aligning over fifty years of cumulative psychological knowledge solidifies its importance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101: 817-835.
107. Wright, R., Thompson, W. L., Ganis, G., Newcombe, N. S. and Kosslyn, S. M. 2008. Training generalized spatial skills. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 15(4): 763-771.