Linking spatial ability, spatial strategies, and spatial creativity: A step to clarify the fuzzy relationship between spatial ability and creativity

Spatial ability has been identified as one of the skills needed to be a pilot. However, the test used by the military to measure this ability, the Direction Orientation Task (DOT), has a number of problems. The DOT2, was developed to address issues such as a ceiling effect and the limited number of possible trials. The initial DOT2 validation was done with a group of Naval Aviators, however the current study sought to collect further evidence, within a more variable population. A group of students completed the new DOT2 task, along with a survey on strategy use. We found that the percentage of time participants reported using a math strategy on the task was highly correlated with accuracy whereas the use of a spatial strategy was negatively correlated with accuracy. A similar mathematical solution can be applied to the original DOT, suggesting neither tests may be measuring spatial ability.

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Spatial Strategies Used by Students With Visual Impairments to Solve Questions of Spatial Visualization

Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness ◽

10.1177/0145482x211046668 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 0145482X2110466

Author(s):

Ayşenur Arslan ◽

Mesture Kayhan Altay

Keyword(s):

Spatial Ability ◽

Low Vision ◽

Visual Impairments ◽

Spatial Visualization ◽

Data Collection Tool ◽

School Students ◽

Spatial Strategies ◽

Paper Folding ◽

8Th Grade ◽

Manipulation Strategy

Introduction: This study examines the spatial abilities of middle school students with visual impairments (i.e., blindness and low vision) in the context of spatial visualization. The study also aims to examine the strategies used by such students in solving questions requiring spatial ability. Methods: Participants comprised eight students with visual impairments attending the 8th grade of a school in Ankara, Turkey, which teaches students with visual impairments. The data collection tool is composed of eight questions under the guidance of the definition for spatial visualization. Question types belonging to the spatial visualization subcomponent were organized in four topics: 2D rotation, 3D rotation, paper folding, and cube folding. Results: It was observed that students with visual impairments used mental rotation and key feature strategies for 2D rotation questions. They used the key feature strategy for 3D rotation questions and the mental manipulation strategy for cube folding and paper folding questions. Discussion: In this study, it was identified that strategies used by students with visual impairments show similarities with spatial strategies defined in the literature as used by students without visual impairments. Of all the other types of questions, the most successful question of students with visual impairments is the paper folding question. Implications for practitioners: The results of this article can help teachers become aware of the kind of difficulties that students with visual impairments encounter when they try to solve questions that require spatial ability.

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Manipulate Me

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000534 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (4) ◽

pp. 554-562

Author(s):

Alica Thissen ◽

Frank M. Spinath ◽

Nicolas Becker

Keyword(s):

High School Students ◽

Spatial Ability ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Item Difficulty ◽

Test Results ◽

Response Elimination ◽

School Students ◽

Test Environment ◽

Response Options ◽

Construction Task

Abstract. The cube construction task represents a novel format in the assessment of spatial ability through mental cube rotation tasks. Instead of selecting the correct answer from several response options, respondents construct their own response in a computerized test environment, leading to a higher demand for spatial ability. In the present study with a sample of 146 German high-school students, we tested an approach to manipulate the item difficulties in order to create items with a greater difficulty range. Furthermore, we compared the cube task in a distractor-free and a distractor-based version while the item stems were held identical. The average item difficulty of the distractor-free format was significantly higher than in the distractor-based format ( M = 0.27 vs. M = 0.46) and the distractor-free format showed a broader range of item difficulties (.02 ≤ pi ≤ .95 vs. .37 ≤ pi ≤ .63). The analyses of the test results also showed that the distractor-free format had a significantly higher correlation with a broad intelligence test ( r = .57 vs. r = .17). Reasons for the higher convergent validity of the distractor-free format (prevention of response elimination strategies and the broader range of item difficulties) and further research possibilities are discussed.

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