PME-NA

Exploring Spatial Thinking: How Preschoolers’ Performance Aligns Across Spatial Tasks / Explorando El Pensamiento Espacial: Cómo Se Alinea El Desempeño De Niñes Preescolares En Tareas Espaciales

• In Event: Exploring Spatial Thinking: How Preschoolers’ Performance Aligns Across Spatial Tasks / Explorando El Pensamiento Espacial: Cómo Se Alinea El Desempeño De Niñes Preescolares En Tareas Espaciales

Description

This study examined alignment between frame-filling tasks (tangram puzzles) and other spatial measures among 18 preschoolers (ages 3-5), based on Case's central conceptual structure theory. Analysis revealed a significant correlation between tangram completion and dot pattern recreation (r=.610, p<.01), while drawing tasks showed no significant relationship with either. Children who succeeded on tangrams demonstrated intentional shape placement and boundary awareness, similar to successful strategies in dot recreation where recognizing overall structure proved crucial. Emergent bilingual children employed translanguaging to navigate spatial challenges. Findings suggest shared cognitive mechanisms underlie certain spatial tasks, while different contexts reveal distinct aspects of spatial reasoning.

Authors

• Laura Bofferding, Purdue University

• Yi Zhu, Purdue University

• Brenda Sarmiento-Quezada, Purdue University

• Dafne Zanelli, Purdue University