Poster #28 - How do Spatial Skills Take Shape? Examining Preschoolers’ Performance on 2D and 3D Assembly Tasks

• In Event: Poster Session 14

Abstract

Spatial skills are both important and malleable: they predict STEM achievement and can be developed through training and interventions (see Uttal & Cohen, 2013 for a review). Even children’s exposure to play with spatial activities predicts performance on spatial achievement tests (Jirout & Newcombe, 2015). Given the importance of spatial skills, it is pertinent to provide instructional activities that support spatial skill development in early education. However, it is unclear whether or how individual characteristics of children may also act as prerequisites for spatial skills. Children’s home spatial environment predicted overall performance on a spatial skill test that measured both 2D and 3D spatial reasoning together (Vander Tuin et al., 2022). However, 3D geometry reasoning has been recognized as a related but distinct construct from spatial skills (Pittalis & Christou, 2010), prompting us to consider whether children perform differently on 2D versus 3D spatial tasks and explore potential predictors of students’ performance. Specifically, we will investigate: (1) Do children perform differently on 2D vs. 3D assembly tasks? We predict that preschoolers may perform better on the 2D assembly tasks given that those are simpler than the 3D tasks. (2) Which skills (i.e., math language, executive function, and geometry) are associated with children’s performance on 2D and 3D assembly tasks? We predict that spatial math language, executive function (specifically, cognitive flexibility) and geometry skills may be positively related to children’s performance on both 2D and 3D assembly tasks. We will use assessment data from 572 children (M = 4.32 years, SD = 0.60 years) who participated in three larger intervention studies. The proposed analyses have not been run with this data. First, we will conduct a paired-sample t-test to compare children’s overall performance (measured as percent correct) on the six 2D assembly items and the six 3D assembly items in the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA; Verdine et al., 2017). Second, we will conduct correlational analyses between children’s performance on 2D and 3D tasks with measures of children’s spatial and quantitative math language (Preschool Assessment of the Language of Mathematics), executive function skills (Dimensional Card Change Sort; sum score 0-24), and geometry (Child Math Assessment Shape Recognition and Geometric Reasoning Subtests; Klein & Starkey, 2004; Preschool Early Geometry Skills Assessment). Finally, we will conduct two linear regressions to model how children’s early skills predict their performance on the 2D and 3D tasks. Consistent with prior work (Vander Tuin et al., 2022), we will also include students’ age, gender, and parent education level as model covariates. This project provides a foundational step towards understanding the nuanced relations between spatial skills, spatial and quantitative math language, executive function, and geometry skills among preschool children. The findings may shed light on early factors of spatial skills and any differences in performance between the task types may have implications for designing instructional play activities to target the development of spatial skills. Future work should investigate whether performance and predictors of performance shift over time to examine how spatial skills develop and its relation to 3D geometry reasoning.

Authors

• Avery Harrison Closser, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  Presenting Author

• Lauren Westerberg, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• Elyssa A Geer, University of Oregon

• Robert Duncan, Purdue University, West Lafayette

• Sara Anne Schmitt, University of Oregon

• David James Purpura, Purdue University, West Lafayette