The CERI OECD/National Science Foundation International Conference took place in Paris, at the OECD Headquarters on 23-24 January 2012. Here the presentation of Session 2, Formal Learning, Item 1.

1. Increasing Spatial Learning in
Formal and Informal Settings
Nora S. Newcombe
Temple University
and
Spatial Intelligence
and Learning Center

2. Spatial Thinking Is Important in
Scientific Thought and Communication

3. High School Spatial Ability
Predicts Later Occupations
Wai, Lubinski & Benbow (2009)
Standardized Score

4. Spatial Thinking Is Malleable
• Meta-analysis shows large training effects, as well
as durability and transfer
– Uttal, Meadow, Hand, Lewis, Warren, & Newcombe, under review

5. Improving Spatial Thinking Could
Increase Technology-Trained Workforce

6. Improving Spatial Thinking in Early
Informal Education
• How should we best enhance spatial learning in children?
– Importance of gesture
– Usefulness of analogy
– Importance of spatial language
– Importance of play
• Puzzle play
• Paper folding
• Block play

7. Language in Block Play Contexts
Ferrara, Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, Lam & Newcombe (2011),
Mind, Brain and Education
Pre-assembled Play Free Play Guided Play

8. Parental Spatial Language in Four
Contexts
Ferrara, Golinkoff, Hirsh-Pasek, Lam & Newcombe (2011),
Mind, Brain and Education
Proportion of Parental Spatial
0.12 Session 1
0.1
0.08
Language
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
Pre-assembled Free Play Guided Play CHILDES
Play Control
Session 1

9. Teaching Geometric
Shapes with Guided Play
Fisher, Hirsh-Pasek, Newcombe & Golinkoff
(under review)
• Children often see
only typical shapes
• Showing a range of
shapes helps,
especially in a
guided play context

10. Preschoolers Benefit from Visualization
Joh, Jaswal & Keen, 2011
• Preschoolers asked to visualize how a ball goes through
a tube avoid the straight down or gravity error

11. Improving Spatial Thinking in
Formal Education
• Two strategies
– Modify the learner
– Modify the learning materials
• Meta-analysis (Hoffler, 2010, Ed. Psych. Review)
– spatial ability plays an important role in learning from
visualizations (mean effect size r = 0.34)
– but is moderated by—at least—two compensating
factors; learners with low spatial ability can be
significantly supported by
• a dynamic visualization
• as well as a 3d-visualization.

12. Visual Representations Abound in
Science Textbooks
• Diagrams
• Photographs
• Photomicrographs
• Flow charts
• Tables
• Graphs
1) Would the beam still follow the same path when
the plates are charged?
2) What happens to the beam when the plates are
charged?

13. Can We Teach High School Biology
Students to Reason Better with
Diagrams?
• We have developed a curriculum for teaching
diagrammatic reasoning based on teaching conventions of
diagrams
– Modifying the learner
• We then saw if we could augment this curriculum with
– Self-explanation
– Student-completed figures
• Visual
• Verbal
– Modifying the curriculum (and maybe the learner too)

14. Teaching Conventions of Diagrams
Helps
Cromley, Bergey, Fitzhugh, Newcombe, Wills, Shipley, and
Tanaka (under review)
• Post-test of 20.0
18.0
diagrammatic 16.0
reasoning 14.0
• Beginning of year 12.0
achievement as 10.0 Pre
Post
covariate 8.0
• Significant time by 6.0
4.0
treatment interaction 2.0
• d = .8 treatment .0
Wkbk Demo
• d = .2 control

15. Changes in Eye Tracking
• Workbook students increase time spent on the diagram,
significantly more so than Demonstration students
• Workbook students maintain time spent on naming and
explanatory labels, whereas Demonstration students
show significant decrease

16. How Do We Further Improve Student
Comprehension of Diagrams?
Cromley, Bergey, Fitzhugh, Newcombe, Wills, Shipley, and Tanaka
(under review)
• We compared three augmented packages
– Self-Explanation
– Student-Completed Figures—Visual
– Student-Completed Figures—Verbal
• Assessed effects (pre- to posttest) on
– Biology diagram comprehension
– Biology knowledge
– Geoscience diagram comprehension
• Teacher-delivered in 9th grade biology classes

17. Self-Explanation
Eu-­‐Squeak-­‐a!
If
there
are
four
off-­‐
spring,
there
will
be
one
of
each
combina=on.
But
what
will
the
fiAh
one
be
like?

18. Student Completed Figures-Verbal

19. Student Completed Figures-Visual

20. Results: Biology Diagrams
14.0
12.0
10.0
8.0
Series1
6.0
Series2
4.0
2.0
.0
SCF-Ver SCF-Vis SelfEx
d = 0.30* d = 0.32* d = 0.22*

21. Results: Biology Knowledge
10.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
5.0 Pretest
4.0 Posttest
3.0
2.0
1.0
.0
SCF-Ver SCF-Vis SelfEx
d = 0.63* d = 0.04 d = 0.68*

22. Results: Geoscience Diagrams
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Pretest
1.5
Posttest
1.0
.5
.0
SCF-Ver SCF-Vis SelfEx
d = 0.37* d ~0 d = 0.28*

23. Questions?
http://www.spatialintelligence.org