Spatial ability in high school geometry students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to observe the differences in high school PreAP Geometry students in regards to spatial ability. The hypothesis states that students who are enrolled in both high school PreAP Geometry and Introduction to Engineering Design have better spatial ability skills than those students who are solely enrolled in PreAP Geometry. Of the 207 students enrolled in geometry at the test school, there was a smaller population (n = 57) simultaneously enrolled in an engineering graphics course at the high school. No direct or special intervention was given to either group of students. Near the end of the academic year, all students were administered the Purdue Visualization of Rotations Test (ROT). Results showed that students enrolled in the engineering design class performed better than those students not enrolled in the course. Furthermore, the males outperformed the females when all students were considered. However, there was not a significant difference among the males, nor was there a difference between males and females enrolled in engineering. Further research is needed to understand these differences and how geometry education plays a role in the development of spatial ability skills.