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Spatial Skills in the Geosciences

This study explores the nature of spatial thinking in the geosciences and how it can be supported. It examines the role of spatial visualization and working memory in developing cognitive resources and their implications for the classroom. The study also investigates the effects of intensive training on working memory and visualization skills, highlighting the transferability of these skills across domains. The findings encourage a reconsideration of the extreme domain-specificity view and have important implications for educational practice.

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Spatial Skills in the Geosciences

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  1. Spatial Skills in the Geosciences Conveners Cathryn A. ManducaScience Education Resource Center, Carleton CollegeBasil TikoffThe Department of Geoscience, University of Wisconsin Madison Thomas F. ShipleyDepartment of Psychology, Temple UniversityCarol J. OrmandScience Education Resource Center, Carleton College

  2. Science at the intersection of disciplines • Computer Science • Education • Geology • Psychology

  3. Framing Questions • What is the nature of spatial thinking and how can it be supported? • What is the role of spatial thinking in the geosciences?

  4. Spatial Visualization and the Role Of Working Memory (Individual Differences and Malleability of Spatial Skills) Thomas F. Shipley Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center Temple University Jason Chein, Shannon Fitzhugh, Alexandra Morrison, Ilyse Resnick, Cathy Manduca, and Nora Newcombe

  5. Visualization Develops Over Time

  6. Cognitive Resources • Domain specific: Recognition • Domain general: Keeping information in memory

  7. Visual Intelligence

  8. Domain-specificity in expertise Real Positions Random Positions

  9. Implications for the classroom • Deterrent to using class time for improving general abilities • Educators devote the class time to imparting, and structuring, knowledge

  10. Brain-fitness/ Cognitive Training • Repetitive mental exercise can improve memory and attention • The benefits generalize to other cognitive skills

  11. Re-emergence of Domain-Generality An emerging science of cognitive training … • Performance also relies on general cognitive abilities • General cognitive abilities are both malleable & trainable.

  12. Working memory – The mind’s workspace • WM is a domain-general resource • WM capacity predicts performance in a broad range of tasks • (e.g., Kane et al., 2004)

  13. Pause to Summarize • Spatial visualization requires both general and specific cognitive resources • Cognitive abilities are malleable So….. • Can intensive training of working memory improve spatial visualization? • Compare to intensive training of visualization

  14. Training: 4 weeks (30 min/day; 5 x per week)

  15. Assessment • Verbal Working Memory • Spatial Working Memory • Mental Rotation Test • Cognitive control (e.g., Stroop) • Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary Congruent Blue Green Red Yellow Incongruent Blue Green Red Yellow

  16. Working Memory Training Storage + Processing Lexicality Judgments Letter Memory Recall Verbal WM blick M T S X V C D B Z J F K G M N L P Symmetry Judgments Location Memory Recall Spatial WM repeats n times

  17. Spatial Visualization Training: Sorby (1998) • Isomorphic Drawings • Multiple choice • Coded Plans • Drawing 2. Orthographic Drawings • Multiple choice • Coded Plans • Drawing 3. Surface Development • Multiple choice 4. Rotation about 1 Axis • Multiple choice • Coded Plans • Drawing

  18. Working Memory Practice Effects Average Span Across Training Sessions Average Change in Verbal WM Verbal WM Span Auto Operation Span (Δ) Days of Training

  19. Working Memory Transfer • Transfer of verbal WM training to spatial WM measure implicates an effect on a domain-general mechanism Average Change in Spatial WM Auto Symmetry Span (Δ)

  20. Spatial Transfer: Mental Rotation Test • WM and visualization training improved mental rotation Mental Rotation MRT-A Score (% Δ )

  21. Conclusions • Training in an adaptive complex WM span task results in significant WM capacity increases • WM training leads to improvements in other cognitive abilities • Transfer across domains (verbal to spatial) • Transfer to non-WM tasks including reading comprehension and mental rotation • Implicates a domain-general mechanism • Spatial training leads to (domain specific) improvements in spatial visualization

  22. Broader Implications • Results encourages a reconsideration of the extreme domain-specificity view of superior performance • May have important implications for educational practice • Important open questions: • Who benefits most from the two types of training? • Are the two types of training additive?

  23. Working Memory and Visualization of Transformations

  24. Mental Transformations Do Geologists mentally reverse events in time?

  25. Geological transformationof a Nongeological object Before Fragmentation (faulting): Before Fragmentation (faulting): Before Fragmentation (faulting): After Fragmentation (faulting): After Fragmentation (faulting): After Fragmentation (faulting): After Fragmentation (faulting): After Fragmentation (faulting): After Fragmentation (faulting): Before Fragmentation (faulting): Before Fragmentation (faulting): Before Fragmentation (faulting):

  26. Can you identify the word?

  27. Results

  28. Results

  29. Next – Exploded words

  30. Conclusions • Mental unfaulting is facilitated by domain general process (possibly perceptual segmentation) • This may be a specific case of geologists not committing to one interpretation early on.

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