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The Interaction Between Spatial Reasoning Constructs and Mathematics Understandings in Elementary Classrooms

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Visualizing Mathematics

Part of the book series: Research in Mathematics Education ((RME))

Abstract

Numerous studies from cognitive and educational psychology research have highlighted the strong association between spatial reasoning and mathematics performance. This chapter examines this relationship from a mathematics education perspective, with a focus on elementary classrooms. Three spatial constructs critical to mathematics instruction and learning are identified: namely, spatial visualization; mental rotation; and spatial orientation. These constructs are described in relation to student’s encoding and decoding of mathematics information and the increasing influence these constructs have on mathematics assessment. The extent to which spatial training can enhance student’s math performance is also considered in relation to these three constructs. Implications highlight the potential of explicitly focusing on spatial reasoning in math classrooms, given the malleability of instruction and ongoing affordances of technology.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The digital and non-digital versions of the tasks were structurally similar, with care taken to ensure the fidelity of the items so they did not look different or need to be answered differently in the digital format.

  2. 2.

    The reduced degrees of freedom are due to 13 students being unable to complete these items.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of Canberra, Bruce, Australia

    Tom Lowrie & Tracy Logan

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  1. Tom Lowrie
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  2. Tracy Logan
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Correspondence to Tom Lowrie .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA

    Kelly S. Mix

  2. Department of Teaching and Learning, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Michael T. Battista

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Lowrie, T., Logan, T. (2018). The Interaction Between Spatial Reasoning Constructs and Mathematics Understandings in Elementary Classrooms. In: Mix, K., Battista, M. (eds) Visualizing Mathematics. Research in Mathematics Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98767-5_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98767-5_12

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