Comparing and Enhancing Spatial Skills of Pre-service Elementary School Teachers in Finland, Taiwan, USA, and Turkey

Abstract

In this study, we compared initial spatial skills of pre-service elementary school teachers in four countries, Taiwan, Finland, United States, and Turkey, and evaluated improvement of these skills by means of interactive computer programs. The study employed a pretest, treatment, posttest design with experimental and control groups. The experimental groups participated in transformational geometry visualization exercises, based on “spatial weaning,” once a week for six weeks of approximately 15-25minutes each session. The Differential Aptitude Test, Space Relations Subset served as the pre and posttests. Pre-test scores showed a pattern similar to those seen in international comparative studies. Finnish students scored higher, Taiwanese students scored second, USA students placed third, and the Turkish students scored last on a three dimensional test of spatial visualization. For the Turkish and Taiwanese participants, the experimental groups improved significantly more than the control groups, while the Americans and Finnish students showed no such significant improvements. There were various retesting effects, of which the Finnish sample showed the most. Implications for spatial training are discussed.