Abstract
Previous research has shown that psychometrically assessed cognitive abilities are predictive of achievements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) even in highly selected samples. Spatial ability, in particular, has been found to be crucial for success in STEM, though its role relative to other abilities has been shown mostly when assessed years before entering higher STEM education. Furthermore, the role of spatial ability for mathematics in higher STEM education has been markedly understudied, although math is central across STEM domains. We investigated whether ability differences among students who entered higher STEM education were predictive of achievements during the first undergraduate year. We assessed 317 undergraduate students in Switzerland (150 from mechanical engineering and 167 from math-physics) on multiple measures of spatial, verbal and numerical abilities. In a structural equation model, we estimated the effects of latent ability factors on students’ achievements on a range of first year courses. Although ability-test scores were mostly at the upper scale range, differential effects on achievements were found: spatial ability accounted for achievements in an engineering design course beyond numerical, verbal and general reasoning abilities, but not for math and physics achievements. Math and physics achievements were best predicted by numerical, verbal and general reasoning abilities. Broadly, the results provide evidence for the predictive power of individual differences in cognitive abilities even within highly competent groups. More specifically, the results suggest that spatial ability’s role in advanced STEM learning, at least in math-intensive subjects, is less critical than numerical and verbal reasoning abilities.
Highlights
Cognitive predictors of success in the domains of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have been a focus of numerous studies
STEM achievements, we investigated whether ability differences among students who entered higher STEM education can be linked with their achievements during the first undergraduate year
The results of this study highlight the importance of differentiating between domains of ability as well as domains of achievements in research on spatial ability (SA) and STEM
Summary
Cognitive predictors of success in the domains of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) have been a focus of numerous studies. While indicators of general intelligence have been strongly linked with educational attainment in math and science [1], many studies suggest that the cognitive profile of STEM learners goes beyond high general reasoning ability [2,3,4]. Spatial ability is among the cognitive factors that were identified as markers for success in STEM and as a core cognitive resource for STEM learning. Considerable research has examined spatial thinking in various STEM disciplines such as engineering [7,8], chemistry [9], physics [10], geology [11,12] and medicine [13]. Evidence has accumulated supporting the utility of SA training, which is regarded
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