A Qualitative Investigation of Students’ Problem Solving Strategies in a Spatial Visualization Course Article Swipe
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· 2020
· Open Access
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· DOI: https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--31985
· OA: W3086908904
This Work in Progress aims at understanding strategies engineering students use in solving spatially-related problems. The participants in our study are first year engineering (FYE) students in an Introduction to Spatial Visualization course at a Southeastern university. This course is recommended for FYE students who score below the threshold required of incoming students on the Purdue Rotation Visualization Test on entry into the engineering program to help them improve their spatial visualization skills. Over 200 students enrolled in the course at the time of the study. Spatial abilities are important in many scientific fields including engineering. People can develop their spatial abilities through practice and training. This possibility highlights the usefulness of strategies that can be used for solving spatial tasks. There are several spatial ability measures including paper cutting tests, mental rotation tests, cross section tests and mental cutting tests. The current study examines strategies that students used while performing spatial tasks that require the use of mental cutting techniques. In this qualitative study, we are interested in students’ descriptions of the use of strategies on the mental cutting and rotation tests. Data will be collected via interviews with participants within the course. The analysis of interview data will be guided by a-priori codes, from our coding rubric developed in a previous study. The findings from this study can provide further understanding on the kinds of strategies students use in tackling spatial tasks. It could also provide insight on training students in remedial spatial visualization courses based on student perspectives.
