Spatial Training Boosts Math Skills

June 25, 2013 — Training young children in
spatial reasoning can improve their math
performance, according to a groundbreaking
study from Michigan State University
education scholars.

The researchers trained 6- to 8-year-olds in
mental rotation, a spatial ability, and found
their scores on addition and subtraction
problems improved significantly. The mental
rotation training involved imagining how two
halves of an object would come together to
make a whole, when the halves have been
turned at an angle.

Past research has found a link between spatial
reasoning and math, but the MSU study is the
first to provide direct evidence of a causal
connection -- that when children are trained in
one ability, improvement is seen in the other.

The findings will be published in a forthcoming
issue of the Journal of Cognition and
Development.
Kelly Mix, professor of educational psychology,
said the findings suggest spatial training
"primes" the brain to better tackle calculation
problems. Mix authored the study with Yi-Ling
Cheng, a doctoral student in MSU's College of
Education.

"What's shocking is that we saw these
improvements in math performance after
giving the students just one 20-minute training
session in spatial ability," Mix said. "Imagine if
the training had been six weeks."
Understanding the connection between spatial
ability and math, she said, is especially
important in the early elementary grades
because many studies indicate early
intervention is critical for closing achievement
gaps in math.

Spatial ability is important for success in many
fields, from architecture to engineering to
meteorology, according to a Johns Hopkins
University paper. An astronomer must visualize
the structure of the solar system and the
motions of the objects in it, for example, while
a radiologist must be able to interpret the
image on an X-ray.
Some education experts have called for
including spatial reasoning in the elementary
math curriculum. But there are many forms of
spatial ability and Mix said it's important to
first figure out how each of them may or may
not relate to the various math disciplines.

To that end, Mix is leading a larger study that
tests elementary students on different forms of
spatial ability and math performance.
Mix's research into spatial ability and math is
funded by two grants totaling $2.8 million
from the Institute of Education Sciences, the
research arm of the U.S. Department of
Education.

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided
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Journal Reference:

1. Yi Ling Cheng, Kelly S. Mix. Spatial Training
Improves Children's Mathematics Ability .
Journal of Cognition and Development , 2012; :
120919075341007 DOI:
10.1080/15248372.2012.725186