Exploring the links between spatial and mathematical skills.

What is it about?

Spatial reasoning has been found to be closely related to mathematics achievement, yet there are so many components in both domains that researchers often don't understand the links between specific spatial and mathematical skills. In this study we explored the relationship between spatial skills and mathematics content with the goal of unpacking some of these complex relations. Furthermore, in both spatial and mathematical domains there are established gender differences in performance, therefore in this paper we also considered the role of gender. Two studies were conducted, Study 1 with 84 grade 5 students and Study 2 with 903 grade 8 students. Students completed digital assessments covering a range of spatial and mathematics skills. Spatial skills had a larger contribution to mathematics performance in the grade 5 sample compared with grade 8, and for geometry and measurement content in both studies, compared with number sense problems. A notable finding was the influence of spatial orientation on mathematics performance, this spatial skill concerns large scale spatial relations and has previously received little attention in the field of spatial-mathematical relations. The contribution of spatial orientation to mathematics performance was particularly strong for females.

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Why is it important?

The outcomes of this study reveal new ways we may be able to leverage spatial-mathematical relations based on students' individual differences, rather than broad approaches that may not account for the different ways spatial skills can manifest in mathematical thinking.