A Spatial Approach to Instruction: Impact on Children's Achievement and Attitude

Overview  |  Learning Problem  |  Design Process  |  Theory & Rationale  |  Learning Solution  |  Assessment
 

Learning Problem

We are adept in making mental representations of people, things, and events, which make it easier for us to visualize and understand them. Even when we see an object in two dimensions, we tend to create a mental model of how it would look in three dimensions. However, it is very difficult to visualize the shape of an object just be looking at two dimensions. When we look at a wooden block from the top, it appears as a square. Can we find out if the wooden block is a thin sheet of wood, a cube, a pentahedron, or any other shape? The answer is NO!

 

There are many concepts taught in schools that use only images and pictures as a learning tool; for example, the solar system or molecular structure. Wouldn’t it be easier for children to understand planetary motion or molecular orientation if they see it in three dimensions with all the rotations and revolutions and orientation happening as it does in real world? This project addresses some of these issues and primarily focuses on the following learning needs of 8 – 12 year-old children:

  • View objects and phenomena in three dimensions for a conceptual understanding of the objects’ and phenomena’s spatial properties, including shape, size, orientation, and direction of motion.

  • Work collaboratively in a community of learners, teachers, researchers, and practitioners to share knowledge.

  • Be motivated and develop a positive attitude toward learning new concepts and principles in science.

Though viewing things in three dimensions would be helpful to everyone, this project focuses on school children in the age group 8 to 12 years. It is not possible or practical to show children everything that is taught in the classroom, which is why there are physical models, experiments, and other simulations of real-world objects and concepts in the classroom and laboratory. I have not observed a classroom with children (I wanted to, but unfortunately couldn’t) who were learning about solar system in the classroom with traditional instructional model, which was being taught using images and pictures of planets. However, based on my own and others’ experiences and findings of previous research studies, I have come up with the hypothesis that using a three-dimensional medium would help children understand concepts and phenomena easier than a two-dimensional representation. Another hypothesis is that if we make it easy for children to understand difficult concepts, there would be a positive attitudinal shift among them toward science and they would be motivated to actively take part in the learning of new concepts.

 

Learner Profile

  • The target learners study in grades three and four.

  • They are 10-12 year old children.

  • The learners belong to various ethnicities and races.

  • They speak English as first or second language, in schools and probably, at home.

  • They study science in school and at home or after school programs.

  • The learners have computer at home.

  • They are proficient in using a computer and use the Internet for finding and researching information for their class projects.

  • They are familiar with instant messaging and discussion boards and use it either for personal or studies-related needs.

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