A spatial STEM curriculum yields far transfer to improved verbal deductive reasoning in high school students, including on nonspatial relation trials¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3 · i1 small
Currency · newest study 2022 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i1 Geospatial students improved more than propensity-matched controls on a syllogistic verbal reasoning task from pre-test to post-test. → Cortes 2022 q3 i1 The transfer extended to trials with overtly nonspatial relations (e.g., 'better than'), indicating transfer beyond the spatial domain. → Cortes 2022 (2)

Evidence¶

Cortes 2022¶

Cortes, R. A., Peterson, E. G., Kraemer, D. J. M., Kolvoord, R. A., Uttal, D. H., Dinh, N., Weinberger, A. B., Daker, R. J., Lyons, I. M., Goldman, D., & Green, A. E. (2022). Transfer from spatial education to verbal reasoning and prediction of transfer from learning-related neural change. Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo3555

q3 · i1 · small effect, ηp² = 0.034 · causal · r2

Group-by-Time ANOVA covarying PSAT, GPA, and gender in the full main study sample (N = 182) of Geospatial and propensity-matched control students tested before and after the school year. The article reports "greater Reasoning improvement than controls" with np2 = 0.034 (partial eta squared), a small effect by the conventional benchmarks for η².

"Geospatial students showed greater Reasoning improvement than controls from T1 to T2 (Group-by-Time interaction: F4,15 = 5.60, P = 0.019, np2 = 0.034; Fig. 1B and table S3)."

Cortes 2022 (2)¶

Cortes, R. A., Peterson, E. G., Kraemer, D. J. M., Kolvoord, R. A., Uttal, D. H., Dinh, N., Weinberger, A. B., Daker, R. J., Lyons, I. M., Goldman, D., & Green, A. E. (2022). Transfer from spatial education to verbal reasoning and prediction of transfer from learning-related neural change. Science Advances. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abo3555

q3 · i1 · small effect, ηp² = 0.040 · causal · r2

Same quasi-experimental pre-post sample; the nonspatial-trial subset of the Reasoning task was analyzed separately, showing "greater improvement when nonspatial relation trials" were analyzed alone, np2 = 0.040 (partial eta squared, a small effect by the conventional benchmarks for η²), supporting transfer beyond the spatial domain.

"Geospatial students also showed greater improvement when nonspatial relation trials (e.g., "better than") were analyzed separately (F4,158 = 6.65, P = 0.011, np2 = 0.040; table S4), providing additional evidence that transfer extended beyond the spatial domain."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Curriculum-related neural changes during spatial scanning predict and mediate transfer to verbal reasoning — related
• The spatial curriculum produced near transfer to improved spatial scanning and increased self-reported spatial habits of mind, but not to mental rotation — related
• The spatial curriculum produced longitudinal neural changes during reasoning: increased aIPS activity, increased SpatialMap-to-DLPFC connectivity, and increased nonspatial-to-spatial representational similarity — related
• Improvement in spatial scanning predicts and mediates the curriculum's transfer effect to verbal reasoning — related
• Neural change during spatial scanning predicts verbal reasoning transfer better than traditional performance-based assessments, and best prediction combines both — related
• Inquiry tasks in the Holt Earth Science curriculum rely mainly on inductive and abductive methods, with deductive reasoning used least — related
• Spatial Training Improves Math Performance — a broader claim this one bears on
• Longitudinal evidence shows spatial ability predicts STEM educational and occupational outcomes beyond mathematical and verbal ability — related