Spatial ability interventions have increased STEM performance and retention, but a causal effect remains categorically unestablished¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2018 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Intervention research informed by spatial factor work has resulted in increased STEM educational performance and retention. → Jeffrey Buckley 2018 q2 i? Research studies categorically illustrating a causal effect remain outstanding, so it is not scientifically known how or why the interventions achieve their results. → Jeffrey Buckley 2018 (2)

Evidence¶

Jeffrey Buckley 2018¶

Jeffrey Buckley, Niall Seery, Donal Canty. (2018). A Heuristic Framework of Spatial Ability: a Review and Synthesis of Spatial Factor Literature to Support its Translation into STEM Education. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9432-z

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports that factor-structure research "has proved to be beneficial to the design of interventions which have resulted in increased STEM educational performance and retention", citing Sorby and colleagues' intervention studies.

"This work has proved to be beneficial to the design of interventions which have resulted in increased STEM educational performance and retention"

Jeffrey Buckley 2018 (2)¶

Jeffrey Buckley, Niall Seery, Donal Canty. (2018). A Heuristic Framework of Spatial Ability: a Review and Synthesis of Spatial Factor Literature to Support its Translation into STEM Education. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-018-9432-z

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review states that despite intervention gains, "research studies categorically illustrating a causal effect remain outstanding", so the mechanism of the interventions' success is not scientifically known. Spatial ability is also hard to observe in practice.

"However, research studies categorically illustrating a causal effect remain outstanding (Ramey and Uttal 2017; Stieff and Uttal 2015), and therefore it is not scientifically known how or why these interventions are achieving the results they are."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Spatial ability correlates with educational performance across many STEM disciplines and sub-disciplines — related
• Effects of two-dimensional mental rotation training on children's mathematics performance are mixed, with significant correlations between rotation and mathematics measures — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Spatial Skills Improve Through Block Building — related
• Longitudinal evidence shows spatial ability predicts STEM educational and occupational outcomes beyond mathematical and verbal ability — related
• Educational level, instructor support, instructional strategy, interactive type, intervention duration, robotic type, and control group condition were not significant moderators of robotics effects — related
• Evidence for spatial training improving STEM achievement is promising but insufficient; rigorous research is still needed — related
• Five specialized structural systems emerge as separate factors in factorial studies from preschool age to adulthood — related