Enhancing spatial reasoning increases retention of women (and men) in the technology classroom.
Alphatome – Enhancing Spatial Reasoning Check out this exercise developed by a biology professor to enhance students' spatial reasoning. By taking slices of clay letters, students enhance their skills without using challenging jargon or digital imaging.
A Plea for Spatial Literacy Download PDF Now This article cites the importance of spatial thinking from building furniture to discovering the structure of DNA. The author calls for more education in spatial literacy, in particular for women.
Newcombe, Nora S., "A Plea for Spatial Literacy," Chronicle of Higher Education, 00095982, March 3, 2006, Vol. 52, Issue 26.
Flatland Helps Students Perceive Different Dimensions View Flatlands in the CalWomenTech Learning Library Flatland: The Movie is a half-hour animated film about Hex, a young female hexagon living in a two-dimensional world inhabited by various geometric characters. The film, adapted from Edwin Abbott's classic novel, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions takes students through different dimensional lands and teaches important math, physics and science skills. Included is a school site license, the complete text of the book and teacher worksheets and math lessons.
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Playing an Action Video Game Reduces Gender Differences in Spatial CognitionDownload PDF Now
This study looked at the effects that playing a 3D action video game had on the spatial reasoning skills of males and females. It found that playing the game virtually eliminated the gender difference in spatial attention and simultaneously decreased the gender disparity in mental rotation ability. It also found that test subjects saw substantial increases in spatial attention and mental rotation ability after only 10 hours of playing, with women benefiting more than men.
Teaching Spatial Reasoning to Improve Retention of Women in Technology: WebinarAccess Webinar Here This webinar, presented by Sheryl A. Sorby, Ph.D., discusses the ways in which improving your female students' spatial reasoning skills increases their success in the technology classroom. The webinar includes a demonstration of Dr. Sorby's unique software, Introduction to 3D Spatial Visualization: An Active Approach, which you can find in our CalWomenTech Library under "Spatial Reasoning."
The CalWomenTech Project is Funded by The Program for Research on Gender in Science and Engineering from The National Science Foundation - Grant no. 0533564
