Piecing Together the Role of a Spatial Assembly Intervention in Preschoolers' Spatial and Mathematics Learning: Influences of Gesture, Spatial Language, and Socioeconomic Status

Spatial skills are associated with mathematics skills, but it is unclear if spatial training transfers to mathematics skills for preschoolers, especially from underserved communities. The current study tested (a) whether spatial training benefited preschoolers' spatial and mathematics skills, (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Developmental psychology 2020-04, Vol.56 (4), p.686-698
Main Authors: Bower, Corinne, Zimmermann, Laura, Verdine, Brian, Toub, Tamara Spiewak, Islam, Siffat, Foster, Lindsey, Evans, Natalie, Odean, Rosalie, Cibischino, Amanda, Pritulsky, Calla, Hirsh-Pasek, Kathy, Golinkoff, Roberta Michnick
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Advantaged
Child, Preschool
Children & youth
Cognitive Ability
Cognitive Tests
Comparative Analysis
Early Intervention, Educational
Feedback
Feedback (Response)
Feedback, Physiological - physiology
Female
Geometric Concepts
Gestures
Human
Humans
Language
Learning
Low Income
Low income groups
Male
Mathematical Concepts
Mathematics
Mathematics - education
Mathematics Skills
Mathematics Tests
Preschool Children
Preschool Students
Pretests Posttests
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Puzzles
School Based Intervention
Skill Development
Social Class
Socioeconomic factors
Socioeconomic Status
Space Perception - physiology
Spatial Ability
Spatial Learning
Stereoscopic Presentation
Task Analysis
Teaching Methods
Test Construction
Training
Transfer (Learning)
Transfer of Training
Transfer, Psychology - physiology
Underserved populations
Vocabulary
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Summary:Spatial skills are associated with mathematics skills, but it is unclear if spatial training transfers to mathematics skills for preschoolers, especially from underserved communities. The current study tested (a) whether spatial training benefited preschoolers' spatial and mathematics skills, (b) if the type of feedback provided during spatial training differentially influenced children's spatial and mathematics skills, and (c) if the spatial training's effects varied by socioeconomic status (SES). Preschoolers (N = 187) were randomly assigned to either a 'business-as-usual' control or one of three spatial training groups (modeling and feedback [MF]; gesture feedback [GF]; spatial language feedback [SLF]). Three-year-olds were trained to construct puzzles to match a model composed of various geometric shapes. New models were created similar to the 2-dimensional trials of the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA). Training was given once per week for 5 weeks. Preschoolers were pretested and posttested on 2D and 3D TOSA trials, spatial vocabulary, shape identification, and 2 mathematics assessments. Results indicate that first, any spatial training improved preschoolers' 2D TOSA performance, although a significant interaction with SES indicated improvement was driven by low-SES children. Furthermore, low-SES children showed greatest gains on the 2D TOSA with MF and GF. Second, MF and GF improved low-SES children's performance on the 3D TOSA. Third, only low-SES children with MF saw improvements in far-transfer to mathematics (Woodcock-Johnson: Applied Problems, but not the Test of Early Mathematical Ability). Results indicate that, especially for low-income learners, spatial training can improve children's early spatial and mathematics skills.
ISSN:0012-1649
1939-0599
DOI:10.1037/dev0000899