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Article
Effects of spatial ability and instructional program on geometry achievement
The Journal of Educational Research
  • Robert D. Hannafin, Fairfield University
  • Mary P. Truxaw
  • Jennifer R. Vermillion
  • Yingjie Liu
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2008
Disciplines
Abstract

The authors investigated the effects of student spatial ability, as measured by Raven's Progressive Colored Matrices (J. C. Raven, 1938) and type of instructional program on geometry achievement. Sixth-grade students worked through either 6 instructional activities in Geometer's Sketchpad (Key Curriculum Press, 1993), a dynamic geometry program, or a geometry tutorial, both of which paralleled Connecticut's geometry standards. The authors hypothesized that students working with the activities in Sketchpad would learn geometry better and that (after controlling for mathematics ability) student spatial ability would predict success in such an environment more reliably than it would in the tutorial program. However, students with high spatial ability performed significantly better than did low-spatial learners in both instructional treatments; students in the Sketchpad treatment scored only marginally higher on the posttest than did learners in the tutorial condition, despite spending more time on task. Results have implications for mathematics instructors, researchers, and computer-based programs.

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Copyright 2008 Taylor & Francis

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Published Citation
Hannafin, Robert D., Mary P. Truxaw, Jennifer R. Vermillion, and Yingjie Liu. "Effects of spatial ability and instructional program on geometry achievement." The Journal of Educational Research 101, no. 3 (2008): 148-157. DOI: 10.3200/JOER.101.3.148-157
DOI
10.3200/JOER.101.3.148-157
Citation Information
Robert D. Hannafin, Mary P. Truxaw, Jennifer R. Vermillion and Yingjie Liu. "Effects of spatial ability and instructional program on geometry achievement" The Journal of Educational Research Vol. 101 Iss. 3 (2008)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/robert_hannafin/2/