I. SPATIAL SKILLS, THEIR DEVELOPMENT, AND THEIR LINKS TO MATHEMATICS

Area of Science:

• Developmental psychology
• Cognitive science
• Educational psychology

Background:

• Spatial skills are vital for school readiness and STEM success.
• These skills involve visualizing object relationships and are practiced through activities like puzzles.
• Spatial skills are linked to intelligence, mathematics, and science achievement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reliability and validity of the Test of Spatial Assembly (TOSA) for 3-year-olds.
• To determine if early spatial skills predict later spatial and mathematical abilities.
• To identify factors contributing to individual differences in preschool spatial skills.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal data collection using the TOSA for 3-year-olds.
• Assessing prediction of 5-year-old spatial and mathematics skills.
• Analyzing contributions of socioeconomic status, gender, fine-motor skills, vocabulary, and executive function.

Main Results:

• The TOSA is a reliable and valid measure of early spatial skills.
• Preschool spatial skills strongly predict spatial skills at age 5.
• Early spatial skills, executive function, and socioeconomic status are linked to mathematics skills at age 5.

Conclusions:

• Preschool spatial experiences are central to developing mathematical skills for school entry.
• Executive function uniquely contributes to mathematical performance.
• Interventions to enrich early spatial experiences are recommended.