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Teacher spatial skills are linked to differences in geometry instruction
Beryl Ann Otumfuor1, Martha Carr1
1Department of Educational Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA.
The British Journal of Educational Psychology
|September 2, 2017
Summary
Teachers with strong spatial skills tend to use more representational gestures and possess better content knowledge in geometry instruction. Spatial skills influence pictorial representation use when combined with pedagogical knowledge.
Area of Science:
- Mathematics Education
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Spatial skills are foundational for mathematical achievement.
- Effective geometry instruction may rely on teachers' spatial abilities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the link between teachers' spatial skills and their instructional practices in geometry.
- To explore how spatial skills relate to content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and the use of visual aids and gestures.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-six middle school teachers completed spatial skill assessments (mental rotations, spatial visualization).
- Geometry classes were videotaped to analyze instructional behaviors.
- Correlational analyses examined relationships between spatial skills and teaching practices.
Main Results:
- Teacher spatial skills positively correlated with representational gestures and content and pedagogical knowledge.
- Spatial skills did not directly predict pointing gestures or pictorial representation use.
- An interaction between spatial skills and content/pedagogical knowledge predicted pictorial representation use.
Conclusions:
- Enhanced spatial skills in teachers are associated with improved geometry instruction, including better gesture use and deeper content knowledge.
- The impact of spatial skills on using pictorial representations is moderated by teachers' content and pedagogical knowledge.
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