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Industry leaders rarely remark that the technical skills of engineering students are lacking; however, they frequently indicate that new engineers should be better prepared in communication skills, particularly written communication skills. In contrast, the visualization ability, or spatial skills, of engineering majors are typically excellent. Prior research has demonstrated that spatial ability is a significant predictor for graduating from STEM fields, particularly in engineering. This paper is part of a larger project that is exploring whether these two phenomena – poor written communication skills and well-developed spatial skills – are linked. In other words, is there a negative correlation between these two types of skills for engineering students? Data for this study was collected from first-year engineering students at a large university in the U.S. An online survey was administered that consisted of two validated spatial visualization tests, a verbal analogy task, and questions regarding students’ self-perceived communication ability. Student scores on spatial visualization tests and a verbal analogy task were compared between student groups and students’ perceived ability to communicate. Results identified statistically significant differences in test scores between domestic and international male students on all three tests. Interestingly, no gender-based differences were observed in spatial skills. Results from this study will contribute to future exploration of the link between spatial and technical communication skills. Results can also help inform the development of an intervention aimed at improving the written technical communication skills of our engineering students by helping them learn to write about spatial phenomena.
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The Relationship Between Spatial Skills and Solving Problems in Engineering Mechanics
Spatial visualization is defined as the “process of apprehending, encoding, and mentally manipulating three-dimensional spatial forms.” Spatial cognition has been widely studied throughout psychology and education from more than 100 years. Engineering students and engineering professionals exhibit some of the highest levels of spatial skills compared to their counterparts in other majors/careers. Numerous studies have shown the link between spatial skills and success in engineering and interventions aimed at enhancing spatial skills have demonstrated a concomitant improvement in student success, as measured by grades earned and retention/graduation. The question remains: How do well-developed spatial skills contribute to engineering student success? One hypothesis is that spatial skills contribute to a student’s ability to solve unfamiliar problems. Recent studies have demonstrated that spatial skills contribute to success in solving problems from mathematics, chemical engineering, and electrical engineering. The study outlined in this paper, extends this work to examine the impact of spatial skills on the ability to solve problems from engineering mechanics. In this pilot study, a total of 47 students from upper division mechanical engineering courses completed a test of spatial skills and also were asked to solve 5-6 problems from introductory statics/physics. Results showed that a statistically significant positive correlation was found between spatial scores and the percent correct on the mechanics test. Individual problems were also examined to determine if spatial skills appeared to play a role in their solution. Some problems appeared to rely on spatial thinking; others did not. Results from this pilot study will be used to conduct an in-depth study examining the relationship between spatial skills and solving problems in engineering mechanics. This paper outlines key findings from this pilot study and makes recommendations for future work in this area.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1818758
- PAR ID:
- 10302004
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ASEE annual conference proceedings
- ISSN:
- 1524-4857
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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