Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> Three-dimensional visualization skills are critically important to success in engineering careers. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the 3-D spatial visualization skills of women engineering students lag significantly behind those of their male counterparts. This paper examines gender differences in background and in visualization ability for students enrolled in the United States and in Brazil. Factors that seem to be significant in the development of visualization skills are presented. Gender differences and other problems in visualization skills that cross international boundaries are described. (WRM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 1 IDENTIFYING GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE 3-D VISUALIZATION SKILLS OF ENGINEERING STUDENTS IN BRAZIL AND IN THE UNITED STATES PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Afonso Celso Medina and Helena B. P. Gerson Fundamental Engineering Escola de Engenharia Maua Sao Caetano, SP BRAZIL Sheryl A. Sorby Civil and Environmental Engineering Michigan Technological University Houghton, MI USA 49931 Abstract Three-dimensional visualization skills are critically important for success in engineering careers. Before a complex problem can be solved, the engineer must be able to visualize how all of the components in the system work and fit together. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the 3-D spatial visualization skills of women engineering students lag significantly behind those of their male counterparts. A variety of strategies have been implemented to enhance the spatial visualization skills of engineering students. Along with these strategies, the Mauti Engineering School (EEM) and Michigan Technological University (MTU), have been utilizing specific exams as a means of measuring spatial ability. At both schools, the tests were administered as a pre-test in the beginning of a freshman graphics course. At each university, background questionnaires were filled out by the students during the pre-test period. The questions asked of the students were related to those types of activities which are thought to develop spatial skills including: age, handedness, play with certain types of toys, previous geometry instruction, vocational training, work experience and participation in sports which involved putting an object in a specific place (e.g., soccer, basketball, etc.). Student responses were analyzed to determine their significance in the development of spatial skills as measured by the respective testing instruments. At EEM, the tests also revealed that there is a certain group of students whose spatial visualization ability was not significantly improved after a full year of graphics instruction. For these students, the traditional graphics courses are a source of frustration, since they typically have very weak visualization skills from the outset. In order to help these students attain a minimum proficiency in their spatial skills so that they can then actively participate in a traditional graphics course, new techniques must be developed which take into account theirThree-dimensional visualization skills are critically important for success in engineering careers. Before a complex problem can be solved, the engineer must be able to visualize how all of the components in the system work and fit together. Unfortunately, studies have shown that the 3-D spatial visualization skills of women engineering students lag significantly behind those of their male counterparts. A variety of strategies have been implemented to enhance the spatial visualization skills of engineering students. Along with these strategies, the Mauti Engineering School (EEM) and Michigan Technological University (MTU), have been utilizing specific exams as a means of measuring spatial ability. At both schools, the tests were administered as a pre-test in the beginning of a freshman graphics course. At each university, background questionnaires were filled out by the students during the pre-test period. The questions asked of the students were related to those types of activities which are thought to develop spatial skills including: age, handedness, play with certain types of toys, previous geometry instruction, vocational training, work experience and participation in sports which involved putting an object in a specific place (e.g., soccer, basketball, etc.). Student responses were analyzed to determine their significance in the development of spatial skills as measured by the respective testing instruments. At EEM, the tests also revealed that there is a certain group of students whose spatial visualization ability was not significantly improved after a full year of graphics instruction. For these students, the traditional graphics courses are a source of frustration, since they typically have very weak visualization skills from the outset. In order to help these students attain a minimum proficiency in their spatial skills so that they can then actively participate in a traditional graphics course, new techniques must be developed which take into account their 2 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as eived from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position cr policy. particular deficiencies. This paper examines gender differences in background and in visualization ability for students enrolled in the U.S. and in Brazil. The factors which seem to be significant in the development of visualization skills will be presented. Gender differences and other problems in visualization skills which cross international boundaries will also be described. Introduction The primary objective of this research was to determine whether or not gender differences exist in the visualization skills of engineering students at the two universities participating in this study--Escola de Engenharia Maud (EEM) and Michigan Technological University (MTU). To achieve this objective, tests which assess a person's ability to visualize in three dimensions were administered to students at EEM and MTU. The results of these tests show that significant gender differences in visualization skills exist. The results of the tests were also used to help identify some of the factors that are thought to develop spatial skills. Assessment of Spatial Skills Several standardized tests have been developed to assess a person's spatial skills. Since 1995, EEM has administered a spatial visualization test composed of four parts: A, B, C and D to freshman engineering students. Each part of the exam is meant to assess a specific component of spatial visualization skills. Part A is composed of 45 items subdivided into two types of questions. In the first type of question, a sheet of paper that is folded in half and then folded in half again is shown. A "cut" is made in some location on the paper. The students must choose which of five alternatives accurately portrays the paper after it is unfolded. In the second type of question, a two-dimensional figure with fold lines is shown. The students must choose <s> BIB001 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> This article brings up the point that 3-D spatial visualization skills are vital to graphics education. Instructors of graphics education, even though they have highly advanced spatial skills, rarely have the proper training on what spatial skills are or how the development of spatial skills takes place. As a result one must try to have a better understanding of spatial abilities. There are many interpretations as to what spatial skills really are and there is in therefore no one universal definition. As a way to better understand spatial abilities, Maier places them into five categories. The categories are spatial perception, spatial visualization, mental rotations, spatial rotations, and spatial orientation. These categories are vast. As a result of their vastness many of the categories overlap. Another step towards better understanding spatial skills involves differentiating how spatial skills are used while completing a task. Tartre makes a classification for how spatial skills are used while performing a task. The spatial skills are either used as spatial visualization that involves mentally moving the object, or as spatial orientation, which involves mentally moving the object. If the task involves spatial visualization then mental rotation can take place, which involves the entire object, or mental transformation can occur, which only involves part of an object. Visual thinking is a way to understand spatial skills. McKim offers the viewpoint that visual thinking occurs by three kinds of imagery. They are what one sees, what one can imagine, and what one can draw. All of these images interact with one another. Spatial skills are developed primarily in three different stages. This can be see be Piaget's theory on development. In the first stage, two dimensional, topological, skills are acquired. In the second stage, an understanding of 3-D objects, projective skills, from different viewpoints is achieved. Finally in the third stage, there is an understanding of area, volume, distance, translation, rotation and reflection, which is combined with projective skills. Spatial skills are evaluated in a variety of ways. There are tests that assess a person's projective skill level. Examples of these would be the Mental Cutting Test and the Differential Aptitude Test: Spatial Relation. Other tests assess mental rotation. Examples of mental rotation tests are the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test and the Mental Rotation Test. Results of these evaluations show mixed results as to whether there are gender differences in spatial skills. In order to enhance spatial skills, one must not only work with 3-D images, but they must also use concrete models and sketching. Overall I thought this article was very informative. It presented the information in a clear and concise manner. I summarized the information that I thought was especially useful for this class. The article really made me think how important it is not only to have spatial skills, but also to have an understanding of them. <s> BIB002 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> This phenomenological investigation examined the lived experience of technically-oriented students over the course of a single semester, attempting to answer the question, “What was it like for a student to experience the spatial ability phenomenon?” The study included 12 interviewees and 8 focus group freshman participants at a Midwestern university. Data sources included interview transcripts, think aloud transcripts, task solutions, focus group transcripts, researcher journal entries, course performance data, course observation data, and spatial ability test data. This paper provides the holistic, structural description of the spatial phenomenon that emerged from the descriptions of the participants’ experience, as well as an expository on four of the five invariant themes that were elicited from the data. the collaborative session. Recommendations were made for future course improvements when a real world project is used in the curriculum. This paper also discusses changes in design process and the role of designers based on the collaborative session feedback. <s> BIB003 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> Eighty college students mentally rotated 3-D shapes while maintaining a concurrent verbal or spatial memory load to investigate how sex, native language, and college major relate to the cognitive strategies employed during mental rotation (MR). Males were significantly better than females at MR, whereas native language was not related to MR ability or preferred strategy. A significant Sex × Major × Load interaction was found such that males majoring in the physical sciences performed better when primed by a concurrent spatial load as compared with a no-load or verbal load, suggesting their use of a spatially mediated MR strategy. In contrast, males majoring in the social sciences performed better when primed by a concurrent verbal load as compared with a no-load or spatial load, suggesting their use of a verbal/analytic MR strategy. The potential origins of these differences in strategy are discussed in the context of individual differences in brain organization. <s> BIB004 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> Since 1993, Michigan Tech has offered a course aimed at improving the spatial skills of incoming engineering students who have a demonstrated weakness in ability as measured by the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R). In the fall of 2000, this course was altered dramatically in terms of both content and instructional delivery method. The modified course was described in detail in a paper presented at a previous EDGD annual conference. This paper will outline the changes made in the delivery of the course, examine results from the revised course, and compare findings with results from the previous version of the course. Particular attention will be paid to changes in success and retention rates among students with weak initial spatial skills. <s> BIB005 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> Spatial visualization skills are vital to many careers and in particular to STEM fields. Materials have been developed at Michigan Technological University and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College to assess and develop spatial skills. The EnViSIONS (Enhancing Visualization Skills-Improving Options aNd Success) project is combining these materials and testing them with pre-college and college students at seven institutions: Michigan Tech, Penn State Behrend, Purdue University, University of Iowa, Virginia State University, Virginia Tech, and a “Project Lead the Way” course in south-central Arizona. By removing a barrier to success for students with low visualization skills, particularly women, the project leaders hope to improve the retention of these students in STEM disciplines and to enhance their success. This paper will give a brief overview of the implementations at the university level and the findings. <s> BIB006 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> In this study we examine how native language, sex, and college major interact to influence accuracy and preferred strategy when performing mental rotation (MR). Native monolingual Chinese and English speakers rotated 3-D shapes while maintaining a concurrent verbal or spatial memory load. For English speakers, male physical science majors were more accurate than social science majors and employed a spatial/holistic strategy; male social science majors used a verbal/analytic strategy. Regardless of college major, English-speaking females were not consistent in MR strategy. A small overall advantage in accuracy was found for Chinese speakers, and both male and female Chinese-speaking physical science majors relied on a combined spatial/holistic and verbal/analytic strategy; Chinese-speaking social science majors did not show a strategy preference. Our results suggest that acquiring a logographic language like Chinese may heighten spatial ability and bias one toward a spatial/holistic MR strategy. <s> BIB007 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> The electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to investigate variation in mental rotation (MR) strategies between males and females and different college majors. Beta activation was acquired from 40 participants (10 males and 10 females in physical science; 10 males and 10 females in social science) when performing the Vandenberg and Kuse (1978) mental rotation test (MRT). Males majoring in physical science showed increased activation over the right parietal area when performing the MRT, suggestive of a spatial/holistic strategy, while males majoring in social science showed increased activity over the left frontal region, indicative of a verbal/analytic strategy. Females, regardless of college major, showed bilateral activation, a pattern reflecting the use of a combined verbal/spatial MR strategy. These results provide evidence at the neural level that males and females, as well as physical and social science majors, are biased toward the use of different strategies when performing the MRT. <s> BIB008 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> This meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the magnitude of gender difference in three-dimensional (3-D) mental rotation ability and to investigate how factors related to test administration conditions play a role in varying gender difference effect sizes and threatening validity. Individuals’ 3-D mental rotation ability was measured by the Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (PSVT:R). We integrated 70 effect sizes of gender differences in mental rotation ability measured by the PSVT:R which were obtained from 40 primary studies. The results indicated that male participants outperformed females on the test (Hedges’ g = 0.57). The I 2 statistic indicated 41.7 % of variation in effect sizes reflects real heterogeneity. The moderator analysis indicated that male superiority on spatial ability tasks measured by the PSVT:R is related to the implementation of time limits. The gender difference became larger when stringent time limits (equal or less than 30 s per item) were implemented. <s> BIB009 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> Abstract The contribution of biological sex and cognitive strategy to success at disembedding was investigated in the present study. Forty-two participants were asked to perform the embedded figures and a base-line spatial matching task with their brain activation was concurrently recorded using the electroencephalogram. High performing participants showed increased activation over the left temporal lobe as compared to low performing participants, suggesting the use of a verbally mediated cognitive strategy. Females showed increased activation (relative to males) over the parietal lobe, suggesting the use of a more spatially mediated strategy. In addition, females exhibited higher levels of overall activation during the disembedding process, suggesting the utilization of greater cognitive resources. These brain activation patterns suggest that searching for an embedded figure is somewhat different from other types of spatial and that high and low performing participants, as well as males and females employ different neural strategies for disembedding processing. <s> BIB010 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> We investigated the extent to which the observed gender differences in mental rotation ability among the 2,468 freshmen studying engineering at a Midwest public university attributed to the gender bias of a test. The Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (Revised PSVT:R) is a spatial test frequently used to measure students’ spatial visualization ability in three-dimensional mental rotation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. With two major approaches for evaluating measurement invariance, we found that five items in the Revised PSVT:R showed a difference in the response pattern by gender, but the impact of these biased items was marginal on the total scores on the scale. Our findings support the equitable use of the Revised PSVT:R by gender for educational research and practices. <s> BIB011 </s> Techniques used to Improve Spatial Visualization Skills of Students in Engineering Graphics Course: A Survey <s> VIII. GENDER DIFFERENCES <s> Introductory science courses for non-majors, taught in large lecture settings (>100 students) at public universities in the United States, face tough problems in matching the interests of the students who range from first-year undergraduates to students in the final year with majors as diverse as liberal arts and engineering. To investigate the learning of atmospheric science by college students from various backgrounds, this study attempted to explore how the dynamics of students' learning varied by spatial ability, as defined by skills tested in a mental rotation test, gender and major (science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) vs. non-STEM), because the literature provides evidence of the importance of spatial ability in student achievement in science courses. Statistically significant correlations existed between spatial ability, perceived ability to use weather and climate information, overall content knowledge of atmospheric science, and final course grades. Although there were no gender or academic major dependencies in the final course grades, STEM majors performed better in a content knowledge survey. However, non-STEM majors showed greater improvement overall. <s> BIB012
There are differences in SVS especially MRS between females" and males" skills. Many researches by Li BIB004 , BIB007 , BIB008 , BIB010 ,  concluded that males outperform females in a most of spatial tasks, particularly when they involve mental rotation tests. "Males tend to outperform women on spatial reasoning tests significantly. Differences have been attributed to a multitude of factors including biological, social and cultural, and educational factors and are believed to contribute to the fact that males outnumber females in science and mathematics fields"  . Another studies by Sorby  , BIB005 , BIB002 , BIB006 ,  and studies by Yoon and Maeda  , BIB001 ,  , BIB009 , BIB011 and BIB012 concluded that there is a gender significant difference in MRS and when they solve mental rotation tasks. Males outperform females on mental rotation tasks due to the differentiation in using mental rotation strategy that males using holistic strategy while females using analytical strategy. Other researchers BIB003 ,  conclude that the females SVS needed to be improved according to their strategy (analytical style ) to overcome the difference between them and males" score of MRS. That is, many of females tend to use their both hemispheres (combined style) and many of females using the left hemisphere (sequential style) that is an analytical strategy when they solve the mental rotation tests. The analytical strategy for mentally rotating a 3D object is based on rotating the object with step by step way and based on features of the object such as all three axes rotated with the object, colors, shapes, and sizes.