Does Completion of a University Earth Science Course Affect the Spatial Ability of Preservice Elementary/middle Teachers? a Preliminary Study

This preliminary study investigated whether preservice elementary-middle (E/M) teachers taking three spatial ability tests early in their university science careers scored differently than preservice E/M teachers taking the tests later in their university careers, and if a further difference existed in scores of “later” subjects who took an Earth science course specifically designed to emphasize spatial aspects of Earth science concepts.

With the known association of spatial ability with success in science, the tendency of females to lag behind males in spatial ability test scores, and the overwhelming majority of E/M teachers being female, the importance of spatial ability in E/M teachers is evident.

Past research shows that elementary majors lag behind other students in spatial ability. Earlier studies by the author, however, indicated no significant differences between scores of preservice E/M teachers and other non-science majors on three spatial ability tests. Those E/M students, however, had completed significantly more university science classes than the other majors due to their required curriculum. Could those results be attributed to the students' later position within their university science progression, and the subsequent inclusion of more spatially related concepts, especially in Earth science?

Preservice teachers from three groups were administered three spatial ability tests: “Early” students before beginning their first required science course, and two groups of “Later” students who had completed at least two courses. One “Later” group had no instruction specifically related to spatial concepts. The other group had completed an Earth science course that emphasized spatially-related concepts.

ANOVA results showed that combined mean scores of “Later” students (59.89) were significantly higher than those of Early students (55.44), and that scores of “Later” students who completed the spatial-emphasis Earth science course scored significantly higher on all three tests (67.12) than the other “Later” (49.53) students. Individual test results were also analyzed.