Experimental but not Sex Differences of a Mental Rotation Training Program on Adolescents

Given the importance of visuospatial processing in areas related to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, where there is still a considerable gap in the area of sex differences, the interest in the effects of visuospatial skills training continues to grow. Therefore, we have evaluated the visuospatial improvement of adolescents after performing a computerized mental rotation (MR) training program, as well as the relationship of this visuospatial ability with other cognitive, emotional factors and those factors based on the experience with videogames. The study, which was performed on students aged 14 and 15 years old, showed a significant improvement in this visuospatial skill for a training group (n = 21) compared to a control group (n = 24). Furthermore, no significant sex differences were obtained for spatial ability or for any of the other tasks evaluated, either before or after training. Regarding the relationship between skills, a significant correlation between experience with video games and spatial ability was found, as well as between mathematical reasoning and intelligence and with spatial ability in the initial phase for the total sample. These findings are discussed from a cognitive point of view and within the current sociocultural context, where the equal use of new technologies could help reduce the visuospatial gap between sexes

Eficacia del entrenamiento espacial en primaria y secundaria: todos aprenden

Visuospatial processing is key to achieve optimal performance in academic activities, among others. In the field of spatial cognition, it has been found that practice with spatial tasks can reduce the gender gap in this type of reasoning. However, an increase in spatial scores does not always compensate the differences that exist between participants with greater and lesser spatial abilities. According to previous studies on individual differences and malleability in spatial cognition, comparable studies are needed in children and adolescents using the same evaluation and training method. 39 students of Primary Education (study 1: 17 boys and 22 girls) and 21 of Secondary Education (study 2: 11 boys and 10 girls) participated in this study. The evolution profile through three sessions in a mental rotation (RM) training was analyzed, as well as the degree of improvement produced based on their initial spatial performance, analyzing the gender factor. In both groups, a spatial intervention (Mental Rotation Training Program) was applied during three consecutive sessions with an average duration of 35 minutes per session. For both age groups, participants with a low spatial level benefited at a similar rate to those participants with more spatial resources. This result was replicated for both sexes. This research will serve as a starting point to promote and implement adaptive and personalized training, and thus be able to help those who have fewer spatial skills. These types of interventions would become more effective and could maximize educational potential in the most disadvantaged groups.El procesamiento visoespacial es clave para lograr, entre otros, un rendimiento óptimo en actividades académicas. En el ámbito de la cognición espacial se ha encontrado que la práctica con tareas espaciales puede reducir la brecha de género en este tipo de razonamiento. Sin embargo, no siempre un aumento de las puntuaciones espaciales llega a compensar las diferencias que existen entre participantes con mayores y menores habilidades espaciales. De acuerdo con estudios previos sobre diferencias individuales y maleabilidad en cognición espacial, se necesitan estudios comparables en niños, niñas y adolescentes utilizando el mismo método de evaluación y entrenamiento. En este trabajo se analiza, en 39 estudiantes de Educación Primaria (estudio 1: 17 niños y 22 niñas) y en 21 de Educación Secundaria (estudio 2: 11 chicos y 10 chicas), el perfil de evolución a través de las diferentes sesiones de un entrenamiento en rotación mental (RM), así como el grado de mejora producido en función de su capacidad espacial de partida, analizando el factor género. En ambos grupos, se aplicó un entrenamiento espacial (Programa de Entrenamiento en Rotación Mental) durante tres sesiones consecutivas con una duración promedio de 35 minutos por sesión. Para ambos grupos de edad, los participantes con bajo nivel espacial se beneficiaron en una proporción similar que aquellos participantes con más recursos espaciales. Este resultado se replicó para ambos sexos. Esta investigación servirá como punto de partida para promover e implementar entrenamientos adaptativos y personalizados, y así poder ayudar a los que menos capacidades espaciales tienen. Este tipo de intervenciones ganarían en eficacia y podrían maximizar el potencial educativo en los grupos más desfavorecidos

Monitoring the Own Spatial Thinking in Second Grade of Primary Education in a Spanish School: Preliminary Study Analyzing Gender Differences

Previous studies on metacognitive performance have explored children’s abilities during primary school (7–11 years) in abstract and mathematical reasoning tasks. However, there have been no studies evaluating the metamemory processes with spatial tasks in primary school children, and even more generally, only a few studies have explored spatial metacognition in adults. Taking as a preliminary study a Spanish school, the present work explores the validity of the confidence judgment model when thinking about one’s own performance in a spatial test, for boys and girls in Second Year of Primary Education (mean age of 7 years). A total of 18 boys and 15 girls applied a 4-point scale to evaluate, item by item, the confidence of their responses in the Spatial aptitude test “E” of the EFAI-1 (Factorial Assessment of Intellectual Abilities to mentally process visual stimuli). Accessibility and Accuracy Indexes were calculated for each item of the spatial task. The effect of gender was analyzed too. The tasks were administered in small groups; at the end examiners interviewed each participant, performing the confidence judgment task, item by item, of the EFAI-1 previously answered. The results (analyses carried out by SPSS) showed a high mean confidence (3 mean points out of a maximum of 4), without finding any significant differences either in the spatial performance or in the mean confidence rating between boys and girls. A significant relationship between confidence judgments and spatial task performance accuracy was found. The relationship between confidence judgments and spatial performance cannot be confirmed. The procedure adapted for testing spatial judgments about the own responses has been useful for showing the well calibrated perception about performance at this stage. The implications of the results of this exploratory study and the potential of the application of the procedure to promote thought about one’s own spatial performance and the development of strategies that modulate the effective approach of this type of spatial tasks are discussed within an educational approach

Measures of accommodative function in secondary school year 9 and year 13: a 4-year longitudinal study

Purpose: To characterize accommodative function in secondary school children in year 9 and year 13 and assess the possible relationship between daily working conditions (number of near work hours and distances) and accommodation variables related to accommodative excess. Methods: This was a prospective study. Participants were 43 subjects who were first examined in year 9 and then again when they were in year 13. The accommodation variables measured in each session were as follows: accommodation amplitude (AA), accommodative response (AR), monocular and binocular accommodation flexibility (MAF and BAF), negative relative accommodation (NRA), and positive relative accommodation (PRA). Other data recorded were the number of hours spent working at near vision tasks and the distances used for these tasks. Participants were classified as those with accommodation variables within the normal range (NA) and those with variables suggesting accommodative excess (AE). Results: Several accommodative function variables were below normative values in both year 9 and year 13. The number of subjects classified as having AE went from 27.9% in year 9 to 58.1% in year 13 according to AR (p < 0.005) and from 23.3 to 46.5% according to MAF (p = 0.024). More near work was reported in year 13 (44.6 h/week) than year 9 (32.7 h/week) (p < 0.001). It emerged that subjects in year 13 spent more hours working at near if they had AE than if they were assigned to the NA group. No differences were detected in near work distances used by subjects in the NA and AE groups in both years. Conclusions: In both school years, values outside the norm were detected in several accommodative function measures. Also, devoting more hours to near work was linked to a greater extent of accommodative excess. We would therefore recommend regular accommodative function assessment in secondary school children