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ERIC Number: EJ999228
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0046-2012
EISSN: N/A
Comparison of Spatial Skills of Students Entering Different Engineering Majors
Veurink, N.; Sorby, S. A.
Engineering Design Graphics Journal, v76 n3 p49-54 Fall 2012
Spatial skills have been shown to be important to success in an engineering curriculum, and some question if poor spatial skills prevent students from entering STEM fields or if students with weak spatial skills avoid engineering disciplines believed to highly spatially-oriented. Veurink and Hamlin (2011) found that freshmen students entering engineering disciplines that are perceived as more spatially oriented such as mechanical engineering had higher averages on a spatial test than students entering engineering disciplines that are perceived as less spatially oriented such as environmental engineering. However, in the 2011 Veurink and Hamlin study, the numbers of students in some of the engineering majors were quite low. This study builds on the previous study by comparing spatial test scores of freshmen engineering students over a 14-year time period. Since 1993, Michigan Tech has given freshmen engineering students the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R) (Guay, 1977) in order to identify students with low spatial skills as potential candidates for a spatial training course. From 1993 to 1999 primarily Mechanical, Civil, Environmental, Biomedical and Geological engineers were administered the PSVT:R. From 2000 on, all engineering majors were given the spatial test. This study compares the PSVT:R scores by engineering discipline, and by gender in each discipline, of Michigan Tech freshmen engineering students who matriculated between 1996 and 2009. (Contains 3 tables.)
Engineering Design Graphics Division, American Society for Engineering Education. 1818 N Street NW Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-331-3500; Web site: http://www.edgj.org/index.php/EDGJ
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A