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Towards a framework for spatial reasoning and primary mathematics learning: an analytical synthesis of intervention studies

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Abstract

The connection between spatial reasoning and mathematics learning and pedagogy in primary school children has been the subject of an increasing number of studies in recent years. There has been no comprehensive analysis, however, of how studies based on spatial reasoning interventions may lead to improvements in students’ mathematics learning in school classroom environments. This article considers 18 studies selected from a combined systematic literature review of 133 studies, from Scopus and Education Research Complete (ERC) using PRISMA, and 23 studies recommended by the research team from bibliographies of major international research centres with a spatial reasoning dedication. This combination approach has allowed a synthesis of research and practice in an analytical way, assisting construction of a framework for spatial reasoning interventions for consideration in developing core knowledge and skills within the primary school mathematics curriculum. The findings highlight the importance of designing and evaluating spatial reasoning programs for primary school children in order to improve students’ mathematics classroom learning, including evidence from standardized tests, as they progress through the school system. The article supports the need for further research on interventions that provide sustainable school-based spatial reasoning programs.

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Notes

  1. The term spatial reasoning is here considered synonymous with the term spatial thinking

  2. The post-2000 proliferation is due in part to faster and more available communication via the desktop computing boom that followed the internet revolution. The year 1995 is significant as it marks the decommissioning in the USA of the National Science Foundation Network (NSFNet) and full commercialization of the Internet (Tronco 2010).

  3. In this article, primary school is synonymous with elementary school and includes kindergarten, Foundation or Prep.

  4. Primary school in the Australian context is equivalent to elementary school in the US and Canadian context.

  5. In some educational jurisdictions, the term curriculum is synonymous with the term syllabus. For example, the New South Wales adaptation of the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics is termed a syllabus.

  6. Arithmetic skills here are considered as based on the strand of Number, one of several strands that comprise the broader scope of mathematics.

  7. This article uses the terms visuospatial or visuo-spatial, according to usage in the reference being cited.

  8. Definition of a systematic review adopted from the step-by-step guide to a systematic review or meta-analysis from the (http://www.ccace.ed.ac.uk/research/software-resources/systematic-reviews-and-meta-analyses): ‘A systematic review answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria…A meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of these studies.’

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Discovery Project DP170101588 Connecting mathematics learning through spatial reasoning.

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  1. School of Education, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia

    Geoff Woolcott & Thi Le Tran

  2. Department of Educational Studies, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

    Joanne Mulligan & Michael Mitchelmore

  3. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Brent Davis

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Woolcott, G., Le Tran, T., Mulligan, J. et al. Towards a framework for spatial reasoning and primary mathematics learning: an analytical synthesis of intervention studies. Math Ed Res J 34, 37–67 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00318-x

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