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Spatial Thinking
Introduction
Geometry is commonly associated
with calculations and shapes, and typical
classroom activities will ocus on these
areas! "his approach, however, has
limitations! "he #ational $ouncil o
"eachers o %athematics &'s cited by
'meis, 200() e*plains that +eometry
should be a acet or providin+ students
with an encoura+in+ environment o
thinkin+ mathematically, not simply
learnin+ rote skills! "his is even more
e*emplary when students do not ,ust look
at the shape, but when they see it in
relationship with dierent components,
dierent attributes, and other shapes!
%any e*perts have a+reed that in order
or students to develop deep knowled+e
and understandin+ o +eometrical
concepts, a +reater emphasis should be
placed on mental thinkin+ strate+ies
&'mies, 200(- .attista, Wheatly / "alsma,
1082- 1pelboim / Suppes, 2001- 2lkun,
2003)! "his article will discuss key aspects
o spatial awareness, and how this relates
to +eometrical thinkin+ in the classroom!
What is Spatial Thinking?
Spatial sense, on a +eneral level,
could be
in Geometry
described as the ability to perceive space,
includin+ mentally determinin+ alterations
to said space! 4n +eometry,
spatial awareness is key or
visualisin+ transormations or
chan+es to shapes or solids
&'meis, 200(- 2lkun, 2003)!
4t has been described as 5the
mental process used to
perceive, store, recall,
create, edit, and
communicate spatial ima+es6 &7etersen,
as cited by 2bara, 2010)! ' simple
illustration to e*empliy spatial awareness
is havin+ a visual ima+e o a cube net, not
knowin+ whether or not it is possible to
create a cube with the net! "he spatially
thinkin+ person would use mental
visualisation strate+ies to picture net as a
cube, to determine whether or not it is
possible to create a cube &see i+! 1)! "he
non8spatial thinker may attempt to
visualise, however may stru++le to
mentally transorm the 29 net into a 39
solid! "hey may attempt to physically
construct a cube to solve the problem!
Spatial thinkin+ in +eometry not only
1
:i+ure 1 ; mentally
visualisin+ a cube ormed
rom a net!
Rebekah Wickstead S00117281
encompasses visualisation o
transormation in shapes &as outlined in
the aorementioned e*ample), but it also
involves interconnectivity between
shapes, attributes and mathematical
concepts &<auptman / $ohen, 2011-
2bara, 2010- 2lkun, 2003)!
Why is Spatial Reasoning
important? What makes it so?
's briely touched on previously,
spatial thinkin+ is necessary to predict and
determine the eects that chan+in+
somethin+ will have on a shape! "his is
can be both visual and numerically!
Returnin+ to the cube net e*ample, a
spatial thinker may be able to predict
whether or not the net will create a cube,
but also may be able to state the surace
area o the cube, because they are able to
utilise conservation o number &1pelboim
/ Suppes, 2001)! "he ability to make
connections is a prominent eature o
thinkin+ spatially! $onnections can be
abstract ideas as well as concrete
&<auptman / $ohen, 2011)!
4n sayin+ this, the emphasis on
utilisin+ lo+ic and thou+ht involved in
spatial reasonin+ in +eometry is not to
undermine the use o physical ob,ects in
understandin+ +eometry, but rather to
hi+hli+ht the use o them to+ether! 'mies
&200() states that spatial thinkin+ in
+eometry can be +reatly complemented
by concrete materials, when utilised in the
correct conte*t! :or e*ample, when
students are bein+ introduced to three8
dimensional ob,ects, a very common but
problematic issue that students can have
is not understandin+ the ins and outs
because o the diiculty o representin+
solids on a plane &<auptman / $ohen,
2011)! <aws &2002) su++ests developin+
a holistic view on teachin+ ; be+innin+
with visualisation, and reinorcement with
materials includin+ drawin+ or creatin+
models!
.y blendin+ physical ob,ects with
spatial thinkin+ and reasonin+ tasks, this
also creates more opportunities or
students who may not typically respond to
pure thinkin+ tasks, such as sums or
written work &'meis, 200()! "he mer+in+
o these two approaches enables or a
+reater variety, which could be altered
sli+htly to cater or each individual student
in a classroom settin+ &'mies, 200()!
2bara &2010) also stated that youn+er
students oten have trouble makin+ links
to two8dimensional i+ures and their =three8
dimensional counterparts= &p! >72)! "his is
where an increased spatial awareness is
useul, as students may not be able to
connect relevant eatures, such as
strate+ies or indin+ the area &see i+ure
2
Rebekah Wickstead S00117281
2) between shapes o dierent si?e and
dimension &.attista, 1000- 2bara, 2010)!
Activities
's an introductory activity o sorts to
two8dimensional i+ures relatin+ to three8
dimensional solids, this activity has been
adapted rom 2lkun &2003)! 4t is a method
o representin+ three8dimensional i+ures
on paper, which will challen+e a common
conusion resultin+ around the
complicated nature o attemptin+ to draw
a 39 i+ure on a 29 piece o paper!
9rawin+ the ed+es will e*ercise the
students= use o conservation o number,
dependin+ on how measurement8ocused
the activity is emphasised to be!
'ctivity 1@ 1n+ineer 9rawin+s
Resources@
Aarious blocks ; strai+ht ed+ed and
composed o rectan+ular8 or
sBuare8based i+ures &ed+es 00C)
4sometric or obliBue paper
Rulers, pencils, drawin+ materials
%ethod@
1! 7ose a problemDpurpose or the
task, e!+! =Stuart the en+ineer
needs to send a picture to the
actory o what a block should look
like or an en+ineerin+ pro,ect, so
that it can be built! "he drawin+
needs to be very speciic thou+h,
and it is a 39 ob,ect! <ow can the
actory have enou+h inormation to
build the blocksE=
2! "eacher +oes throu+h =en+ineerin+=
drawin+s with studentDs, by
e*ample!
9raw the top view, side view and ront view
&see i+ure 3), ensurin+ that dotted lines are
used or ed+es that cannot be seen rom
that particular view
3! "eacher then draws the 39 ob,ect
on isometric paper, based on the
technical drawin+s!
>! "eacher +ives students technical
drawin+s based on a block, and
they are to draw an isometric based
on that and the block &i reBuired)!
(! Students then draw their own rom
scratch, based on blocks!
1*tension activity@
Students may create their own
drawin+s without any physical prompts!
3
:i+ure 2 ; e*amples o spatial thinkin+ connectin+ shapes to their
counterparts in multiplicative ways!
Source@ .attista &1000), p! 17>!
Rebekah Wickstead S00117281
:rom a youn+ a+e, tan+rams are a
simple e*ercise students can utilise to
practice spatial reasonin+! "he task
challen+es the use o order in shapes,
relationships certain shapes bear with
other shapes, and conservation! "his task
allows or students to discover these
attributes, and the way they aect the
outcomes! "he element o discovery is
important or students to develop their
own spatial and +eometrical reasonin+
strate+ies and concepts &2bara, 2010)!
"he ollowin+ task is le*ible in its diiculty
level, and can be practised as a hobby
activity in increasin+ levels or challen+e
and development o spatial abilities!
'ctivity 2@ "an+rams &i+ure >)
Resources@
SBuare piece o paper
Scissors
Faminator &optional)
%ethod@
1. "an+ram shapes
can be cut usin+ a
template
&http@DD0!tBn!comDdDmathD1D
0DGD9Dtan+raml+!,p+) or
step by step
instructions
&http@DDmathorum!o
r+DtrscavoDtan+ramsDconstruct!html)
2! <and out some outlines o i+ures
students can make with the
tan+rams o varyin+ diiculties!
"hese can be sourced rom maths
education resource +roups, or ree
online sources!
3! Students may create their own
shapes usin+ their tan+rams!
4
:i+ure 3 ; an e*ample o an en+ineerin+ drawin+8 bottom let is a
technical drawin+, top ri+ht is the isometric representation
Source@ 2lkun &2003)
:i+ure > ; "an+ram created rom a
sBuare
http@DD0!tBn!comDdDmathD1D0DGD9Dtan+ra
ml+!,p+