Spatial Skills in Low-Cost Schools in Pakistan

Abstract

Individuals use spatial thinking as they interact with the world around them. It enables them to develop a sense of place. Spatial thinking combines forms of knowledge with cognitive operations i.e. an understanding of concepts of space, tools of representation and processes of reasoning (Downs, 2017). In educational settings, spatial skills have been linked to creativity, problem solving, critical thinking and higher academic performance (Johnson & Zippert, 2018). This research focuses on spatial skills of students in grades one to five in low cost schools in Pakistan. It attempts to measure students’ performance on a test of spatial ability, assess whether students in higher grades have higher spatial skills and identify any patterns in students’ responses. Participants completed the Spatial Orientation Test (Hegarty & Waller, 2004). According to the results, students have low spatial skills and their skills do not differ significantly across all grade levels. Certain error patterns have emerged from students’ responses. The wide variety of responses can be attributed to different strategies used to solve spatial tasks. It is also likely that some students did not fully understand the instructions. This research highlights the urgent need to embed spatial thinking in the curriculum and teaching practices. It invites exploration into how skill building can be incorporated in low cost/resource classrooms.