Abstract:

The work reported here describes the effectiveness of the Spatrix educational platform, designed and implemented by the authors, to improve and evaluate the spatial reasoning skills of certain users, namely educators, and students attending the 3rd cycle of basic education, secondary, and higher education. Spatial geometric reasoning, a critical cognitive ability for success in STE(A)M (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) areas, involves, among others, the visualization and manipulation of objects in space and is fundamental for the theoretical and practical understanding of topics from different scientific areas, which go beyond mathematics. The Spatrix platform offers interactive exercises to develop spatial visualization and visual thinking through engaging digital content. The platform's impact was evaluated through two sequential tests performed by university students. The first test consisted of exercises, selected from those contained in Spatrix, made available online in a Google Form. The second test was carried out after a period of involvement of the participating students with the Spatrix platform to analyze whether their spatial visualization skills improved. The two tests included the identification of missing parts in three-dimensional geometric shapes (composing and decomposing figures), calculus of (surface) areas of 2D and 3D figures illustrated in different representations, the identification of a solid based on its nets where complex patterns are present, and the application of symmetry concepts in complex patterns. The responses given in both tests were analyzed to infer the platform’s effectiveness in improving students’ spatial reasoning skills. Initial findings reveal significant improvements in tasks involving geometric measurements and symmetry concepts, while challenges remained in more complex spatial manipulation tasks. These results suggest that while the Spatrix platform effectively reinforces and develops specific spatial reasoning skills, additional features supporting interactive manipulation and visualization must be implemented to improve learning outcomes further. This study contributes to understanding how digital educational tools can be conceived and optimized to trigger and develop crucial cognitive skills in an academic setting. It also provides valuable insights for developing future educational resources that promote critical and creative thinking, and problem-solving skills within STE(A)M education contexts.

Keywords:

Spatial Reasoning, Spatial Visualization Skills, Cognitive Skills, Higher Education, STE(A)M Education, Educational Technology.