INCREASING STUDENT PERSISTENCE IN A SKETCHING APP FOR SPATIAL VISUALIZATION TRAINING

Spatial visualization is the mental representation and manipulation of 2D and 3D shapes. Spatial reasoning is a learnable skill that has been correlated with increased grade point average (GPA) and retention in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. Traditional spatial visualization training is a series of multiple choice questions and includes freehand sketching assignments, which require human grading. To make spatial visualization training easier to teach and more engaging to learn, a touchscreen App was developed where students sketch assignments on the screen. An automatic grading algorithm provides immediate feedback to the user and hints when needed. Since spring 2014, the App has been used with iPads in a one-unit spatial visualization course, where students take pre- and post-spatial visualization assessment tests. In 2014, 46% of the students who scored low on the pre-test had a significant improvement on the post-test. However, other students had virtually no increase in their post-test score. The largest measured difference between these two groups was related to persistence. When students were confronted with a mistake in their initial sketch attempt, they were provided the option to try again on their own, or peek at the solution. Those students who did not improve their post-test scores chose to peak on all but 7% of the assignments and often their initial sketching effort was minimal with the peek being used as a crutch to quickly gain access to the solution. In contrast, students who increased their scores on the post-test resisted peeking and tried to solve the problems more on their own. This study identified a method to measure persistence that could be used as an early indicator of students who are at risk of low performance in the course, allowing for targeted help. But the question remained: could persistence be increased? Since this initial offering of the course, the App was modified to increase student gains and motivate increased persistence by changing the feedback provided to the user. Students were now provided with a hint as an intermediate step before a peek at the solution. In addition, a star reward system was included to encourage students not to use a hint or peek at the solution unless they were stuck. In the latest course offering in winter 2017, 82% of the incoming students with low spatial skills showed significant improvement, which is a 78% increase when compared to the 2014 study results. Additionally, the persistence metric was tracked over the duration of the course. This paper compares the results from the 2014 pilot study with the latest 2017 study in which improved feedback and the star motivation system were implemented. Results show that the user experience in the spatial visualization training App can be adapted to increase student persistence. The persistence metric was also evaluated for different student populations and backgrounds.