INVESTIGATING KINDERGARTNERS’ GEOMETRIC AND SPATIAL THINKING SKILLS: IN CONTEXT OF GENDER AND AGE

Authors

  • Halil İbrahim Korkmaz Amasya University, Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education, Turkey

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v0i0.966

Keywords:

kindergartner, geometry, spatial, child, skill

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate kindergartners’ geometric (shape, area and symmetry) and spatial (spatial orientation and spatial visualization) thinking skills, in the context of gender and age. Whether kindergartners’ geometric and spatial thinking skills vary by their age or gender was questioned. A total of 73 kindergartner (40 boys and 33 girls) aged between 4-5 ( = 4,6) participated this study. Survey Design was used for this study. Participants were selected according to Convenience Sampling method. Accessibility of educational institutions and willingness of teachers, were decisive. “Geometric and Spatial Thinking Skills Test” (GEOST-ST) was used to collect the data. MANOVA (Multivariate ANOVA) was performed for data analysis. According to the results of this study, difference between children’s mean scores of relevant geometric and spatial thinking skills, aren’t statistically significant for gender and age.

 

Article visualizations:

Hit counter

DOI

References

Altun, M. ve Kırcal, H. (1999). 3-7 yaş çocuklarında geometrik düşünmenin gelişimi. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 6(6), 71-79.

Aslan, D. (2004). Anaokuluna devam eden 3-6 yaş grubu çocuklarının temel geometrik şekilleri tanımalarının ve geometrik şekilleri ayırt etmede kullandıkları kriterlerin incelenmesi. (unpublished master thesis). Çukurova Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimlser Enstitüsü, Adana.

Bergqvist, E. (2015). Spatial orientation & imagery: What are the gender differences in spatial orientation and mental imaging when navigating a virtual environment with only auditory cues? (Unpublished Master Degree Dissertation). University of Skövde.

Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2012). Sosyal bilimler için very analizi el kitabı: İstatistik, araştırma deseni, SPSS uygulamaları ve yorum. (12th edition). Ankara: Pegem Akademi.

Carter, C. S., Larussa, M. A. & Bodner, G. M. (1987). A study of two measures of spatial ability as predictors of success in different levels of general chemistry. Journal or Research in Science Teaching. 24, 645-657.

Clements, D. H & Sarama, J. (2000). Young children’s ideas about geometric shapes. Teaching Children Mathematics. 6(8), 482-488.

Conor, J. M. & Serbin, L. A. (1980). Mathematics, visual-spatial ability, and sex-roles. (Report no: SE 035 434). Final report to the National Institute of Educationon its Two -Year Grant. (ED205385).

Copley, J.V. (2000). The young child and mathematics. Washington DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Creswell, J. W. (2012). Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Boston: Pearson.

Çalışkan-Dedeoğlu, N. ve Alat, Z. (2012). Okul öncesi eğitim ve ilköğretim programlarının matematik konu kazanımları temelinde uyumu. Kuram ve Uygulamalarda Eğitim Bilimleri. 12(3), 2263-2288.

Delialioğlu, Ö. & Aşkar, P. (1999). Contribution of students' mathematical skills and spatial ability to achievement in secondary school physics. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi. 16(17), 34-39.

Dominguez, M. G., Martin-Gutierrez, J. & Roca, C. (2013). Tools, methodologies and motivation to improve spatial skill on engineering students. 120th Annual Conference and Exposition. Atlanta, June 23-26 2013. https://peer.asee.org/tools-methodologies-and-motivation-to-improve-spatial-skill-on-engineering students.pdf. Accessed: 12.06.2015.

Ellemberg, D., Lewis, T. L., Liu, C. H. & Maurer, D. (1999). Development of spatial and temporal vision during childhood. Vision Research. 39, 2325-2333.

Frick, A. & Newcombe, N. S. (2012). Getting the big picture: Development of spatial scaling abilities. Cognitive Development. 27(3), 270-282.

Gagatsis, A., Sriraman, B., Elia, I. & Modestou, M. (2006). Exploring young children’s geometrical strategies. Nordic Studies in Mathematics Education, 11 (2), 23-50.

Gersmehl, P. J. & Gersmehl, C. A. (2007). Spatial thinking by young children: Neurologic evidence for early development and "educability”. Journal of Geography. 106, 181-191.

Gibson, B. M., Leitchman, M. D., Kung, D. A. & Simpson, M. J. (2007). Use of landmark features and geometry by children and adults during a two-dimensional search task. Learning and Motivation. 38, 89-102.

Halat, E. & Yeşil-Dağlı, Ü. (2016). Preschool students' understanding of a geometric shape, the square. Bolema: Boletim de Educação Matemática, 30(55), 830-848.

Hannibal, M. A. (1999). Young children’s developing understanding of geometric shapes. Teaching Children Mathematics. 5(6), 353-357.

Hyun, W. T. & Fang, C. H. (2010). Exploring geometric cognition of young children. http://ir.meiho.edu.tw/bitstream/987654321/1147/1/%E9%A6%AC%E4%BE%86%E8%A5%BF%E4%BA%9E%E7%A0%94%E8%A8%8E%E6%9C%83_Exploring+Geometric+Cognition+of+Young+Children.pdf. Accessed: 09.04.2015.

Klein, P. S., Adi-Japha, E. & Hakak-Benizri, S. (2010). Mathematical thinking of kindergarten boys and girls: Similar achievement, different contributing processes. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 73, 233-246.

Korkmaz, H. İ. (2017). The effects of inquiry-based activities implemented in natural outdoors on children’s geometric and spatial thinking skills. (Un published PhD thesis) Hacettepe University, Institute of Educational Sciences. Ankara, Turkey.

Levine, S. C., Ratliff, K. R., Huttenlocher, J. & Cannon, J. (2011). Early puzzle play: A predictor of preschoolers’ spatial transformation skill. Developmental Psychology. 48(2), 530-543.

MONE, [Ministry of National Eduaction] (2013). 36-72 aylık çocuklar için okul öncesi eğitim program. https://tegm.meb.gov.tr/dosya/okuloncesi/ooproram.pdf. Received on: 26.10.2015.

Moraleda, E., Broglio, C., Rodríguez, F. & Gómez, A. (2013). Development of different spatial frames of reference for orientation in small-scale environments. Psicothema. 25(4), 468-475.

Sarama J. & Clements, D. H. (2009). Early childhood mathematics education research: Learning trajectories for young children. New York: Routledge.

Satlow, E. & Newcombe N. (1998) When is a triangle not a triangle? Young children’s developing concepts of geometric shape. Cognitive Development. 13, 547-559.

Shutts, K., Örnkloo, H., Von Hofsten, C., Keen, R., & Spelke, E. S. (2009). Young children’s representations of spatial and functional relations between objects. Child Development. 80(6), 1612-1627.

Spelke, E. S., Gilmore, C. K. & McCarty, S. (2011). Kindergarten children’s sensitivity to geometry in maps. Developmental Science. 14(4), 809-821.

Tartre, L. A. (1990). Spatial orientation skill and mathematical problem solving. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. 21(3), 216-229.

Tzuriel, D. & Egozi, G. (2010). Gender differences in spatial ability of young children: the effects of training and processing strategies. Child Development. 81(5), 1417-1430.

Uhlenwinkel, A. (2013). Spatial thinking or thinking geographically? On the Importance of Avoiding Maps without Meaning. http://gispoint.de/fileadmin/user_upload/paper_gis_open/537532072.pdf. Accessed: 22.05.2017.

Uttal, D. H. (1996). Angles and distances: Children’s and adults’ reconstruction and scaling of spatial configurations. Child Development. 67, 2763-2779.

Verdine, B. N., Golinkoff, R. M., Hirsh‐Pasek, K., & Newcombe, N. S. (2017). VI. Discussion and implications: How early spatial skills predict later spatial and mathematical skills. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82(1), 89-109.

Vinter, A., Puspitawati, I. & Witt, A. (2010). Children’s spatial analysis of hierarchical patterns: Construction and perception. Developmental Psychology. 46(6), 1621-1631.

Zhang, X., Koponen, T., Räsänen, P., Aunola, K., Lerkkanen, M. K. & Nurmi, J. E. (2014). Linguistic and spatial skills predict early arithmetic development via counting sequence knowledge. Child Development. 85(3), 1091-1107.

Downloads

Published

2017-08-18

Issue

Vol 3, No 9 (2017)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).