Spatial thinking in ECEC
Spatial thinking is also referred to as ‘spatial reasoning, spatial cognition, spatial concepts, spatial intelligence, cognitive mapping and mental mapping’ (Pollman, 2010).
“… the ability to problem-solve operations such as
mental rotation [a spatial skill that involves thinking
about objects in different spatially-oriented ways],
perspective change [visualizing things from different
perspectives], coordinated use of space [coordinating
how different space is used in relation to other space],
representation [representing one object to mean
another object or place, as in a map], and reasoning
[ability to understand how items are arranged in space
and in relation to one another
”
Children’s spatial skills at 3 years indicative of mathematics performance at 5 years of age (Gilligan, Flouri & Farran, 2017)
Spatial visualisation supports problem solving and understanding of symbols (Gundersen et al, 2012)
Mental rotation tasks = improvement in calculation skills (Cheng & Mix, 2014)
Spatial skills support mathematics (but visual representation can limit understanding of concepts: Clements & Samara, 2021, p.161)
Shapes and spatial thinking project
A project-based approach to mathematics teaching and learning provided a range of opportunities for children to investigate and rehearse understandings of two- and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) (Cohrssen, de Quadros Wander, Page & Klarin, 2017; Hedge & Cohrssen, 2019).
The data are from a six-week project (Cohrssen, de Quadros Wander, Page and Klarin, 2017) that provided four- and five-year-old children with multiple opportunities for spatial thinking in multimodal ways. In the project, learning experiences were connected by a focus on starting school next year (the children were on the final months of a kindergarten program), e.g. the layout of their school, of the route from home to school and so on. Each learning experience was designed to provide repeated opportunities for children to engage in and represent spatial thinking.
In extracts 1a and 1b the teacher creates opportunities to reinforce spatial thinking and mastery of concepts by engaging in the children’s play.
In Extract 2 we see the achievement of scaffolding-in-interaction.
1. Harry highpants
How is a playful stance enacted?
2. Symmetry
Concept development as a collaborative achievement
“Definitions of spatial thinking describe core competencies that Clements and Sarama (2014) have theorised to be achieved along learning trajectories, grouping them into two broad sets of abilities, namely ‘spatial orientation’ (p. 124) and ‘imagery and spatial visualisation’ (p. 127).
Spatial orientation refers to an individual’s understanding of their position in space and their ability to manoeuvre through space. This is an ability that implicitly involves understanding objects’ shapes, becomes more abstract and is associated with how we remember things.
Spatial visualisation, on the other hand, refers to cognitive processes that cause mental images of objects and shapes to be generated and manipulated, in order for a further mental operation to be applied to it—such as answering questions about this visualised object.”
Shape
Identifying 2D and 3D shapes.
Seeing connections between 2D and 3D shapes.
Recognising shapes that have been mentally rotated, slid, flipped or turned.
Part–whole learning such as identifying a shape with one side missing.
Using blocks and pattern blocks to duplicate a design/picture.
Composing and decomposing shapes to make different shapes.
Matching shapes; comparing attributes of shapes of differing sizes, orientations and rotations; increasingly matching a wider variety of shapes to identify ‘same’, ‘different’.
Comparing shapes with objects in the environment; composing and decomposing shapes; comparing attributes of shapes and recognising angles—perhaps referred to as ‘corners’.
Naming shapes and attributes of shapes.
Spatial orientation
Using environmental landmarks to locate objects.
Orienting self in space.
Keeping track of own position in relation to environmental landmarks.
Navigating and wayfinding.
Locating objects using maps with pictorial clues.
Using locational and directional language; language of scale (bigger, smaller, same as).
Spatial visualisation
Remembering locations of objects.
Taking the perspective of a person in a different location; recognising that their
view of an object may differ from his/her/their own.
Visualising movement of one’s own body in space.
Recognising relational position of building blocks/pattern blocks and duplicating the ‘picture’.
Physically and mentally rotating an object or shape and recognising that the object or shape retains its shape when rotated.
Comparing, designing or creating objects.
Copying a simple pattern of shapes after viewing it briefly; identifying a simple pattern of shapes from a series of options after viewing it briefly.
Matching a shape with one side missing with one from a series of options.
Sliding, flipping or turning shapes to match a given shape.
Recognising shifts in dimension: seeing connections between 3D objects and
2D representations of objects.
Represent ing a 3D object on a 2D surface.
Creating and reading maps, graphs and other forms of data.
Scaling up or down, imagining objects as proportionally larger or smaller.
Using non-verbal reasoning.
Using locational and directional language; language of scale (bigger,
smaller, same as).
References
Cheng, Y.-L., & Mix, K. S. (2014). Spatial training improves children’s mathematics ability. Journal of Cognition and Development, 15(1), 2–11. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2012.725186.
Clements, D. H., & Sarama, J. (2021). Learning and teaching early math: The learning trajectories approach (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.
Cohrssen, C., de Quadros Wander, B., Page, J. & Klarin, S. (2017.) Between the big trees: A project- based approach to investigating shape and spatial thinking in a kindergarten project. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 42(1), 94-104. doi:10.23965/AJEC.42.1.011
Gilligan, K.A., Flouri, E.& Farran, E. (2017) The contribution of spatial ability to mathematics achievement in middle childhood, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 163, 107-125, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2017.04.016.
Gunderson, E. A., Ramirez, G., Beilock, S. L., & Levine, S. C. (2012). The relation between spatial skill and early number knowledge. The role of the linear number line. Developmental Psychology, 48(5), 1241.
Hedge, K. & Cohrssen, C. (2019.) Between the red and yellow windows: A fine-grained focus on supporting children’s spatial thinking during play. SAGE Open. doi: 10.1177/215824401982955
Pollitt, R., Cohrssen, C. & Seah, W. T. (2020). Assessing spatial reasoning during play: Educator observations, assessment and curriculum planning. Mathematics Education Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-020-00337-8
Pollman, M. J. (2010). Blocks and beyond: Strengthening early math and science skills through spatial learning. Baltimore, MD: Paul Brookes Publishing Co.