Author :
Abstract
The present research aims to examine the relationship between the spatial thinking skills of fourth-grade primary school students and their abilities pertaining to puzzle games. Spatial thinking refers to the mental manipulation of object sand thus the ability to move physically over space, time, and distance. The term also connotes a range of mental skills including intelligence with regard to the associations that stem from objects, their shapes, their paths, and how they move over distance. Spatial thinking skills are thought to be both innate and acquired. Humans are born with a fundamental cognition of space and distance and as children grow and experience their environment, they hone their spatial thinking capabilities. In this context, it is thought that the spatial thinking skills of children who frequently play with visual games and puzzles, such as locating patterns, finding symmetry, matching shapes or objects, identifying, combining and breaking up shapes, and working on jigsaws, are much more evolved. Based on this hypothesis, the correlational method was used in the study. In total, 117 students from a state school in Adana participated. Two measuring instruments were used. A geometry test was used to measure the spatial visualization skills of the students in two-dimensional geometry and another test was used to measure their proficiency in the puzzle games. The results revealed a positive and significant relationship between the puzzle test and the spatial visualization tests.
Keywords
Abstract
The present research aims to examine the relationship between the spatial thinking skills of fourth-grade primary school students and their abilities pertaining to puzzle games. Spatial thinking refers to the mental manipulation of object sand thus the ability to move physically over space, time, and distance. The term also connotes a range of mental skills including intelligence with regard to the associations that stem from objects, their shapes, their paths, and how they move over distance. Spatial thinking skills are thought to be both innate and acquired. Humans are born with a fundamental cognition of space and distance and as children grow and experience their environment, they hone their spatial thinking capabilities. In this context, it is thought that the spatial thinking skills of children who frequently play with visual games and puzzles, such as locating patterns, finding symmetry, matching shapes or objects, identifying, combining and breaking up shapes, and working on jigsaws, are much more evolved. Based on this hypothesis, the correlational method was used in the study. In total, 117 students from a state school in Adana participated. Two measuring instruments were used. A geometry test was used to measure the spatial visualization skills of the students in two-dimensional geometry and another test was used to measure their proficiency in the puzzle games. The results revealed a positive and significant relationship between the puzzle test and the spatial visualization tests.
Keywords
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