A Systematic Literature Review of Educational Spatial Visualization Software and Implementations for Computing Education

Spatial visualization has been proven to be an important indicator of students' success in STEM related disciplines and is useful for all engineers. Studies have analyzed the importance of spatial visualization and its relation to technical creativity, problem-solving, and engineering design. Spatial visualization skills aid in developing core competencies expected of students in a STEM field. Recently, the focus of spatial visualization and its impact on computer science education have gained traction, as preliminary results correlate spatial skills with improved competencies and academic outcomes in computing science courses. With increased adoption of technology in academic environments, technology can be leveraged to make it more accessible for instructors to implement spatial visualization training. To explore if these software(s) are being utilized, this paper will explore two questions: What software(s) are being utilized in current research to improve spatial visualization skills of engineering students and are they being used to specifically improve computing skills of students? If software(s) are being implemented, are they readily accessible for instructors to use, or are there paywalls or institutional barriers to implementing these software(s)? A systematic literature review of spatial visualization training in higher-education contexts was conducted to answer these two research questions. Results indicated that the majority of prior spatial visualization training in higher-education contexts utilized hybrid approaches with paper-and-pencil training while using learning management systems (ie: Blackboard, Canvas) to host the material. Specific technologies found for training included SpatialVis™, CogSketch, and PerSketchTivity. From these tools, SpatialVis™ had the most accessible website, implementation protocol, and information. Further research is needed to explore differences in training outcomes based on paper-and-pencil training as opposed to software training, however development of an easily accessible suite of spatial visualization training will be needed as future research is conducted, particularly if spatial visualization training is to be broadly adopted by the computing education community.