Comparison of Spatial Visualization Skills of Incoming Engineering Students

Several institutions of higher education in the USA have implemented pedagogical intervention on spatial visualization skills for entry-level students interested in an engineering or technology program. At those institutions there is testing for spatial visualization skills is offered, and optional activities are offered to students that have a low score in the standardized test. Those option include non-credit courses and/or specific activities geared towards development of the spatial visualization skills. The emphasis on visualization skills arises from the reported correlation that exists between scores in a visualization test and a successful students’ outcomes in technical programs. The objective of those interventions is the improvement of students’ score for the standardized test, thus improving the probability of success of the students on their chosen major. The goal of this study is to research and compare the results from two cohorts of students. Both cohorts are incoming first-year students in a college of engineering, with each group being of students that have opted for taking the optional course to improve their spatial visualization skills. The comparison performed is on the dominant factors in the test that determine test scores. The dominant factor is identified as question numbers in the standardized test. This comparison is done for the pre-intervention scores, the post-intervention scores, and the difference between those test scores for both cohorts. This study is done using an algorithm based on a decision-tree approach for data analytics, with statistical analysis (ANOVA) utilized as a secondary approach for validation purposes. Both techniques have been previously used in pilot studies and comparative studies. By performing such comparison, it is expected that there is validation of previous reports, and it will yield information that will serve in the identification of content that should be included in the pedagogical interventions.