An exploration of first year pre-service engineering graphics and design teachers' spatial visualisation ability at a university of technology

Abstract

The critical shortage of engineers in South Africa is linked directly to the schooling systems' inability to develop fundamental skills required in engineering courses, such as spatial visualization ability. Not much is known on the factors that enable or constrain the development of students' spatial visualization skills. This study aimed to explore first year Engineering Graphics and Design (EGD) Pre-Service Teachers' (PSTs) spatial visualization skills and the factors that enables or constrains their spatial visualization skills. A mixed method approached was used to generate data. Data was from twenty-one first year EGD PSTs at a University of Technology, in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa. The participants were purposively selected to participate in the study. The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Visualization of Rotations (PSVT: R) was used as a benchmark to establish participants level of spatial visualization skills. Collages and focus group interviews were used to explore the factors that enabled or constrained PSTs spatial visualization skills. The PSVT test results was analysed and categorized as per rotation. Qualitative data was subjected to content analysis. The findings of this study differ from that of other studies on student's spatial visualization skills. Other studies provide consistent evidence that male students have better developed spatial visualization skills than females. First year female participants in this study have higher scores than male participants in the PSVT:R. The factors that enhanced female students' spatial visualization ability were playing with Legos, enjoying mathematics, working with indigenous patterns while teachers and violence at schools constrained the development of spatial visualization skills.