Developmentally appropriate intelligent spatial tutoring for mobile devices

Abstract

Given the centrality of spatial reasoning to the STEM disciplines, it is commonly acknowledged that it is of great importance that researchers determine effective ways to train our next generation to be spatially literate. Early childhood has been shown to be a very important time in a child's development of spatial skills and it is also known that certain types of interventions can help children develop higher levels of spatial ability. However, teaching young children comes with unique challenges, such as Developmentally Appropriate teaching and open-ended instruction and play. We propose that an Intelligent Tutoring System might be useful to address these challenges and present an initial research plan to design one to teach young children spatial skills in a Developmentally Appropriate, open-ended play-based manner. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.