Spatial sense and representational strategies used by culturally and linguistically diverse first-grade students during the performance of spatial sense tasks

This study investigated the performance of first grade students in spatial sense tasks and it examined the representational strategies used during the completion of selected drawing tasks. Spatial sense was studied through the students' performance on spatial non-verbal tasks related to tactile perception (the tactual perception of objects or shapes) and visualization (the ability to manipulate visual representations of objects). The representational strategies were analyzed through young children's contour drawings of geometric solids and free-hand 3D drawings in relation to drawing systems and drawing devices. Children's spatial sense performance and their representational strategies were evaluated using two spatial sense instruments pilot tested for the study: (1) a spatial sense interview and (2) a scoring rubric for spatial sense and representational strategies. The sample included forty first grade students. Ten students were Hispanics whose dominant language was Spanish; 10 were Hispanics who were largely English speakers; 10 were Anglo-Europeans and 10 African-American English monolinguals. For convenience, this sample was selected from a Western New York inner city public school district and it comprised primarily of students of the same low socioeconomic status. The children manipulated geometric solids and transferred tactile and visual information into drawings or pictorial renderings. The quantitative data were analyzed using one-factor ANOVAs. A significant difference was found for the Anglo-European group only in the tactile perception task and non-significant differences between the four cultural/linguistic groups were found in the rest two analysis of the study, suggesting a possible similarity in children's approach to problem solving in spatial sense tasks. The remainder research questions were qualitatively analyzed by placing strong emphasis on the drawings derived from the spatial sense tasks. The qualitative analysis was based on the tactile-contour and free hand 3D drawings made by the students during the spatial sense tasks. Data from the drawings suggest a developmental pattern in the children's drawings with creative and innovative approaches to visual problems. The findings of this study provide background for the importance of pictorial development in the early school years.