Link Between Spatial and Mathematical Skills Across the Preschool Years

Understanding the development of spatial skills is important for improving overall success in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields (e.g., Wai, Lubinski, Benbow, & Steiger, 2010). Children use spatial skills to understand the world and can practice them via spatial assembly activities like puzzles or blocks. These skills have been linked to success in subjects like mathematics (Mix & Cheng, 2012) and science (Pallrand & Seeber, 1984; Pribyl & Bodner, 1987). This monograph sought to answer four questions about early spatial development: 1) Can we reliably measure spatial skills in 3- and 4-year-olds?; 2) Do spatial skills measured at 3 predict spatial skills at age 5?; 3) Do preschool spatial skills predict mathematics skills at age 5?; and 4) What factors contribute to individual differences in preschool spatial skills (e.g., SES, gender, fine-motor skills, vocabulary, and executive function)? Longitudinal data generated from a new spatial skill test for 3-year-old children, called the TOSA (Test of Spatial Assembly), show that it is a reliable and valid measure of early spatial skills that provides strong prediction to spatial skills measured with established tests at age 5. New data using this measure finds links between early spatial skill and mathematics, language, and executive function skills. Analyses suggest that preschool spatial experiences may play a central role in early mathematical skills. Executive function skills further predict mathematical performance and individual differences, specifically socio economic status, are related to spatial and mathematical skill. We conclude by exploring ways of providing rich early spatial experiences.

Brian N. Verdine, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Education at the University of Delaware and Director of Learning Sciences at SmartyPal, Inc. He is a and graduate of Vanderbilt University's Peabody College and was funded in completing much of this work as an NSF Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center Postdoctoral Fellow. His primary interests are in the early development of spatial skills and the potential benefits of informal learning situations, particularly those created by media such as television, video games, and other interactive technologies.

Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., is the Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Professor in the School of Education and the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Department of Linguistics and Cognitive Science at the University of Delaware. Author of dozens of articles and 14 books (some for lay audiences), her work is focused on language development, playful learning, and early spatial knowledge. Routinely interviewed by radio, television, and print media, she speaks regularly around the world to academic, policy, and lay groups, spreading the field's scientific findings. She (and Dr. Hirsh-Pasek) are recipients of numerous awards including the Association for Psychological Science's James McKeen Cattell Fellow Award for lifetime contributions to applied psychological research.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute. She has written 14 books and over 200 publications in the areas of language development, early education, playful learning, and spatial learning. With her long-time collaborator, Roberta Golinkoff, she is a recipient of numerous awards including the American Psychological Association's Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for lifetime contributions to developmental psychology. She blogs for the Brookings Institution and the Huffington Post and travels the world speaking to professional and lay audiences.

Nora S. Newcombe, Ph.D., is Laura H. Carnell Professor of Psychology and James H. Glackin Distinguished Faculty Fellow at Temple University. Her research focuses on spatial cognition and development, including understanding the nature, development and malleability of spatial skills that facilitate learning of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). She has been Principal Investigator of the NSF-funded Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC).

Drew Bailey, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at?the University of California, Irvine. His current research focuses on identifying causes of the longitudinal stability of individual differences in children's mathematics achievement and on the processes underlying the fadeout and persistence of the effects of educational interventions.