A Case Study on the Spatial Conceptualization Abilities for Sixth Grade Elementary Students from Urban, Suburban and Remote Schools
Jen Yi Chao 1 * , Chuan Hsi Liu 2
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1 National Taipei University of Education, TAIWAN2 National Taiwan Normal University, TAIWAN* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
The main objective of this study was to investigate and compare the spatial conceptualization performance for sixth grade elementary school students from urban, suburban and remote schools in Taiwan.

Material and methods:
This study involved 27, 25, and 26 sixth grade students from one remote indigenous school in eastern Taiwan, one suburban indigenous school in northern Taiwan, and one urban Han Chinese school in northern Taiwan, respectively. Spatial ability assessments were carried out on the students to explore the spatial conceptualiza-tion abilities and the possible relationship between school children's spatial abilities and urban-rural, ethnic, and cultural diversities.

Results:
The research tool utilized in this study was a scenario-based spatial ability assessment test, which had been carefully reviewed and pre-tested by experts. Test results revealed that: (1) Sixth grade students from the sub-urban and remote indigenous school shared no significant difference in their spatial abilities; (2) Sixth grade students from the urban Han Chinese school exhibited significantly better spatial performance than those from the suburban indigenous school.

Conclusions:
The spatial conceptualization performance for sixth grade elementary school students from urban, suburban and remote schools in Taiwan is different.

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 13, Issue 6, June 2017, 1675-1686

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2017.00691a

Publication date: 15 Jun 2017

Article Views: 2304

Article Downloads: 941

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