Spatial Ability Degradation in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Students During the Winter

259 Pages·2017·4.01 MB·English

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All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies
12-2018
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Benjamin J. Call
Utah State University
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SPATIAL ABILITY DEGRADATION IN UNDERGRADUATE MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING STUDENTS DURING THE
WINTER SEMESTER BREAK
by
Benjamin J. Call
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree
of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
in
Engineering Education
Approved:
______________________ ____________________
Wade Goodridge, Ph.D. David Geller, Ph.D.
Major Professor Committee Member
______________________ ____________________
Idalis Villanueva, Ph.D. Gary Stewardson, Ph.D.
Committee Member Committee Member
______________________ ____________________
Oenardi Lawanto, Ph.D. Laurens H. Smith, Ph.D.
Committee Member Interim Vice President for Research and
Dean of the School of Graduate Studies
UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY
Logan, Utah
2018
ii

Copyright © Benjamin Call 2018
All Rights Reserved
iii

ABSTRACT
Spatial Ability Degradation in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Students
During the Winter Semester Break
by
Benjamin J. Call, Doctor of Philosophy
Utah State University, 2018

Major Professor: Dr. Wade H. Goodridge
Department: Engineering Education

While spatial ability has a well-researched correlation with success in
engineering, both academically and professionally, the vast majority of research is
limited to short-term effects. Researchers have statistically shown that most interventions
have a positive impact on spatial ability and claim that the impact is enduring. However,
quantifying the duration of impact generally suffers from two limitations: 1) there is not a
sufficient gap to determine if the impact endures, i.e., most research fails to follow up
with participants more than a week later; and 2) no allowance is made for the influence of
non-deliberate factors that may be increasing the spatial ability of participants. The non-
deliberate factor of particular concern in this paper is undergraduate engineering
coursework (Engineering Graphics and Statics) which have been correlated with
increases in spatial ability – thus rendering them a type of indirect intervention even if
they are not generally recognized as such.
The research presented herein tracked changes in undergraduate engineering
students’ spatial ability during the winter academic break following three courses
iv

(Engineering Graphics, Statics, and Advanced Dynamics) that represent a progression in
the mechanical engineering curriculum at Utah State University. This approach removed
engineering coursework as an active influence on engineering students’ spatial ability
during data collection. The Mental Cutting Test was used to measure spatial ability.
Changes in spatial ability were found to be statistically significant when measuring
performance in terms of the time 32 participants spent taking the test, and similar, though
not statistically significant, trends were seen in the test scores. It was initially observed
that newer students tend to improve over the winter academic break while students more
advanced in their engineering coursework do not exhibit a significant change in spatial
ability. Multiple linear regression techniques identified academic performance, the sex of
the students, playing music over the break, and prior life experiences as the driving
factors in the differences in spatial ability malleability over the break, rather than simply
progression through the engineering curriculum.

(258 pages)
v

PUBLIC ABSTRACT

Spatial Ability Degradation in Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Students
During the Winter Semester Break
Benjamin J. Call

Spatial ability represents our ability to mentally arrange, rotate, and explore
objects in multiple dimensions. This ability has been found to be important for engineers
and engineering students. Past research has shown that many interventions can be created
to boost an individual’s spatial ability. In fact, past research has indicated that
engineering students significantly increase in spatial ability without an intervention while
they are enrolled in certain engineering courses. Some researchers have claimed that the
spatial ability boosts are permanent after an intervention. However, most researchers do
not check the validity of that claim with continued assessment after more than a week
past the end of an intervention. Additionally, if engineering education researchers are
trying to measure the impact of their separate spatial ability intervention while the
participating engineering students are actively enrolled in engineering courses, a
confounding variable is introduced as the courses can impact students’ spatial ability. To
resolve this, the work presented in this paper reflects research on engineering students’
spatial ability maintenance during the winter break between semesters. It was found that
newer students exhibit spatial ability improvement during the break, while older students
maintain their spatial ability at the same level. A deeper statistical analysis revealed that
there are other factors that play a role in spatial ability changes over the break that are
more significant than how far students had progressed in their studies. Those factors
include with academic performance, the sex of the students, playing music during the
break, and prior life experiences.
vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I give special thanks to my wife, Charity, for motivating me to pursue my
education and complete this degree. Her acceptance and approval is far more important
than any title or acclaim to be had from an academic institution. I also give special thanks
to our children, my parents and siblings, and so many other friends and family members
who have believed in me, feigned or shown interest, and have supported my life and
educational endeavors.
I would like to thank Dr. Wade Goodridge for his mentoring and supporting my
freedom to research various topics while we have worked together. His friendship and
perspective have been inspiring and helpful. I also thank Scott Bates and his staff for the
Presidential Doctoral Research Fellowship, which enabled my sense of freedom in
research and provided a community of researchers from whom I have learned and
received camaraderie. I give ongoing thanks to Dr. John Stevens for his patience and
tutelage in statistics over the years. I would especially like to thank my committee
members, Drs. Idalis Villanueva, Oenardi Lawanto, David Geller, and Gary Stewardson,
for their support and assistance throughout the entire process.
Benjamin J. Call
vii

CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii
PUBLIC ABSTRACT .........................................................................................................v
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ vi
LIST OF TABLES ..............................................................................................................x
LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xii
CHAPTER
I. INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................1
Background of the Problem .....................................................................................1
Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................3
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................5
Research Hypotheses ...............................................................................................6
Research Design.......................................................................................................8
Significance of the Study .........................................................................................8
Assumptions and Limitations ..................................................................................9
Assumptions .....................................................................................................9
Limitations ......................................................................................................10
Definition of Terms................................................................................................11

II. LITERATURE REVIEW ...................................................................................13
Spatial Ability ........................................................................................................13
Spatial Interventions ..............................................................................................15
Factors Influencing Spatial Ability ........................................................................17
Instruments to Measure Spatial Ability .................................................................18
Need for Spatial Ability Research .........................................................................20
Skill Degradation and Learning Loss ....................................................................21

III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .......................................................................23
Quantitative Research ............................................................................................23
Research Design.....................................................................................................25
Threats to Research Validity ..........................................................................26
Research Hypotheses .............................................................................................29
Population, Demographics, and Sample ................................................................30
Instrumentation ......................................................................................................32
Quantifying Performance .......................................................................................33
Survey Details .................................................................................................34
Data Collection ......................................................................................................35
Data Analysis .........................................................................................................37
viii

Data Description .............................................................................................39
Data Diagnostics .............................................................................................39
Principal Component Analysis .......................................................................41
Tool Details ....................................................................................................43
Implementation and Review ..................................................................................43
Implementation Timeline ................................................................................43
Conclusion .............................................................................................................43

IV. RESULTS ..........................................................................................................45
Introduction ............................................................................................................45
Analysis and Principal Components of Survey Responses....................................46
Individual Characteristics ...............................................................................46
Pre-Study Experiences ....................................................................................47
Experiences during the break ..........................................................................51
Principle Component Analyses (PCA) ...........................................................53
Analysis of Pre-Test and Post-Test Performance ..................................................60
Comparing Pre-Test MCT Performance .........................................................62
Comparing the Change in Performance ..........................................................67
Predictive Models of Change in MCT Performance ..............................................73
Significant bivariate regression models ..........................................................74
Multiple linear regression ...............................................................................78
Principal component regression ......................................................................82
Summary ................................................................................................................82

V. CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..............84
Conclusions and Discussion ..................................................................................84
Primary Research Hypothesis .........................................................................85
Secondary Research Hypothesis .....................................................................87
Implications of Limitations and Threats .........................................................93
Potential New Research Questions .................................................................98
Recommendations for Future Work.......................................................................98

REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................101
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................112
APPENDIX A: POSITIONALITY ........................................................................113
Positionality .........................................................................................................114

APPENDIX B: INFORMED CONSENT AND SURVEY / MCT
INSTRUMENTS ..........................................................................................116
Informed Consent.................................................................................................117
Pre-Survey............................................................................................................119
Mental Cutting Test Questions ............................................................................121
Post-Survey ..........................................................................................................126
ix

APPENDIX C: R SCRIPTS FOR DATA ANALYSIS .........................................153
Script Explanation ................................................................................................154
Spatial Degradation Analysis Scripts ...................................................................154
simpleDiagnostics.r ..............................................................................................228

CURRICULUM VITAE ........................................................................................239