Abstract
Spatial visualization is an essential prerequisite for understanding geological features at all scales, such as the atomic structures of minerals, the architecture of sedimentary deposits in an outcrop, or the geometry of the fault system along a complex plate boundary. Undergraduate geoscience majors bring a wide range of spatial skill levels to their courses. Fortunately, spatial thinking improves with practice, and students benefit from intentional training. Several promising teaching strategies for improving spatial skills have emerged from recent cognitive science research into spatial thinking, including the use of gesture, predictive sketching, and comparison, including analogy and alignment. Not surprisingly, geoscience educators have traditionally incorporated many of these tools, though not always consciously, intentionally, and in the most effective ways. Our research team, composed of geoscientists and cognitive psychologists, has collaborated to develop curricular materials for Mineralogy, Structural Geology, and Sedimentology & Stratigraphy courses that incorporate these strategies intentionally and purposefully, supporting student understanding of the spatially challenging concepts and skills in these courses. Collectively, these two dozen learning activities comprise the Spatial Thinking Workbook. Eight are specific to Mineralogy, five to Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, seven to Structural Geology, and five can be utilized in any course. Pre- to post-test gains on a suite of assessment instruments, as well as embedded assessments, show that these curricular materials boost students' spatial thinking skills and also strengthen their ability to solve geological problems with a spatial component. Keys to the development of successful activities are the identification of a spatially challenging concept or skill and the effective use of one or more strategies that support spatial thinking.