Children's Spatial Perception and Spatial Thinking Ability Focusing on the Direction and Scale — ASN Events

Children's Spatial Perception and Spatial Thinking Ability Focusing on the Direction and Scale (14692)

Okkyong Yoon 1
  1. Cheongju National University of Education, Cheongju, South Korea

This study examines elementary students' spatial perception and spatial thinking ability by analyzing the locations from the survey which asked elementary students to make a list of geographic features located on four cardinal directions from their homes. All locations of geographic features were analyzed to examine elementary students’ scope of spatial perception and their daily lives. Elementary students perceive any directions ego-centrally. They use familiar geographic features such as schools, playgrounds, snack bars, and grocery markets to refer to the specific directions. Each student has his own unique places referring to the direction around his home. These findings indicate that differences and diversity exists not only in elementary students’ spatial perception and spatial thinking ability, but also in their daily life. The results from this study can help us to understand the gaps between classroom practices in geography course curriculum and previous findings from the research on students’ spatial perception and to find the ways how to enhance element students’ spatial perception and their spatial thinking ability through geography course curriculum.