Visual and Spatial Learning
We are studying visual and spatial thinking in science among middle school students. It has been known for some time, through research in psychology and in the history of science, that everyday thinking as well as scientific thinking occurs in various modes including the language-based, symbolic, visual and spatial. Although visual and spatial modes are prominent in science as also in children’s learning, they have been relatively neglected in our schools and also in science education research worldwide. At HBCSE we have currently two research studies in this area, one in human physiology, involving relatively more visual content, and another in elementary astronomy, in which spatial relationships predominate.