In my literature review on Spatial Literacy in Education, 3D Design and in the Virtual World. I featured and quoted an article called "Understanding and nurturing spatial literacy"
by Sarah Witham Bednarz and Karen Kempb. I am adding a link to it below:
The article is important to anyone who uses any virtual education method or any form of education that encourages exploration. The nature of virtual reality is visual. Students and teachers can benefit from having visual and spatial skills. Many sciences including physics, chemistry, and biology require an understanding of space and structures that live in it.
For example, this educational video entitled, "What is the shape of a molecule?" uses 3D models of molecules in order to teach their structure more effectively than using words alone.
For example, this educational video entitled, "What is the shape of a molecule?" uses 3D models of molecules in order to teach their structure more effectively than using words alone.
In my own field, aArchitecture and design, the knowledge and skill to describe space is essential to the practitioner. I am often surprised with how hard it is for some of my college students to draw a simple sketch of a box or tell me what shape the front of a drawer is.
I have taught STEM or STEAM classes to school children and I think that teaching Science ,Technology Engineering, Art and Math is very valuable to young people's development.
The technology aspect of teaching could include Virtual Reality, Social Networking and any applicable technology that can assist in learning. Most of STEAM projects are set in situated learning. (Nelson and Erlandson). Invention and design cannot happen without the ability to describe new ideas in words and sketches.
"The U.S. National Academy of Sciences found that spatial thinking, a key component of spatial literacy, is at the heart of many great discoveries" (Bednarz, Kempb pp:18). In some of my elementary school classes, I encourage students to draw diagrams of their own classroom. Being able to draw a room requires getting measurements and learning scale. Each square on the graph paper equals half a foot in reality. This skill helps the student understand abstraction. Drawing the room in 3D perspective is a different skill than drawing a diagram from a bird's eye view. Once the student understands this idea, it is easy for them to make a model of it in 3D using a computer and posting the design into a virtual reality environment.
In their definition of spatial literacy, Bednarz and Kempb argue that knowledge of spatial thinking can lead to higher order spatial thinking and problem solving. The paper discussed the value of spatial knowledge to geography. I want to take it a step further and talk about the geography of virtual reality. The ability to navigate that digital geography is going to be essential iIn a world where Web 3.0 is taking shape in 3D and in virtual space. We need to have the skills to build these digtal 3D spaces and use them.
Many concepts in science like the discovery of the double helix (the structure of DNA) or mapping how a disease spreads is not possible without great imagination and the ability to think in complex 3D shapes.
We need to teach students how to visualize connections between structures. They can see, remember, and analyze the static and, and moving relationships between objects. Students who can use spatial diagrams in a variety of modes, models and media to describe these 3D forms are empowered to be more inventive and creative.
Using science and imagination are the foundations of human progress. Albert Einstein beautifully coined the phrase, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Note:
Bednarz and Kempb referred in their article to Learning To Think Spatially, which is available for free: http://esrik12gis.emich.edu/k12/PDF/Learning%20to%20Think%20Spatially.pdf
REFERENCE:
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Bednarz, S. W., & Kemp, K. (2011). Understanding and nurturing spatial literacy. Procedia - Social And Behavioral Sciences, 21(International Conference: Spatial Thinking and Geographic Information Sciences 2011), 18-23. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.07.004
Nelson, Brian C. and Erlandson, Benjamin A. Design for Learning in Virtual Worlds (Interdisciplinary Approaches to Educational Technology). New York, NY: Routledge, 2012.
http://3dspatialliteracy.weebly.com/uploads/1/7/5/3/17539689/the_learning_process_of_scientific_imagineering_through_ar_in_order_to_enhance_stem_literacy.pdf
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