The Neglect of Spatial Thinking

The author presents an activity I have done for years, as an argument towards the importance of teaching our students how to think spatially so that they can visualize important science conc... See More

The author presents an activity I have done for years, as an argument towards the importance of teaching our students how to think spatially so that they can visualize important science concepts we are teaching. He argues, and I have to agree, that the ability to visualize (or see in one's "mind's eye") science theories and concepts is essential for understanding. It is great to have someone provide such a well reasoned argument for the use of a simple classification activity and how it can lead to so much more. I think I had forgotten why we focused on this one step of the process in the pursuit of the larger picture. Thank you for being so clear about how simple activities fit into the big picture we all work to achieve.

Spatial Thinking

This article gives many examples of using spatial thinking in science and also how it occurs in nature. But I do not understand why the author thinks sorting bolts is an example of spatial ... See More

This article gives many examples of using spatial thinking in science and also how it occurs in nature. But I do not understand why the author thinks sorting bolts is an example of spatial thinking to the degree that he seems to want children to achieve.