Assessing the Impact of Dynamic Software Environments (MATLAB) on Rural-Based Pre-Service Teachers’ Spatial-Visualisation Skills

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆

Dynamic visual tools such as MATLAB offer built-in capabilities that support students’ learning through three-dimensional visualisation. Research on MATLAB has largely focused on urban learners, while evidence for rural contexts remains limited. This study examines how MATLAB influences rural-based pre-service teachers’ spatial-visualisation skills in a vector calculus course. Spatial reasoning was assessed with a pre-test and post-test using PSVT/R, and Duval’s TRSR guided interpretation. Results from an independent-sample t-test show a positive effect on spatial-visualisation skills.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Assessing the Impact of Dynamic Software Environments (MATLAB) on Rural-Based Pre-Service Teachers’ Spatial-Visualisation Skills G. Amevor Department of Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education, University of Zululand, South Africa ORCID: 0000-0003-4667-0539 Anass Bayaga Nelson Mandela University, Faculty of Education, Port Elizabeth, South Africa ORCID: 0000-0003-0283-0262 Michael J. Bossé Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA ORCID: 0000-0002-5515-9460 Received: 12 Jan 2021 Accepted: 12 Mar 2021 Abstract Dynamic visual tools such as MATLAB have inbuilt features which are believed to be able to empower students to learn through the visualisation of three-dimensional objects. While student learning through MATLAB has been investigated regarding students in urban settings, only a handful of studies have investigated how MATLAB can assist students in rural settings. Spatial visualisation (SV) as a measure or reflection of one’s cognitive reasoning is affected by family social economic status (SES) . For instance, it is argued that SES in combination with other components, do enhance cognitive development in different ways. What is meant is that components such as but not exclusively, economic and occupational components of SES may vary and hence provide opportunities for generating better understanding of education (cognition) . In this study, we randomly selected 100 second-year rural-based pre-service teachers in a vector calculus class at University of Zululand (UNIZULU) . Students need SV skills to learn vector calculus and the Purdue spatial-visualization test/rotations (PSVT/R) is well established for measuring individuals’ spatial reasoning. In this study, spatial reasoning skills were assessed through a vector calculus pre-test and through a post-test using the Purdue spatial-visualization test/rotations (PSVT/R) . The experimental group of students learned the vector calculus topics supported by activities and investigations using MATLAB. Duval’s Theory of Register of Semiotic Representation (TRSR) was employed to comprehend the impact of MATLAB on rural-based pre-service teachers’ spatial-visualisation skills. From using an independent sample t-test, our findings indicated that, for participants in this study, using MATLAB had positive impact on the rural-based pre-service teachers’ SV skills. Keywords: spatial-visualisation skills, dynamic visual tool and learning, spatial reasoning, vector calculus and mental rotation INTRODUCTION While spatial-visualisation (SV) skills are only one facet of a person’s overall intelligence, research suggests that spatial reasoning is an important predictor of achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines (STEM) (Stieff & Uttal 2015; Uttal et al., 2013; Wai et al., 2009) . Thus, spatial skills have been considered to form the basis of several learning disciplines. Some mathematics psychology researchers have argued that the ability to rotate, compose, and decompose two-and three-dimensional objects in space mainly describes spatial skills (Nguyen & Rebello, 2011; Price et al., 2013; Šipuš & Cizmešija, 2012; Sorby et al., 2013; Stieff & Uttal, 2016; Wai et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2014) . Also, studies have proven that spatial-visualization skills are trainable through visual interaction (e.g., mental rotation tasks) and dynamic software and other computer environments (Cheng & Mix, 2014; Ćurčić et al., 2018; Joshi & Rawal, 2021; Mailizar & Fan, 2021; Uttal et al., 2013) . While similar conclusion has been suggested by Mailizar and Fann (2021), Ćurčić et al. (2018) revealed that the integration of software has a link with students’ knowledge and hence increase not only the interest in studying content, but also the teaching. Altogether, these interconnected notions have provided researchers rich opportunities to investigate student understanding and SV skills through the integration of dynamic software (e.g.,

FAQs

What problem does the study address?

The study addresses the limited evidence on how MATLAB supports spatial-visualisation and spatial reasoning skills for learners in rural settings, especially in vector calculus.

How were students’ spatial reasoning and visualisation assessed?

Spatial reasoning skills were measured using a vector calculus pre-test and post-test with the Purdue spatial-visualization test/rotations (PSVT/R).

What was the effect of using MATLAB in the study?

Findings indicate that using MATLAB had a positive impact on rural-based pre-service teachers’ spatial-visualisation (SV) skills.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by nayy☆