Spatial Abilities of Students and Teachers in Mathematics

Abstract

Spatial abilities are regarded as pre-requisite for solving complex mathematical problems. The present study is aimed at measuring the spatial ability among Students’ and Mathematics teachers. The major objectives of the study were; (i) to investigate spatial ability of students and Mathematics teachers, (ii) to compare the spatial ability of public and private schools’ students and Mathematics teachers, (iii) to compare the spatial ability of rural and urban schools’ students and Mathematics teachers. On the basis of the above objectives, null hypotheses were developed and tested. A total of 400 students from sixteen schools who were studying in 9th class (Science Group) and their sixteen Mathematics teachers were taken as sample of the study. An empirical research design was used in the study. For data collection, twenty five test items were developed and observation sheets were used to measure the performance of the sample. Statistical techniques such as Mean, Standard Deviation, and t-test were applied to analyze the collected data. The study is significant for students and teachers as well as for researchers and curriculum developers. The study concluded that; urban private schools’ students performed better than the other sampled students. Similarly, the Mathematics teachers performed better than the students. It was recommended that the existing curriculum should be revised to enhance the spatial ability of the students.