Spatial Skills

Spatial Research and Engineering Teaching

Dr. David Uttal, Dr. Roberta Golinkoff, Dr. Diarmaid Lane

The research: David and Roberta discuss what we know is and isn’t working.

Doubling the amount of engineers by spatial interventions.

Teaching: what skills do students come with compared to what they need? Diarmaid

Trends in spatial awareness, who knows it’s missing, who doesn’t, and how to bridge that gap. All

Short and Long Terms fixes How do we fix that in university level?

What about fixing it earlier in K-12?

Roberta and David respond on US. Diarmaid can you fill in your experience in Ireland.

Audience: What examples do you have of generational differences in people you work with?

Natural systems and spatial: intuitive learning from nature. How structure mapping is deeply rooted in bio-inspired design.

Dr. David Uttal is Professor of Education and of Psychology at Northwestern University His interests are in spatial reasoning, particularly as it relates to STEM learning. He has been awarded the Dan Linzer Fellowship for excellence in multidisciplinary research, the American Psychological Association’s George Miller Award, and the Journal of Geography Research Award. His research has been funded by NIH, NSF, and IES.

Dr. Roberta Michnick Golinkoff is Unidel H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Education at the University of Delaware. A member of the Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Linguistics and Cognitive Science, she directs the Child’s Play, Learning, and Development laboratory. Known for her research on language development, the benefits of playful learning, the effects of media on children, and early spatial development. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Institute of Education Sciences, and the LEGO Foundation. In addition to over 200 publications, she has authored 16 books and monographs.

Dr. Diarmaid Lane is a member of faculty in the School of Education at the University of Limerick (UL) in Ireland. His teaching responsibilities are in the area of pre-service Technology teacher education. His current research activities are focused on the teaching and learning of spatial thinking skills across disciplines in Higher Education with particular focus on the first year experience. Diarmaid is a passionate educator and advocates that all students across the education system deserve an opportunity to develop spatial thinking skills. He has been awarded on numerous occasions for excellence in his teaching and research

Alex Wolf is a RISD artist/designer/inventor who works from preschool to PhD and AI on systems for visual learning and expression, and spatial reasoning. Her pattern alphabet is in use at NASA in the PeTaL machine vision AI, tested for UNICEF for preschool use, and in university classes from engineering to sustainabilty. She co-chairs the Natural Systems Working Group at INCOSE.