The role of spatial experience in mental rotation

Open

A. Hertanti, H. Retnawati, D.U. Wutsqa

2019 Journal of Physics: Conference Series Vol. 1320 Issue 1 Conference paper Cited by 6 Quartile

Abstract

Mental rotation is one of spatial reasoning ability. It is the ability of a person to imagine how objects of a two- or three-dimensions look like when rotated in a specific degree. Not only due to curriculum demand, mental rotation is also essential for Mathematics itself, such as in geometry. In addition, it also helps students for their future career, such as architects, computer programmers, and graphic designers. This study aims to describe the mental rotation of female and male students who have spatial experiences with those who do not have spatial experience. The data were collected using Mental Rotation test and interview and were analysed qualitatively. A total of 10 post-graduate students were interviewed in a semi-structural way. The results showed that spatial experience has an important role in improving one's mental rotation. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Affiliations

Graduate Program of Mathematics Education, Yogyakarta State University, Jl. Colombo No.1, Karangmalang, Depok, Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia; Mathematics Education Department, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Science, Yogyakarta State University, Jl. Colombo No.1, Karangmalang, Depok, Sleman, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia