A ROLE FOR MENTAL ROTATIONS IN FIELD-BASED PROBLEM SOLVING

As part of a broader study designed to understand student problem solving at the advanced undergraduate level in field courses, we administered both the GeoSAT instrument developed by Kali and Orion, and the Purdue Visualization of Rotations (PVR) developed by Bodner for use in organic chemistry instruction. The purpose of this testing was to search for correlative or diagnostic measures that predict aptitude in field based learning and problem solving. The GeoSAT instrument presents students with block-model diagrams of simple geologic structures, with surface data presented and side faces often incomplete. The student is asked to complete the cross section taken through the middle of the block. The PVR tests solid object rotation skills by presenting students with a geometric block, and an arbitrarily rotated version of the same block. The student is then shown a second block and asked to pick it’s similarly rotated pair from among four choices. The GeoSAT and PVR results were compared with each other and with results from analysis of GPS tracking of students during day-long independent field mapping examinations and their scored completed maps. We find that most geology students at the advanced undergraduate level have little difficulty with either instrument, routinely demonstrating high spatial aptitude both in Visual Penetrative Ability (GeoSAT) and in solid object rotation (PVR). However, students who performed poorly on the PVR tend to also perform poorly on the GeoSAT, and these same students routinely score poorly on field examinations. Their GPS tracks show sequences of maneuvers indicative of confusion and poor traverse planning according to coding schemes we have developed for this research. In post-examination interviews, these students also report significant difficulties constructing large-scale structural models during field mapping. These instruments appear to be a predictor of difficulty rather than a predictor of success, and low PVR scores in particular appear to correlate with difficulty in field settings. The PVR appears to be a useful diagnostic for discovering potential spatial skills issues for students entering field-camp settings. The link between mental rotation skills and field-based geologic problem solving is intriguing, and deserves additional investigation.