Kane, D. E., & Green, T., & Shaheen, N. L., & Goodridge, W. H. (2022, May), A Qualitative Study of Spatial Strategies in Blind and Low Vision Individuals  Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver. 10.18260/1-2--44712

\bibitem{asee_peer_44712}
  Kane, D. E., \& Green, T., \& Shaheen, N. L., \& Goodridge, W. H. (2022, May), \emph{A Qualitative Study of Spatial Strategies in Blind and Low Vision Individuals}
  Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver.
  10.18260/1-2--44712

Daniel E Kane, Theresa Green, Natalie L Shaheen, and Wade H Goodridge.  "A Qualitative Study of Spatial Strategies in Blind and Low Vision Individuals".  2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver, 2022, May.  ASEE Conferences, 2022.  https://strategy.asee.org/44712 Internet.  03 Dec, 2024

\bibitem{asee_peer_44712}
  Daniel E Kane, Theresa Green, Natalie L Shaheen, and Wade H Goodridge.
  "A Qualitative Study of Spatial Strategies in Blind and Low Vision Individuals".
  \emph{2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference, Vancouver, 2022, May}.
  ASEE Conferences, 2022.
  https://strategy.asee.org/44712 Internet.  03 Dec, 2024

@INPROCEEDINGS{asee_peer_44712
author = "Daniel E Kane, Theresa Green, Natalie L Shaheen, and Wade H Goodridge"
title = "A Qualitative Study of Spatial Strategies in Blind and Low Vision Individuals"
booktitle = "2022 ASEE Zone IV Conference"
year = "2022"
month = "May"
address = "Vancouver"
publisher = "ASEE Conferences"
note = {https://strategy.asee.org/44712}
number = {10.18260/1-2--44712}
}

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - This abstract will be followed by a full paper. 
Significant work has been done to demonstrate the correlation between spatial ability and student success in STEM fields. Research has also shown that spatial ability not only predicts success in academic settings, but is also a valuable skill in STEM related professional settings. Further studies have indicated that spatial ability can develop and improve over time. It has also been shown that spatial ability is a malleable skill and can be learned through targeted interventions. For this reason, spatial ability and the implementation of spatial interventions in engineering curricula is an important aspect of engineering education research. One group that has largely been excluded from spatial ability research is blind and low vision (BLV) populations. There has been little, if any, work done to identify spatial strategies employed by BLV students in solving spatial problems. 
This case study explores qualitatively investigated spatial strategies that were employed by four participants at an engineering program administered by (omitted for blind review) that was designed for BLV youth interested in STEM fields. During sessions of the program, the research team administered the Tactile Mental Cutting Test (TMCT), a fully accessible tactile adaptation of the commonly used Mental Cutting Test (MCT) to all students participating in the research. Immediately after taking the TMCT, participants at the program participated in a focused interview in which they solved a TMCT problem and discussed strategies they employed. Transcriptions of these interviews were analyzed using qualitative coding procedures.  
An analysis of the data from these interviews showed that BLV students employed a wide variety of strategies as they solved spatial problems. These strategies included using geometric methods (e.g., identifying basic shapes and using symmetry) and analytical methods (e.g., ignoring non-defining features and taking measurements). Data from four of the participants was explored for further analysis. These four cases represent two high spatial performers and two low performers who provided specific details in their interview about how they solved TMCT problems. Coding results show that the two high performing participants demonstrated an ability to piece geometric shapes together and focus solely on defining features.  Across all four cases, participants who had a clear strategy while solving the TMCT problems were more likely to have high spatial performance. 
The results of this study demonstrate how high and low-performers use spatial strategies when solving the TMCT.  Findings from this study have the potential to improve STEM-related curricula and teaching methods for BLV populations. Understanding commonly used spatial strategies in BLV populations can help teachers more effectively cater to students’ needs. Findings from this study can also point to the non-visual aspects of spatial ability in sighted populations. In a broader sense, a deeper understanding of spatial strategies has the potential to encourage more BLV youth to pursue an education in STEM fields.

AU  - Daniel E Kane
AU  - Theresa Green
AU  - Natalie L Shaheen
AU  - Wade H Goodridge
CY  - Vancouver
DA  - 2022/05/12
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Qualitative Study of Spatial Strategies in Blind and Low Vision Individuals
UR  - https://strategy.asee.org/44712
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--44712
ER  -