Zachary Hawes

Although extensive research demonstrates positive links between spatial skills and science achievement, the size and nature of this relation is unknown. Questions regarding whether the relation varies based on educational level and gender, across different spatial tasks and science domains, and if it persists over time remain. Additionally, the extent to which this link stands after accounting for related skill sets, specifically mathematical and verbal skills, presents another important question. We conducted a meta-analysis with the following aims: (a) to identify the overall correlation between spatial skills and science achievement; (b) to examine the extent to which the spatial-science relation is moderated by gender, educational level, type of spatial skill assessed, domain of science, and time between assessments; and (c) to determine the strength of the association after accounting for mathematical and verbal skills. Our analysis focused on samples from kindergarten to undergraduates and included a total of 94 article reports (total averaged N = 14,851.59). Results revealed a moderate positive association between spatial skills and science achievement (r = .27, τ = .12) that did not vary by gender, educational level, science domain, or time between assessments. That said, the relation did vary by type of spatial skill. Additionally, spatial skills were significantly associated with science achievement, even when mathematical and verbal skills were included as simultaneous predictors. These findings suggest that spatial skills may represent a promising target for supporting science learning outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

There is an emerging consensus that numerical, executive function (EF), and spatial skills are foundational to children’s mathematical learning and development. Moreover, each skill has been theorized to relate to mathematics for different reasons. Thus, it is possible that each cognitive construct is related to mathematics through distinct pathways. The present study tests this hypothesis. One-hundred and eighty 4- to 9-year-olds (M_age = 6.21) completed a battery of numerical, EF, spatial, and mathematics measures. Factor analyses revealed strong, but separable, relations between children’s numerical, EF, and spatial skills. Moreover, the three-factor model (i.e., modelling numerical, EF, and spatial skills as separate latent variables) fit the data better than a general intelligence (g-factor) model. While EF skills were the only unique predictor of number line performance, spatial skills were the only unique predictor of arithmetic (addition) performance. Additionally, spatial skills were related to the use of more advanced addition strategies (e.g., composition/decomposition and retrieval), which in turn were related to children’s overall arithmetic performance. That is, children’s strategy use fully mediated the relation between spatial skills and arithmetic performance. Taken together, these findings provide new insights into the cognitive foundations of early mathematics, with implications for assessment and instruction moving forward.

Studies show that spatial interventions lead to improvements in mathematics. However, outcomes vary based on whether physical manipulatives (embodied action) are used during training. This study compares the effects of embodied and non-embodied spatial interventions on spatial and mathematics outcomes. The study has a randomized, controlled, pre-post, follow-up, training design (N = 182; mean age 8 years; 49% female; 83.5% White). We show that both embodied and non-embodied spatial training approaches improve spatial skills compared to control. However, we conclude that embodied spatial training using physical manipulatives leads to larger, more consistent gains in mathematics and greater depth of spatial processing than non-embodied training. These findings highlight the potential of spatial activities, particularly those that use physical materials, for improving children's mathematics skills.

Fractions remain a challenging area of school mathematics at every stage of education, with impacts that extend far beyond the school years. For this study, researchers engaged in classroom-based design research over a 6-year period to investigate effective strategies for teaching fractions with Canadian students. Participants included 86 teachers (representing 12 collaborative research teams spread across 8 school boards) and over 2000 students from Grades 3–10. Quantitative analyses revealed significant pre-post gains in students’ fraction knowledge. Qualitative findings revealed some best practices in fractions instruction, including the importance of focusing on unit fractions and number lines to facilitate student sense-making. These findings lead to a detailed discussion of the benefits of (1) focusing on unit fractions as a central construct that allows students to meaningfully work with fractions and make connections across ideas of increasing complexity; (2) leveraging powerful representations as objects-to-think-with that combine concrete and abstract thinking about fractions; and (3) using a design research methodology in the context of collaborative work with teachers.