Are The Visualization Skills Of First Year Engineering Students Changing?

Michigan Tech has been offering a course in the development of 3-D spatial skills since 1993. Each year since that time, engineering students have been tested with a standardized instrument during orientation and those who failed have been counseled to enroll in the spatial skills course. Instruments regarding student background experience have also been periodically administered. In this study, historical data was examined to determine if there were changes in test results through the years. The items of interest in this study were: changes in the average score on the spatial skills instrument through time, changes in failure rates on the pre-test, the impact of computer games on spatial skills development, gender differences in scores and failure rates through time, and changes in background variables through time. Data trends in this study will inform us regarding changing student backgrounds and will indicate whether the need for a spatial skills intervention course is increasing or decreasing.