The purpose of this study is to invetigate the causal relationships among 12th
grade students&rsquo / geometry knowledge regarding prisms and pyramids, spatial
ability, gender, and school type. Path analysis was used to test the relationships
among knowledge factors (declarative, conditional, and procedural
knowledge), spatial ability factors (spatial visualization, mental rotation, and
spatial perception ability), gender (female and male), and school type (general
high schools and Anatolian high schools). Knowledge factors and spatial
ability factors were determined by carrying out confirmatory factor analysis for
the Prisms and Pyramids Knowledge Test and Purdue Spatial Visualization
Test separately.
Results revealed the bilateral relations among students&rsquo / declarative,
conditional and procedural knowledge / and the bilateral relations among
spatial visualization, mental rotation, and spatial perception ability.
When relations among spatial ability factors and knowledge factors were
examined, the importance of the students&rsquo / spatial abilities on geometry
performance was exposed explicitly. Spatial visualization and mental rotation
ability have positive direct effects on all knowledge factors. Additionally,
spatial perception ability have positive direct effect on declarative and
procedural knowledge.
On the other hand, school type has positive direct effects on students&rsquo / geometry
knowledge factors and spatial ability factors. These effects exposed the
superiority of students in Anatolian high schools in respect of students in
general high schools.
Moreover, direct effects of gender on mental rotation ability, spatial perception
ability, and declarative knowledge were found. Although, results presented the
male superiority in mental rotation and spatial perception abilities, direct effect
of gender on declarative knowledge indicate the female advantage.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:METU/oai:etd.lib.metu.edu.tr:http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12614970/index.pdf |
| Date | 01 September 2012 |
| Creators | Eryilmaz Cevirgen, Aysegul |
| Contributors | Ubuz, Behiye |
| Publisher | METU |
| Source Sets | Middle East Technical Univ. |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Ph.D. Thesis |
| Format | text/pdf |
| Rights | Access forbidden for 1 year |
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