Irina Foster, Engineer, Master’s of Science, LEED AP, Academic Director of Science Playhouse
This recent KQED article raised an interesting question of spatial awareness, gender differences and how it relates to STEM. “The ability to mentally manipulate objects is key to success in many fields, including physics and engineering. Spatial skills are an early indicator of later achievement in mathematics, they “strongly predict” who will pursue STEM careers, and they are more predictive of future creativity and innovation than math scores.
However, women generally score lower than men on tests of spatial reasoning — particularly measures of spatial visualization and mental rotation.”
Ok, great, so spatial skills are critical to successful careers in STEM, and girls tend to have a real deficiency in spatial awareness as compared to boys. Well, we sort of knew that already! For the life of me, I can’t find my way in a new city without a GPS. Heck, I manage to get lost in my own town on a regular basis. Good thing we’ve got the mountains in the West, which supposedly can help me get oriented, but rarely does. My husband, on the other hand is an ex-Green Beret and he can find his way in the thickest of jungles, at night, in the pouring rain, just as easily as in his home town. When we travel to new places, he seems to just “know” which way to turn, and most importantly, how to get back to the hotel! While I am completely lost. So unfair. Especially, since I have a Master’s degree in Science and am an engineer, I believe I am a smart woman, so why can’t I figure out my way around town?? I’ve often wondered about this difference between my husband and me and whether there was something inherent in the male brain that lent itself to better spatial awareness. Or so I hoped…
Some experts believe that yes, different hormone levels and brain structure are largely responsible for better spatial skills in men. And one researcher said, “Sex differences in spatial ability are well documented, but poorly understood.” And while experts continue to argue the underlying cause of many women’s poor spatial skills, is there anything we can do to help ourselves and our children, both boys and girls to develop better spatial abilities?
Sheryl Sorby, professor of Engineering, believes spatial awareness is not an inherent trait but rather a learned and practiced skill. She recommends that parents help their children by engaging them in more “spatial” games such as building blocks and Lego’s. We can get them into meaningful Robotics classes that can significantly improve both spatial and programming skills. We tend to buy more Lego’s and Robots for the boys, leaving girls behind, while girls are the ones who really need to practice these skills. Even playing 3-D video games for a total of 10 hours (not a week, just in total!) can help, one study suggests. Also, it is important to realize that girls can be just as good at spatial development as boys, they just need more practice with it. There is hope for me yet.
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