Spatial cognition among Montana eleventh and twelfth grade agricultural education students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine high school studentαs spatial cognition abilities to identify features and attributes in agriculture production images, projected in two-dimension (2D) or three-dimension (3D). The effects of selected demographics on spatial cognition were examined. The population consisted of 101 high school students from selected secondary agricultural education programs during the Fall Semester of 2003. Criteria for participation were that the class size be 10-15 students enrolled in 11th or 12th grade. The agricultural classes were randomly assigned as either participating in the 2D or 3D study. When viewing 2D and 3D images of production agriculture students were able to correctly identify features and attributes about 50 percent of the time. Based on the 17 multiple-choice questions of the 23 questions used, there was no significant difference in studentsα spatial cognitive abilities when viewing 2D and 3D production agriculture images. When viewing production agriculture images in 3D, containing features and attributes relative to elevation, spatial cognition was enhanced. Age, grade level, semesters enrolled in agricultural education, gender, place of residence and prior GIS experience did not enhance spatial cognition.