Cheryl A Cohen | Washington University in St. Louis (original) (raw)

Papers by Cheryl A Cohen

Research paper thumbnail of How middle level science teachers visualize and translate motion, scale, and geometric space of the Earth-Moon-Sun system with their students

Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial thinking in astronomy education research

Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Sense of direction: General factor saturation and associations with the Big-Five traits

Personality and Individual Differences, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Cognitive factors and interactivity: Implications for the design and implementation of 3D computer visualizations for medical education

Poster presented at the Medicine …, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Research Article It Works Both Ways: Transfer Difficulties between Manipulatives and Written Subtraction Solutions

Copyright © 2013 David H. Uttal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creat... more Copyright © 2013 David H. Uttal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Three experiments compared performance and transfer among children aged 83–94 months after written or manipulatives instruction on two-digit subtraction. In Experiment 1a, children learned with manipulatives or with traditional written numerals. All children then completed a written posttest. Experiment 1b investigated whether salient or perceptually attractive manipulatives affected transfer. Experiment 2 investigated whether instruction with writing would transfer to a manipulatives-based posttest. Children demonstrated performance gains when the posttest format was identical to the instructed format but failed to demonstrate transfer from the instructed format to an incongruent posttest. The results indicate that the problem in tr...

Research paper thumbnail of Individual Differences in the Use of an External Visualization during an Internal Visualization Task

Individual differences can influence a learner’s ability to extract information from dynamic, int... more Individual differences can influence a learner’s ability to extract information from dynamic, interactive animations. (Lowe, 2004). In three previous experiments, the author demonstrated that 1) spatial ability; and 2) the frequency with which participants interacted with an animated computer model made significant contributions to performance on a spatial visualization task in which they had to imagine and draw the cross-section of a three-dimensional object (Cohen et al., 2004). The present protocol study investigated the strategy differences between high- and low- spatial individuals, including differences on how they interacted with 3D visualizations during task performance. Method Six graduate students (3 high- and 3 low-spatial ability)

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation

In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geome... more In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geometric solids for spatial visualization training. Individuals with low spatial ability were trained to recognize the cross section of a three-dimensional (3D) object using interactive animations in which they passed a plane through a 3D object, observed, and drew the resulting cross section. In both experiments, trained participants showed significantly greater pre-posttest improvement compared to controls on a test of inferring cross sections. Effects of training transferred to untrained stimuli. We propose mechanisms of learning and transfer and suggest how these results can be further developed and applied to spatial visualization training in science education.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of Spatial Cognition inMedicine

Applied Spatial Cognition: From Research to Cognitive Technology, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of A Visual Approach to Helping Instructors Integrate, Document, and Refine Active Learning

Journal of College Science Teaching, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Santa Barbara Solids Test--Version 3

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial ability in the representation of cross sections

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Thinking and STEM Education. When, Why, and How?

Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Inferring cross sections of 3D objects: A new spatial thinking test

Learning and Individual Differences, 2012

Abstract A new spatial ability test was administered online to 223 undergraduate students enrolle... more Abstract A new spatial ability test was administered online to 223 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory science courses. The 30-item multiple choice test measures individual differences in ability to identify the two-dimensional cross section of a three-dimensional geometric solid, a skill that has been identified as important in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Bivariate and partial correlations suggest that the test measures a skill that is distinct from three-dimensional mental rotation and change in view perspective. Test items varied along two scales: complexity of the geometric solid to be sliced and orientation of the cutting plane. Internal reliability of both the overall test and its subscales was satisfactory. Performance was higher on figures cut by orthogonal, rather than oblique, planes. Patterns of performance across more and less complex items, and patterns of sex differences on these items, suggest that items on the test are differentially amenable to imagistic and analytic strategies, with males outperforming females on items that are less amenable to analytic strategies. The test shows promise for online administration and for adaptation to younger populations.

Research paper thumbnail of Visualizing cross sections: Training spatial thinking using interactive animations and virtual objects

Learning and Individual Differences, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of interactivity and spatial ability on the comprehension of spatial relations in a 3D computer visualization

annual meeting of …, 2004

Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity an... more Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity and spatial visualization ability in the comprehension of 3D computer visualizations. Undergraduates were presented with a fictitious anatomy-like structure in the form of both printed 2D ...

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of interactivity and spatial ability on the comprehension of spatial relations in a 3D computer visualization

annual meeting of …, 2004

Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity an... more Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity and spatial visualization ability in the comprehension of 3D computer visualizations. Undergraduates were presented with a fictitious anatomy-like structure in the form of both printed 2D ...

Research paper thumbnail of UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title Effects of Interactivity and Spatial Ability on the Comprehension of Spatial Relations in a 3D Computer Visualization Permalink Publication Date Effects of Interactivity and Spatial Ability on the Comprehension of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation

In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geome... more In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geometric solids for spatial visualization training. Individuals with low spatial ability were trained to recognize the cross section of a threedimensional (3D) object using interactive animations in which they passed a plane through a 3D object, observed, and drew the resulting cross section. In both experiments, trained participants showed significantly greater pre-posttest improvement compared to controls on a test of inferring cross sections. Effects of training transferred to untrained stimuli. We propose mechanisms of learning and transfer and suggest how these results can be further developed and applied to spatial visualization training in science education.

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial visualization training using interactive animation and virtual models

Page 1. Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation Cheryl A. Cohen (c_cohen@psych... more Page 1. Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation Cheryl A. Cohen (c_cohen@psych.ucsb.edu) Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93107 Mary Hegarty (hegarty ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Influence of Spatial Ability on the Use of Dynamic, Interactive Animation in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task

Research paper thumbnail of How middle level science teachers visualize and translate motion, scale, and geometric space of the Earth-Moon-Sun system with their students

Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial thinking in astronomy education research

Physical Review Physics Education Research, 2018

Research paper thumbnail of Sense of direction: General factor saturation and associations with the Big-Five traits

Personality and Individual Differences, 2015

Research paper thumbnail of Cognitive factors and interactivity: Implications for the design and implementation of 3D computer visualizations for medical education

Poster presented at the Medicine …, 2004

Research paper thumbnail of Research Article It Works Both Ways: Transfer Difficulties between Manipulatives and Written Subtraction Solutions

Copyright © 2013 David H. Uttal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creat... more Copyright © 2013 David H. Uttal et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Three experiments compared performance and transfer among children aged 83–94 months after written or manipulatives instruction on two-digit subtraction. In Experiment 1a, children learned with manipulatives or with traditional written numerals. All children then completed a written posttest. Experiment 1b investigated whether salient or perceptually attractive manipulatives affected transfer. Experiment 2 investigated whether instruction with writing would transfer to a manipulatives-based posttest. Children demonstrated performance gains when the posttest format was identical to the instructed format but failed to demonstrate transfer from the instructed format to an incongruent posttest. The results indicate that the problem in tr...

Research paper thumbnail of Individual Differences in the Use of an External Visualization during an Internal Visualization Task

Individual differences can influence a learner’s ability to extract information from dynamic, int... more Individual differences can influence a learner’s ability to extract information from dynamic, interactive animations. (Lowe, 2004). In three previous experiments, the author demonstrated that 1) spatial ability; and 2) the frequency with which participants interacted with an animated computer model made significant contributions to performance on a spatial visualization task in which they had to imagine and draw the cross-section of a three-dimensional object (Cohen et al., 2004). The present protocol study investigated the strategy differences between high- and low- spatial individuals, including differences on how they interacted with 3D visualizations during task performance. Method Six graduate students (3 high- and 3 low-spatial ability)

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation

In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geome... more In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geometric solids for spatial visualization training. Individuals with low spatial ability were trained to recognize the cross section of a three-dimensional (3D) object using interactive animations in which they passed a plane through a 3D object, observed, and drew the resulting cross section. In both experiments, trained participants showed significantly greater pre-posttest improvement compared to controls on a test of inferring cross sections. Effects of training transferred to untrained stimuli. We propose mechanisms of learning and transfer and suggest how these results can be further developed and applied to spatial visualization training in science education.

Research paper thumbnail of The Role of Spatial Cognition inMedicine

Applied Spatial Cognition: From Research to Cognitive Technology, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of A Visual Approach to Helping Instructors Integrate, Document, and Refine Active Learning

Journal of College Science Teaching, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Santa Barbara Solids Test--Version 3

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial ability in the representation of cross sections

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Thinking and STEM Education. When, Why, and How?

Psychology of Learning and Motivation - Advances in Research and Theory, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Inferring cross sections of 3D objects: A new spatial thinking test

Learning and Individual Differences, 2012

Abstract A new spatial ability test was administered online to 223 undergraduate students enrolle... more Abstract A new spatial ability test was administered online to 223 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory science courses. The 30-item multiple choice test measures individual differences in ability to identify the two-dimensional cross section of a three-dimensional geometric solid, a skill that has been identified as important in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Bivariate and partial correlations suggest that the test measures a skill that is distinct from three-dimensional mental rotation and change in view perspective. Test items varied along two scales: complexity of the geometric solid to be sliced and orientation of the cutting plane. Internal reliability of both the overall test and its subscales was satisfactory. Performance was higher on figures cut by orthogonal, rather than oblique, planes. Patterns of performance across more and less complex items, and patterns of sex differences on these items, suggest that items on the test are differentially amenable to imagistic and analytic strategies, with males outperforming females on items that are less amenable to analytic strategies. The test shows promise for online administration and for adaptation to younger populations.

Research paper thumbnail of Visualizing cross sections: Training spatial thinking using interactive animations and virtual objects

Learning and Individual Differences, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of interactivity and spatial ability on the comprehension of spatial relations in a 3D computer visualization

annual meeting of …, 2004

Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity an... more Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity and spatial visualization ability in the comprehension of 3D computer visualizations. Undergraduates were presented with a fictitious anatomy-like structure in the form of both printed 2D ...

Research paper thumbnail of Effects of interactivity and spatial ability on the comprehension of spatial relations in a 3D computer visualization

annual meeting of …, 2004

Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity an... more Introduction and Method This experiment was designed to investigate the roles of interactivity and spatial visualization ability in the comprehension of 3D computer visualizations. Undergraduates were presented with a fictitious anatomy-like structure in the form of both printed 2D ...

Research paper thumbnail of UC Merced Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society Title Effects of Interactivity and Spatial Ability on the Comprehension of Spatial Relations in a 3D Computer Visualization Permalink Publication Date Effects of Interactivity and Spatial Ability on the Comprehension of ...

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation

In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geome... more In two experiments, we investigated the benefits of using interactive animation and virtual geometric solids for spatial visualization training. Individuals with low spatial ability were trained to recognize the cross section of a threedimensional (3D) object using interactive animations in which they passed a plane through a 3D object, observed, and drew the resulting cross section. In both experiments, trained participants showed significantly greater pre-posttest improvement compared to controls on a test of inferring cross sections. Effects of training transferred to untrained stimuli. We propose mechanisms of learning and transfer and suggest how these results can be further developed and applied to spatial visualization training in science education.

Research paper thumbnail of Spatial visualization training using interactive animation and virtual models

Page 1. Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation Cheryl A. Cohen (c_cohen@psych... more Page 1. Spatial Visualization Training Using Interactive Animation Cheryl A. Cohen (c_cohen@psych.ucsb.edu) Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA 93107 Mary Hegarty (hegarty ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Influence of Spatial Ability on the Use of Dynamic, Interactive Animation in a Spatial Problem-Solving Task