Spatial ability in computer-aided design courses

Abstract

Many studies have demonstrated that spatial ability is an important factor in the study of Industrial Engineering. Spatial ability is fundamentally important to the work of an engineer, as it is vital for project design. Among other elements, spatial ability correlates with factors such as good academic results and a natural ability to learn how to use I.T systems and computer programs. Furthermore, the new framework drawn up by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) guides us as to the definition and measurement of the aforementioned competencies, among them spatial ability. In this paper we will consider the improvement of spatial ability through the use of 3D solid modeling software. Our study was undertaken with 812 students of first year Industrial Engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. The evolution of the scores they obtained on the Differential Aptitude Test - Spatial Relations Subset (DAT-MR.) and the Mental Rotation Test (MRT) were analyzed both before and after taking a module on computer aided design. This study attempts to develop a model which will allow us to evaluate the spatial ability (SA) of engineering students studying the first year module “Graphic Expression and Computer-Aided design”.