Secondary Students’ Visual-Spatial Ability Predicts Performance on the Visual-Spatial Electricity and Electromagnetism Test (VSEEMT)

This study examines the relationship between students’ general visual-spatial ability and their understanding of electricity and electromagnetism, a topic that requires imagining many invisible, 3-dimensional phenomena. Participants (N = 428 Singaporean secondary students) completed the Visual- Spatial Ability Test (VSAT) and the Visual-Spatial Electricity and Electromagnetism Test (VSEEMT). Results reveal that students’ visual-spatial ability is significantly, positively correlated with their achievement in the VSEEMT; this relationship was highest for students with previously lower ability. Thus, visual-spatial ability is an asset to students in mastering the concepts of electricity and electromagnetism, especially for students of lower ability. The findings support a need for visualization instruction that can support students’ visual-spatial ability, which may help them visualize the abstract phenomena and deepen their understanding of the concepts.Peer Reviewe