"Mental Rotation: Psychometric Analysis of the Online Purdue Spatial Vi" by Savanna Dautle

Date Approved

1-8-2025

Embargo Period

2-19-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Engineering

Department

Engineering

College

Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering

Advisor

Stephanie Farrell, PhD

Committee Member 1

Cassandra Jamison, PhD

Committee Member 2

Justin Major, PhD

Committee Member 3

Sarah Ferguson, PhD

Committee Member 4

Scott Streiner, PhD

Keywords

engineering education;factor analysis;mental rotation;PSVT:R;SEM;spatial skills

Abstract

“Literature shows that spatial skills, and in particular, mental rotation skills, are predictors of success in STEM. Students who have strong spatial visualization skills are more likely to demonstrate better academic performance and higher graduation rates in STEM. Several instruments are used to measure mental rotation skills, most of which are paper-based… To measure the range of skills typically seen in undergraduate engineering students, the PSVT:R has been historically preferred for its use of a variety of 3-dimensional shapes, which are appropriately challenging to visualize, and for its established reliability and validity [using classical test theory]. An [online] version of the test, [here deemed the O-PSVT:R,] offers several advantages over the paper-based test; however, its reliability and validity must be established*” [2]. I then studied the relationships between student success metrics (graduation rate & course grades) and their O-PSVT:R score, while accounting for variance attributed to past experiences known to correlate with spatial skills, as well as students’ demographic groups. This resulted in a conceptual framework for undergraduate engineering student success relative to O-PSVT:R score. * - © 2023 American Society for Engineering Education

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