An a priori measure of visual difficulty of 2-D sketches depicting 3-D objects

Mirela Widder, Avi Berman, Boris Koichu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Aiming to enhance understanding of visual obstacles inherent in two-dimensional (2-D) sketches used in high school spatial geometry instruction, we propose a measure of visual difficulty based on two attributes of the sketches: potentially misleading geometrical information (PMI) and potentially helpful geometrical information (PHI). The difficulty of 12 normatively oriented cube-related sketches was theoretically ranked according to their ratios, #PHI/#PMI. The ranking was compared to the actual visual difficulty as measured by the percentage of correct or desired comprehension, individual spatial ability, and study-time allocation. This procedure was repeated for unnormatively oriented sketches, obtained by vertically flipping the original sketches. In both cases, the findings substantiate #PHI/#PMI as an a priori measure of visual difficulty. Practical, theoretical, and methodological implications are inspected and discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)489-528
Number of pages40
JournalJournal for Research in Mathematics Education
Volume50
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2019

Keywords

  • High school
  • Measuring spatial visual difficulty
  • Normative and unnormative orientation of sketches
  • Prototypes
  • Spatial geometry instruction
  • Study-time allocation
  • Visual obstacles

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Education
  • Mathematics (miscellaneous)

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