The Causal Model of Factors Affecting Lower Secondary School Students’ Spatial Perception Ability Relating to Their Understanding of Moon Phases

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  • 中学生の満ち欠けの理解に関わる空間認識能力に影響を及ぼす諸要因の因果モデル
  • 中学生の満ち欠けの理解に関わる空間詔識能力に影響を及ぼす諸要因の因果モデル
  • チュウガクセイ ノ ミチ カケ ノ リカイ ニ カカワル クウカン ショウシキノウリョク ニ エイキョウ オ オヨボス ショ ヨウイン ノ インガ モデル

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Abstract

This research aimed to clarify causal factors affecting spatial perception ability relating to lower secondary school students’ understanding of the phases of the moon and Venus. We conducted a questionnaire survey (52 items) of 416 9th grade students, identifying “mathematical schematization”, “involvement in astronomy”, “favorable impression of science study”, “the daily experience of finding one’s bearings”, “logical thinking for solving problems”, and “favorable impression of astronomical study in elementary school” as 6 factors affecting their “spatial perception ability”. Then, the students’ “spatial perception ability” was evaluated quantitatively from 6 perspectives: - “the recognition of shade by bird’s-eye view”, “spherical conception”, “conception of right and left”, “spherical conception of right and left”, “movement of viewpoint from the side”, and “distance conception”. Finally, we constructed a path diagram on 7 variables of “spatial perception ability” and performed a path analysis. We found that students’ “Involvement in astronomy”, “daily experience of finding one’s bearings”, and “favorable impression of astronomical study in elementary school” covary and are situated at the initial stage of a causal model affecting their “spatial perception ability”; we also found that the students’ experience with “spatial perception ability” is affected directly by “logical thinking for solving problems” and “mathematical schematization”, to the same degree. These results revealed that it would be useful for lower secondary students to consider the mechanism of moon phases logically and to visualize how the positional relationship between the sun, the earth, and other celestial bodies affects moon shades in order to develop their spatial perception ability relating to moon phases.

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