Examinando por Autor "Contreras, María José"

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Developmental differences between 1st and 3rd year of Early Childhood Education (preschool) in mental rotation and its training
(Springer, 2018-09-29) Fernández‑Méndez, Laura M.; Contreras, María José; Elosúa, M. Rosa
Research has shown that mental rotation (MR) can be improved through training. However, studies with preschool children are very scarce, due in part to the lack of consensus as to the age at which this ability arises and can be trained, and due to the difficulties of working on the understanding of this ability when it begins to develop. The present study was designed to serve the effect of an MR training on 1st (3–4-year-old children) and 3rd year (5–6-year-old children) of Early Childhood Education (preschool), as well as the development of this ability between both courses. Finally, this study aimed to analyze the differential increase of the training effect in relation to the initial MR ability of the participants. The results showed a significant improvement in the participants who underwent training in 3rd year of preschool, with the trained group showing a marginal improvement in 1st year of preschool. The older group showed lower error rates in training performance than the younger group, the latter having a linear decrease in performance as the angular disparity increased. In addition, in relation to training, a greater increase of MR was observed in the 3rd year preschoolers with lower scores in the pretest. These results suggest that MR is in full development and that it is a spatial ability that can be trained at preschool ages. In addition, the possibility of enhancing this ability to a greater extent in preschoolers who exhibit lower initial MR level is especially relevant
ERMENTAL: A Simple Web Environment to Design and Teach the Effects of Cognitive Training Experiments
(Springer, 2020-08-26) Martínez-Molina, Agustín; Fernández-Méndez, Laura M.; Meneghetti, Chiara; Jansen, Petra; Plaza, Victoria; Contreras, María José
We have developed a free, simple and usable online system (called ERMENTAL) with which researchers, teachers and university students can study the effects of training on cognitive processes (e.g., visuospatial as mental rotation and visuospatial memory). So far, similar platforms are usually paid or require specialized training for their use. ERMENTAL allows, in an unsupervised way (i.e., outside the laboratory), to study the effectiveness of cognitive training both individually (according to initial levels of ability) and at group level (e.g., between sexes or academic STEM disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). This approach is derived from the authors’ previous research on training in visuospatial skills, the use of cognitive strategies, the analysis of individual and gender differences. The initial experience with the system was positive. Both teachers and supervised students required little or no training to create their own experiments. This type of computer development should be continued and supported not only research purposes, but also for teaching future professionals and researchers.
From What Age Is Mental Rotation Training Effective? Differences in Preschool Age but Not in Sex
(Frontiers, 2018-05-16) Fernández-Méndez, Laura M.; Contreras, María José; Elosúa, M. Rosa
Currently, there is evidence that spatial skills training leads to an improvement of such skills, although studies with children in the Preschool stage are very scarce. This paper aims to examine the effectiveness of mental rotation (MR) training and sex differences in preschool children. Two experiments were carried out. Experiment 1 included 59 children of 1st course (aged between 3 and 4 years) and Experiment 2, 61 children of 2nd course (aged between 4 and 5 years) of Preschool Education, distributed into control and training groups. The results showed a significant improvement in the MR ability of the training group (measured through a different test than the one used for training) only in the older children, and a tendency toward significance in the younger participants. Moreover, no sex differences in MR or group differences across age groups were found. These results regarding MR training support the malleability of spatial skills approach, particularly in 4–5 year-old preschoolers. This malleability should be enhanced in our educational system, as well as the implementation of educational and social policies that tend toward equality between sexes in the development of spatial skills. This can promote an equitable access to academic careers requiring high spatial skills such as engineering, science, technology or mathematics, in which nowadays women are underrepresented.
Inducing strategies to solve a mental rotation task is possible: evidence from a sex-related eyetracking analysis
(Taylor & Francis, 2024-12-08) Fernández-Méndez, Laura M.; Cepero Amores, Laura; Orenes, Isabel; Prieto, Antonio; Rodán, Antonio; Montoro, Pedro R.; Mayas, Julia; Cabestrero, Raúl; Contreras, María José; Raúl, Cabestrero; Contreras
The study of spatial skills is gaining importance due to their relevance in everyday activities and their critical role in developing competencies across various academic disciplines. The main goal of this study was to explore whether mental rotation strategies, such as the so-called holistic –rotating an entire object- and piecemeal –rotating individual parts of the object- approaches, can be induced, and whether sex differences emerge during the process of strategy induction. This objective holds a pivotal role as it could lead to the enhancement of mental rotation abilities and the development of effective interventions. To achieve this, a mental rotation task was conducted while eye movements were recorded. In the first block, participants solved the task freely, while in the second block, they received instructions to solve it through either a holistic (42 participants) or a piecemeal (43 participants) strategy in a between-subjects design. In both strategies, participants showed better performance in the second block compared to the first. Males outperformed females. The holistic strategy resulted in faster reaction times in the second block. The number of fixations and saccadic movements decreased in the second block compared to the first for the holistic strategy, while the piecemeal strategy exhibited the opposite ocular pattern. These results indicate that effective mental rotation strategies were successfully elicited. No sex differences were found in the analyzed eye movement variables.
Mathematical achievement: the role of spatial and motor skills in 6-8 year-old children
(2020) Fernández-Méndez, Laura M.; Contreras, María José; Mammarella, Irene C.; Feraco, Tommaso; Meneghetti, Chiara
Several studies have tried to establish the factors that underlie mathematical ability across development. Among them, spatial and motor abilities might play a relevant role, but no studies jointly contemplate both types of abilities to account for mathematical performance. The present study was designed to observe the roles of spatial and motor skills in mathematical performance. A total of 305 children aged between 6 and 8 years took part in this study. A generalized linear regression model with mathematical performance as a dependent variable was performed. Results revealed that Block design (as a visuospatial reasoning measure) accounted for mathematical performance, especially among 6- and 7-year-olds but not in 8-year-olds. After controlling for the effect of the block design, mental rotation and manual dexterity predicted mathematical performance. These findings highlight the role of underlying cognitive (spatial) and motor abilities in supporting mathematical achievement in primary school children
Self-confidence Judgments in Mental Rotation Ability in Sixth Graders
(UNED, 2024-12-31) Fernández-Méndez, Laura M.; Maldonado-Recio, María Trinidad; Contreras, María José
Monitoring self-performance is a significant metacognitive process in students’ learning, helping students to adjust their performance in the tasks they are carrying out. However, to date, studies that evaluate these processes in primary school children, more specifically in spatial tasks, are scarce. The aim of this study is to analyze the self-confidence judgments and calibration index in two mental rotation tasks considering difficulty level. A total of 40 sixth graders, children aged between 11 and 12 years old applied a 5-point scale to evaluate, item by item, the confidence of their responses in two different mental rotation tasks (with high and low difficulty). It was calculated an index of calibration (Brier Score) as well for each task. The results indicated similar levels of confidence judgments in spatial tasks of varying difficulty where the calibration was different having the students more precision in easy test in comparison with difficult test. This evidence was discussed highlighting the importance of self-monitoring spatial performance strengthening the development of strategies that could regulate performance at this stage in this type of spatial tasks.
Visuospatial and Motor Ability Contributions in Primary School Spatial Geometry
(DIGITAL.CSIC, 2024) Fernández-Méndez, Laura M.; Meneghetti, Chiara; Martínez-Molina, Agustín; Mammarella, Irene C.; Contreras, María José
Geometry is a subject frequently associated with mathematical performance or science interest, as well as with reasoning and spatial skills. Within the school context, geometry achievement has been connected with visuospatial abilities but less frequently with motor skills, where the embodied cognition approach seems especially important to explain the emergence of complex cognitive representations based on motor processes. To date, few studies have assessed the contribution of both spatial and motor abilities to predict geometry performance. Thus, in this study, we aimed to examine the role of visuospatial (mental rotation and visualization) and motor skills (fine and gross motor skills) in spatial geometry achievement in primary schoolers. A total of 215 students from the second and third year of basic education participated in this study. The participants were enrolled in several tasks that involved spatial, motor and cognitive abilities. A multiple linear regression model showed that the geometry variable was explained by age, mental rotation and manual dexterity at 22%. The results suggest that geometry performance was supported by specific spatial skills (mental rotation) and fine motor (manual dexterity), but not gross motor ability in primary schoolers.