Spatial Intelligence

Spatial Intelligence examines public and professional conceptions of the relationships between thinking about spatial attributes and active engagement in spatially related constructions and designs. Even though children’s and adolescents’ spatial propensities in constructive activities parallel the skills needed by professionals in both established and emerging fields, spatial education is often missing from K–12 curricula and is easily impeded by teachers, parents, or other individuals who do not provide contexts in formalized settings, such as schools, to nurture its potential. This book bridges the gap by linking the natural spatial inclinations, interests, and proclivities of individuals from a variety of cultures with professional training and expertise in engineering, architecture, science, and mathematics. Educators will be better able to achieve the skills and awareness necessary to provide children and young adults with the vital opportunities inherent in spatial education.

The book is organised into three distinct sections that in turn highlight the significance of spatial intelligence for architecture: the first section provides an overview of spatial intelligence as a human capability; the second section argues how the acknowledgement of this capability in architectural education and the profession should enable the demystification of the practice of design, forming the basis of a more democratic interface between society and practice; the final section explores exciting new opportunities for practice in the linking of real and virtual environments in the information age.

Spatial Intelligence examines public and professional conceptions of the relationships between thinking about spatial attributes and active engagement in spatially related constructions and designs. Even though children’s and adolescents’ spatial propensities in constructive activities parallel the skills needed by professionals in both established and emerging fields, spatial education is often missing from K–12 curricula and is easily impeded by teachers, parents, or other individuals who do not provide contexts in formalized settings, such as schools, to nurture its potential. This book bridges the gap by linking the natural spatial inclinations, interests, and proclivities of individuals from a variety of cultures with professional training and expertise in engineering, architecture, science, and mathematics. Educators will be better able to achieve the skills and awareness necessary to provide children and young adults with the vital opportunities inherent in spatial education.

This book will help teachers design effective curriculum for their students with diverse learning abilities. The authors have created a guided process to apply MI theory to the elementary school classroom. The five, pathways, or approaches examined: Exploration, Bridging, Understanding, Authentic Problems, and Talent Development, represent the ways in which MI can be implemented and nurtured across the elementary grades. The Pathways Model promotes and supports the development of a well-grounded understanding of MI theory to inform goal-setting and planning for using multiple intelligences theory in the classroom. Each pathway addresses a different set of goals and provides appropriate guidelines and examples.

Each chapter in this book makes a unique contribution to the body of the literature and enhances the understanding of spatial ability and its influence on learning in the STEM disciplines. It addresses spatial abilities, ways to measure them as well as their impact and how they can affect learning subjects in scientific, technology and engineering domains. The volume deliberately covers a wide range perspectives from cognitive psychology, educational psychology, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, computer science, information technology disciplines to human development. Taking a broad view on the topic, chapters in the book discuss how to define spatial ability and its factors, the measurement of spatial ability and psychometric analyses, and educational strategies to improve spatial skills and their implications for science and technology education. The book thus provides an overview of current thinking about visual-spatial ability, spatial reasoning, and spatial skills.

The authors demonstrate how to develop higher-order thinking, mindful decision making, and productive problem-solving skills in all students and provide a six-step process for developing thematic learning units.

Regional Intelligence is an emerging field that leverages the lessons learned through decades of regional science. By merging spatial analysis with quantitative analytical techniques in the Anthropocene, this book contributes to the multidisciplinary understanding of regional issues. The locational aspects of regional paradigms are explored through various empirical studies that promote a rich and diversified understanding of regional issues concerning policy, governance, land use, and territorial decisions. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars and students of regional and spatial sciences and geography, as well as practitioners and decision makers engaged in regional planning and policymaking, looking for new methodological approaches that offer insights into sustainable development, regional prosperity, and livability. As a unique contribution, this book challenges the status quo on how complex spatial problems at an international level and at multiple scales can be comprehended.

The essays in this volume focus upon the psychological dimensions of lesbian, gay and bisexual identities from puberty to adulthood.