Spatial Ability and Geometric Thinking of the Students of Teacher Training for Primary Education

Abstract

In this article, we focus on geometric thinking and the solution of three spatial geometric tasks of future primary school teachers. The research sample consisted of 78 Bachelor´s students at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Slovakia. The research findings show that future primary school teachers have a problem with geometrical thinking at higher levels and with solving spatial ability tasks, too. Using the statistical implicit analysis we revealed the connections between the students´ solution of spatial ability tasks and the achieved level of geometric thinking according to van Hiele theory.