Research Information System
Thesis Type: Doctorate
Institution Of The Thesis: Middle East Technical University, Faculty of Education, Department of Computer Education and Instructional Technology, Turkey
Approval Date: 2023
Thesis Language: English
Student: ZEYNEP PİRİ
Supervisor: Göknur Kaplan
Abstract:
Mental rotation ability involves visualizing the results of manipulating two or three-dimensional objects in the mind. Improving this ability is important for many aspects of daily and professional lives. Therefore, it is a common objective that mental rotation ability, which is decisive for employment and professional success in many fields including defense, engineering, medicine, architecture, and the Arts, should be developed for individuals of all ages and from all educational levels (Hu et al., 2017; Gold et al., 2018; Paruchuri et al., 2020). This study aims to measure and develop mental rotation ability in a three-dimensional environment and explore the training experience of the users in this novel environment. In accordance with the study aims, a mixed-method design was employed. While the quantitative part involved the investigation of the effect of stimulus dimensionality on mental rotation performance and the training effectiveness of the Mixed Reality-based training module, the qualitative part addressed the question of how the training experience was perceived by the participants. In this study, Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotation was transferred to Microsoft HoloLens 2 environment to be used as the measurement tool. Secondly, a Mixed Reality-based application for mental rotation training has been developed with the help of software developers specialized in immersive platforms. In this application, participants can watch rotation animations accompanied by audio narrations, perform gesture-based rotations within interactive animations and solve rotation problems of various complexity by navigating around holographic objects. 47 students at Kastamonu University completed the three-dimensional mental rotation training. Before and after training, the mental rotation ability of half of the participants was measured with the two-dimensional test on the computer, while the other half was measured with a Head-mounted Display device. The effectiveness of the mental rotation training and the effect of stimulus dimensionality on mental rotation performance and cognitive load was examined using the experimental method. Furthermore, semi-structured interviews were conducted for understanding this training experience better. This is the first study that measures the effectiveness of a three-dimensional spatial ability training module using a complete three-dimensional spatial ability test in an immersive environment. The results show that three-dimensional training improved mental rotation ability measured by both two-dimensional and three-dimensional tests. No relationship was found between the sense of presence in the immersive training environment and mental rotation ability improvement. There is no difference in mental rotation performance between two-dimensional and three-dimensional tests. The cognitive load in the three-dimensional test was lower than in the two-dimensional test. While the mental rotation ability of females was lower than males before training, this gender difference disappeared after training. The interviews showed that the training received positive responses and that the representational and interactional affordances of the training environment were appreciated by the participants.