Why Spatial Reasoning Is Important For Math Learners
Does your child know how to organise objects like fitting their books into their schoolbag? Do they know how to put their shoe on the correct foot or to button their shirt the right way? Do they easily find their way around a supermarket, or do they know what to do if they get off their school bus at the wrong stop? All of these things rely on spatial reasoning abilities.
People depend on their spatial reasoning skills numerous times every day without noticing. When it comes to your child, spatial reasoning can influence how they perform in school, particularly in Mathematics class. If you are unfamiliar with the term spatial reasoning, this article is especially for you! Read on to understand more about spatial reasoning and its importance for young Math learners.
What is spatial reasoning?
Spatial reasoning basically refers to the understanding of the ways objects can move in a three-dimensional (3D) world. Toddlers use these abilities to recognise body parts and locate objects as well as the people around them. Young children learn and comprehend spatial concepts by playing with toys like shape-sorters.
In essence, spatial reasoning is used to understand the location or position and dimensions (like size and length) of objects and the different ways these objects are related to each other. It is important to keep in mind that spatial reasoning is not just a single skill. Instead, it is a series of different skills that help people, especially children, understand the physical world around them.
Why is spatial reasoning significant in Mathematics?
As mentioned earlier, children start to understand spatial concepts by comprehending the physical properties of objects around them. This enables children to picture shapes in their minds and come up with ways on how they could manipulate the shapes. This is an essential building block of Mathematical reasoning. It is fundamental for acquiring problem-solving and other later Math skills, such as geometry.
Because problem solving is at the heart of Math, learning spatial concepts will likely make children good at Math and encourage them to use their creativity for exploring, playing, and pushing boundaries. By practising spatial understanding with the use of toys like shape-sorters and open-ended building blocks or crawling around in dens, your child can become naturally curious and interested in engaging in Mathematical play.
On the more scientific side, researchers believe that good spatial reasoning is required to become an excellent Math learner. This is because research suggests that the parts of the brain used for spatial tasks are the same parts used for Mathematics. Particularly, some spatial and Mathematics abilities both rely on the same part of the brain, which is the parietal lobe.
In essence, this means that Math enrichment programs that encourage children to use spatial reasoning can possibly strengthen the connections between the neurons in the parietal lobe and help enhance both spatial reasoning and Mathematics skills.
Conclusion
Overall, spatial reasoning is important for Mathematics because these abilities provide children with a foundation for easily understanding Math concepts, especially the more advanced ones. Therefore, if you want your child to become a Math wizard with a natural passion for Mathematics, you should help and encourage them to hone their spatial reasoning abilities early on. One of the best ways to do this is to enrol them in a Math enrichment program in Singapore that puts emphasis on spatial reasoning.
For the best and most reliable enrichment classes that will surely boost your child’s brain power and abilities, The Brain Academia Singapore is the learning enrichment centre you can count on! We offer engaging and effective cognitive brain training programs and enrichment classes that will help your child unlock their abilities or skills in a variety of areas, such as English and Mathematics.
With our outcome-oriented training approach, we will make sure that your child achieves their best potential while having fun learning at the same time! Check out our article on the cognitive benefits of learning through play!
To learn more about our comprehensive programs, feel free to get in touch with us today by filling up this contact form.