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Using EFA to Determine Factor Structure of a Computer-Based Version of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R)

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Engineering Design Graphics Division (EDGD) Technical Session 2

Tagged Division

Engineering Design Graphics Division (EDGD)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44574

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/44574

Download Count

99

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Paper Authors

biography

Savanna Dautle Rowan University

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Savanna Dautle is a graduate student in the Experiential Engineering Education (ExEEd) department at Rowan University, in Glassboro, NJ. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in Engineering Education under the advisement of Dr. Stephanie Farrell. Her research interests include spatial skills in undergraduate engineering students, diversity in engineering, and instrument validation.

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biography

Stephanie Farrell Rowan University

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Dr. Stephanie Farrell is Professor and Founding Department Head of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University (USA). Prior to 2016 she was a faculty member in Chemical Engineering at Rowan.

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Abstract

Literature shows that spatial skills, and in particular, mental rotation skills, are predictors of success in STEM. Students who have strong spatial visualization skills are more likely to demonstrate better academic performance and higher retention rates in STEM. Several instruments are used to measure mental rotation skills, most of which are paper-based; these include the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), Rotated Colour Cube Test (RCCT), and Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R). To measure the range of skills typically seen in undergraduate engineering students, the PSVT:R has been historically preferred for its use of a variety of 3-dimensional shapes, which are appropriately challenging to visualize, and for its established reliability and validity. A data-rich computer-based version of the test offers several advantages over the paper-based test; however, its reliability and validity must be established. We present the analysis of the results of a computer-based version of the PSVT:R administered to first-year engineering students at a mid-sized, public university in the United States. We use an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to determine the number of latent variables being measured by the instrument in our data. We determine the number of latent variables to be one, with good reliability, which is consistent with the paper-based instrument. In future work, we plan to use a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to show evidence of validity of the computer-based PSVT:R.

Dautle, S., & Farrell, S. (2023, June), Using EFA to Determine Factor Structure of a Computer-Based Version of the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test: Rotations (PSVT:R) Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44574

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