Alice Gomez et Joris Mithalal présentent un poster au colloque IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society)

Exploring the Influence of Visuospatial and Motor Abilities on Geometric Knowledge : Insights from Developmental Coordination Disorder children
Camille Roullet, Thomas Gauduel, Joris Mithalal Le Doze, Alice Gomez
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, INSERM, Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon CRNL U1028 UMR5292, EDUWELL, F-69500, Bron, France;
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UR 4148 S2HEP, F-69622, LYON, France

We investigate the intricate interplay between visuospatial and motor abilities and their impact on the development of geometric knowledge. Historically, geometry emerged to address practical challenges in land surveying, navigation, engineering, and architecture. While human spatial abilities are inherently impressive, the relationship between these intuitive spatial skills and formal geometry remains a topic of debate (1). Cultural variations further suggest that intuitive notions of space are underdetermined and subject to cultural influences. To what extent is our geometric knowledge constrained by motor and visuo-spatial experience?

We conducted a study involving 24 neurotypical children and 4 children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) aged 7-11 years. Employing an adapted version of the geometric intruder task (2), we examined participants' geometric reasoning while recording eye movements. The task presented arrays of images, requiring participants to identify the figure violating Euclidean geometry principles. We assessed two categories: Euclidean properties (e.g., point alignment, straight lines) and geometric figures (e.g., parallelogram, circle) with varying difficulty levels.

Preliminary results indicate that all participants performed above chance level, yet children with DCD exhibited distinct patterns in the difficult condition. Correlations between visuospatial abilities (PVSE), motor skills (MABC2), and geometric performance shed light on the relationship between these domains. These findings suggest that visuospatial abilities partially constrain geometric understanding, emphasizing the need for tailored geometry education for individuals with specific visuospatial and motor challenges. It contributes to understanding the cognitive foundations of geometric knowledge and calls for adaptive teaching strategies of formal geometry instruction to accommodate diverse learning profiles.

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