title: Effect of type of practice in a computer-aided design environment in visualizing three-dimensional objects from two-dimensional orthographic projections.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of practice in manipulating 2- and 3-dimensional (D) wireframe images on a learner's ability to visualize 3-D objects. Practice, either rotational or not, consisted of visualizing 2- and 3-D objects generated by personal computer (PC)-based computer-assisted design software. Results indicated that participants in the rotation treatment group performed significantly better than those in either the nonrotation or control group on measures of spatial ability and 3-D visualization ability. Both treatment groups performed significantly better than the control group on measures of metacognition, effort, and worry. These results support a conclusion that spatial ability can be improved through practice that allows the learner to see the relationship between the 2-D and 3-D features of objects.
authors.affiliation: Kaiser Electronics, San Jose, California.
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Duesbury
authors.forename: H F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: O'Neil
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001108:Architecture; D003196:Computer Graphics; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003867:Depth Perception; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D009949:Orientation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011214:Practice, Psychological