Abstract :
An experimental study involving 30 undergraduates (mean age = 20.5 years)
in mental rotation (MR) training was conducted in an interactive Desktop
Mental Rotation Trainer (iDeMRT). Stratified random sampling assigned students
into one experimental group and one control group. The former trained
in iDeMRT and the latter trained in conventional condition. A multifactorial
pretest posttest design procedure was used and data were analysed using twoway
analysis of covariance. Overall, there was substantial improvement in MR
accuracy. Main effects of training and gender were observed, indicating that
iDeMRT group and boys outperformed the control group and girls respectively.
In addition, an interaction between training method and gender was present,
indicating that boys were more accurate when trained in iDeMRT and performed
moderately in conventional method. Female participants achieved
equivalent improvement gain in MR accuracy regardless of the training conditions
used. For the speed measure of MR, no appreciable improvement was
observed after training.
