| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣科技大學 === 數位學習與教育研究所 === 100 === Spatial ability is widely applied in all aspects of our daily lives, is the important content of many subject matters and basic abilities, and is also the important reference to individuals’ future career development and choices. It is shown in research that gender differences in spatial ability evolve during puberty, and there are more male-advantage spatial factors than the female-advantage ones, but the opportunities to receiving education and technology seem to play crucial roles in decreasing the gender differences in spatial ability.
To avoid possible gender bias inherent in the measuring structure, the eye-tracking instruments and the standardized spatial ability test (SPAT) based on gender invariance were used in the study to collect and compare eye-moving procedural data and SPAT scores in the spatial reasoning processes.
There were 37 subjects recruited through social networking websites, consisting of 22 males and 15 females of higher education background. The eye-moving variables collected were total fixation duration (TFD), total fixation count (TFC), average fixation duration (AFD), first fixation duration (FFD), percent time fixated (PTF), regression duration (RD), regression count (RC) and preferred viewing position (PVP).
The results showed that, there were no gender differences in SPAT scores, and in eye-moving data for the Gestalt pattern recognition and the simpler 2D plane combination. However, males showed significantly less TFD and TFC than females in the more difficult 2D plane combination. There was also gender difference in PVP for the 3D object combination.
Based on the subjects of higher education background in the study, the results of comparing most eye-moving procedural data and the SPAT scores were consistent to the major trend found in the research regarding gender differences in spatial ability. Nevertheless, the gender differences found in TFD and TFC for the more difficult 2D task, and the PVP for the 3D task can provide helpful insights to related educational training methods, instructional contents and media in the future.
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