2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Further Investigations into the Link Between Spatial and Technical Communication

Presented at Liberal Education/Engineering & Society Division (LEES) Technical Session 8: Communication and Liberal Education

This paper expands upon findings from prior exploratory research investigating the link, if any, between spatial visualization and technical communication skills. First-year engineering students at the University of Cincinnati enrolled in the second semester of a two-semester first-year engineering program were invited to participate in the research. An online proctored survey was distributed to students that included two spatial visualization tests, a verbal analogy test, and self-reported demographic information. Participants who completed all instruments were invited back to a one-on-one session where verbal fluency tests that measured phonemic and semantic fluency were administered. Eighty-eight valid data points were collected. A principal component analysis was applied to the spatial skills test results to classify each participant into categories of high, medium, and low spatial visualizers. This paper investigates verbal fluency in engineering students, an important aspect of overall technical communication ability. Results from this study will contribute to understanding how verbal fluencies interact with spatial visualization skills which could, in turn, be useful in understanding overall technical communication skills in further research.

Authors

Mr. John William Lynch http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5580-7387 University of Cincinnati [biography]

I am a PhD student in Engineering and Computing Education at the University of Cincinnati, with a focus on improving undergraduate computer science education and student retention. My research explores the intersections of computer science, spatial skills, technical communication abilities, and how to use current technologies to enhance learning experiences. My ultimate goal is to improve retention rates in computer science across all education levels and make the field more accessible to a broader range of students.
Dr. Sheryl A. Sorby University of Cincinnati [biography]

Dr. Sheryl Sorby is currently a Professor of STEM Education at the University of Cincinnati and was recently a Fulbright Scholar at the Dublin Institute of Technology in Dublin, Ireland. She is a professor emerita of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mec
Prof. Teri J Murphy http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0995-2529 University of Cincinnati [biography]

Dr. Murphy is a professor in the Department of Engineering & Computing Education at the University of Cincinnati.
Dr. Betsy M. Aller Western Michigan University [biography]

Betsy M. Aller is a retired associate professor in engineering management and manufacturing. At Western Michigan Univ., she coordinated and taught capstone design courses for 20 years, and developed courses in sustainability and project management. Her focus was on students' professional development and support for underrepresented groups in engineering.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 22, 2025, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 25, 2025

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