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Article Reviews: Hands-On STEM Activities, Spatial Reasoning, and Perseverance in Early Elementary Mathematics

Brunarious McKever Sr.

EDUC798

Library University

Dr. Wendt

09/15/2026

Review 1: Fostering Spatial Ability Development in and for Authentic STEM Learning

This review consolidates findings on spatial skill development in real-world STEM classrooms at different levels. The researchers reviewed targeted spatial training, spatial STEM curriculum, integrated STEM practices, and informal STEM programs applied in school settings. Zhu et al. (2023) presented origami lessons that enhanced math problem-solving skills of fifth-graders through folding papers. A kindergarten intervention was noted that utilized manipulative blocks to develop spatial visual skills and geometry skills. Results indicated that socioeconomic background is a moderator for such skills because low-SES children tended to benefit more from spatial interventions.

The review provides a genuine synthesis of literature from cognitive psychology, education science, and STEM education perspectives. The most valuable contribution of the review is in categorizing the interventions according to the physical, digital, and hybrid nature of their implementation. However, Zhu et al. (2023) depend on secondary sources solely and do not engage in primary data collection at all. While several of the cited papers use small sample sizes, this is hardly ever critically analyzed in relation to statistical power. Critically assessing the quality of each individual study would have greatly added to the strength of the findings.

This article has direct application to the research question posed regarding hands-on STEM activities and the development of spatial reasoning abilities. Specifically, it demonstrates that manipulatives and construction-based activities do indeed have value in improving children's spatial reasoning skills. Zhu et al. (2023) point out that gaps in spatial ability will become wider if not intentionally addressed in the classroom. Thus, this study impacts the way that I will approach creating STEM activities that are low cost and accessible for students. This information helps teachers understand why manipulatives should be used in place of flat worksheets.

Reference

Zhu, C., Leung, C. O.-Y., Lagoudaki, E., Velho, M., Segura-Caballero, N., Jolles, D., Duffy, G., Maresch, G., Pagkratidou, M., & Klapwijk, R. (2023). Fostering spatial ability development in and for authentic STEM learning. Frontiers in Education, 8, Article 1138607. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1138607

Review 2: Investigating the Connection Between Spatial Reasoning Skills and Reggio Emilia-Inspired Kindergarten Mathematics Activities

The action research was carried out in one kindergarten classroom with a Reggio approach in the Southwest part of the United States. Children spent one week constructing a real-object graph with toy dinosaurs. Pinilla et al. (2025) coded lesson plans and classroom material for six different spatial reasoning skill categories. Children developed skills of constructing, interpreting, and situating through sorting, graphing, and comparing quantities together. The mentioned activities were very consistent with data-analysis standards in public school kindergarten curriculum. The authors concluded that the math project gave numerous possibilities for developing spatial reasoning explicitly and implicitly.

The qualitative study provides an abundant description of mathematics practice in the classroom. The extremely small sample size, only ten children, makes it difficult to generalize the results. Moreover, Pinilla et al. (2025) depended on the kindergarten teacher who served as a researcher, which may lead to bias. Researchers conducted independent coding of the material, which makes their conclusions more reliable. The presence of a comparison class with traditional teaching would have shown the effectiveness of Reggio approaches. Nevertheless, the study is replicable because of the methodology and the thick description.

This paper proves that the teaching of spatial reasoning can take place without the introduction of an additional curriculum block. The teachers only require training in observing spatial possibilities that exist even in routine mathematical exercises. According to Pinilla et al. (2025), such awareness is the noticing effect, which should define the development of future lessons. Concerning my research topic, this is a good justification for developing cost-effective graphing assignments using dinosaurs. Moreover, it raises issues about equity because the correlation between spatial and mathematics is the greatest in poor families' kids. This motivates me to emphasize everyday objects over costly STEM kits.

Reference

Pinilla, R. K., Mehta, P. J., & Pineda Sanchez, E. (2025). Investigating the connection between spatial reasoning skills and Reggio Emilia-inspired kindergarten mathematics activities. Education Sciences, 15(10), Article 1375. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15101375

Review 3: Investigating the Effect of Manipulatives on Mathematics Achievement for Diverse Achievement Level Groups

The quasi-experimental study investigated fifth graders classified into low, average, and high achievement categories. Two intact classes of students were randomly allocated either to the blended manipulative instruction approach or to traditional teaching approaches. Ahmad and Siller (2024) provided twelve weeks of instruction through physical and virtual manipulative instructions. Pretests and posttests for whole numbers, fractions, and basic geometry knowledge were administered to assess performance among the students. The experimental class performed better than the control class on most of the measures of achievement level. Initially, low-achieving students also recorded significant learning gain following manipulative instruction.

The use of a quasi-experimental approach with pre-tests and post-tests is an added advantage for causality in this research. It was not possible to randomize individuals but only the classes. The researchers addressed the issue in that they established that there were equal baseline scores between the two classes. The twelve-week intervention period is definitely an advantage compared to the one-day interventions that exist. Nonetheless, the fact that only one school within Pakistan is used as the research setting reduces the ability to generalize results to other schools globally. Further replication studies in various other countries will be useful for verifying the same.

This paper presents very good empirical quantitative proof of the fact that manipulatives truly improve mathematics achievement test scores. This is important in the context of my research question, which concerns math achievement gains. Ahmad & Siller (2024) prove that a combination of physical and digital devices improves results at every achievement level. This implies that STEM activities do not necessarily have to be done without the use of technology in order to stay effective. For the classroom teacher, a combination of manipulatives may constitute an effective strategy for elementary mathematics.

Reference

Ahmad, S., & Siller, H.-S. (2024). Investigating the effect of manipulatives on mathematics achievement: The role of concrete and virtual manipulatives for diverse achievement level groups. Journal on Mathematics Education, 15(3), 979–1002. https://doi.org/10.22342/jme.v15i3.pp979-1002

References