The SILC Vision

Spatial thinking is both a key intellectual issue in cognitive science and a critically important aspect of problem solving in science, engineering and mathematics. It provides the foundation for a wide range of reasoning and communication skills, as varied as the design of buildings, the solution of mathematics problems, and the use of spatial metaphor in everyday language.

• Spatial intelligence enables us to find our way in the world and to make tools, by encoding and transforming information about objects, their configurations, and their locations.
• In the natural sciences, spatial thinking often provides unique insights. For example, geoscientists use visualizations to understand the processes that affect the formation of the Earth. Engineers use sketches and diagrams to anticipate how various forces may affect the design of a structure.
• In medicine, the ability of a neurosurgeon to visualize particular brain areas from MRI may determine the outcome of a surgical procedure.

Thus, progress and performance in various science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields is strongly tied to improving people's ability to reason about spatial configurations and their properties.

More generally, an informed citizen in the 21^st century must be fluent at processing spatial abstractions including graphs, diagrams, and other visualizations. Research that reveals how to increase the level of spatial functioning in the population could therefore significantly improve the effectiveness of the workforce. In addition, such research could lead to the reduction of gender and SES differences in spatial functioning and thus have an important impact on social equity. Yet despite the importance of spatial learning, relatively little research has addressed how it can be shaped and improved.

Making an investment in spatial learning now could lead to tremendous future benefits. For comparison, consider how substantial investments in reading research approximately 20 years ago catalyzed progress in that field, leading to advances in the understanding of the cognitive and neurological processes involved in reading that provided the foundation for developing effective strategies to combat illiteracy and reading disability. We are now in a comparable position with respect to spatial learning -- we are poised to make rapid progress that will have a major impact on education and practice.

We therefore have established the Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center (SILC). Our overarching goals are

1. To understand spatial learning
2. To use this knowledge to develop programs and technologies that will transform educational practice and support the capability of all children and adolescents to develop the skills required to compete in a global economy.

The core theme of SILC is that spatial cognition is malleable, and hence that spatial learning can be fostered by effective technology and education. This position is based on recent evidence from multiple sources:

• Developmental research now indicates that cognitive growth is not simply the unfolding of a maturational program but instead involves considerable learning.
• New neuroscience research indicates substantial developmental plasticity in neural growth.
• Cognitive and educational research has shown us significant effects of experience on spatial skill.

SILC involves a consortium of researchers from cognitive science, spanning psychology, computer science, education, and neuroscience, and practicing geoscientists and engineers who are particularly interested in spatial thinking in their fields. By tightly linking research and educational practice, we hope to achieve these goals.