Zoltan Kovacs
PHDL, Linz
Spatial ability is a fundamental prerequisite for learning mathematics and, in particular, geometry, whose core medial difficulty – representing three-dimensional objects on a flat surface – immersive virtual reality (VR) promises to overcome. This project is conceived as a conceptual study: rather than collecting its own data, it develops a theoretically and curricularly grounded, empirically testable study design for the use of the geometry-specific VR software NeoTrie in lower secondary education. Building on a multidimensional construct of spatial ability, an analysis of the Austrian lower-secondary curriculum, and the research on VR, a quasi-experimental pre-post design with a control group, matched-samples assignment, and a standardised test battery (RIF) is developed. The primary outcome is spatial visualisation. The contribution lies in the theory-guided integration of spatial ability, curricular mandate, and VR, and in the design of a viable research plan that renders the effect of VR on spatial ability testable.