RECOGNIZING MENTAL ROTATION AND SPATIAL VISUALIZATION SKILLS IN MINECRAFT IN-GAME PRACTICES

Abstract

The video game Minecraft has been acknowledged by several researchers and educators as a potential tool for learning spatial skills. However, there exists a dearth of research and data on how individuals can recognize such skills in multiple manifestations from in-game practices. Thus, the researcher analyzed the question design, format, and underlying skills in the most widely-used spatial tests that measure mental rotation and spatial visualization, particularly the Differential Aptitude Test: Space Relations (DAT:SR), Paper Folding Test, 3-Dimensional Cube (3DW), Mental Rotation Test (MRT), and Purdue Spatial Visualization Tests: Visualization of Rotations (PSVT:R). Mental rotation refers to the ability to rotate mental images of two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects while spatial visualization refers to the ability to recognize and mentally manipulate two-dimensional and three-dimensional objects. After the researcher examined the details of each test, parallel spatial skills that are also evident in Minecraft in-game practices were identified. Then, the researcher determined and analyzed these specific in-game practices by searching for objects within Minecraft that players commonly encounter while playing the game. To illustrate the comparison between the skills in each of these five tests and the in-game practices, the researcher adapted some official question types from each test and took pictures of gameplay with scenarios that display evidence of such practces and skills. Given the ability of a Minecraft player to manipulate the movements and perspectives of their character, and break or place blocks, the researcher deduced that mental rotation and spatial visualization skills can all be recognized from in-game engagements in Minecraft.