Adapting Tested Spatial Skills Curriculum to On-Line Format for Community College Instruction: A Critical Link to Retain Technology Students

The Nation's community and technical colleges are recognized as key institutions in the development of a globally competitive science and engineering technician workforce. The project will bring together a team of community and technical college faculty and administrators, curriculum developers, and evaluators in an effort to adapt and implement instruction that develops and enhances students' spatial skills. The curriculum materials and instructional strategies will be adapted to an online environment for students in technician programs in advanced technology fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM. The project team will examine how student demographics and student performance on a test that assesses mental rotation are related to student success in introductory courses that require spatial ability.