Impact of Blender Based 3D Mental Rotation Ability Training on Engineering Drawing Skills

Spatial ability training is useful in developing problem solving skills in engineering drawing (ED). Mental rotation (MR) is a substantial part of spatial abilities. In a previous work we described a three-hour computer based 3D MR training module and showed that it improves MR skills of first year engineering undergraduates. In this paper, we present a study on the effectiveness of a two-week computer based 3D MR training on students' problem solving skills in ED. We performed a two-group experimental study and found that students who learned via computer based 3D MR training performed significantly better on ED posttests than students who learned the same concepts via traditional instruction. Responses of experimental group students on an open ended question revealed that they found the 3D MR training to be useful in resolving their ED problem solving difficulties.