Aplicabilidad de una batería corta en línea de habilidades espaciales (OSSAB) para la evaluación de estudiantes universitarios

Introducción. Numerosos estudios recientes han demostrado la importancia de las habilidades espaciales (SA) para el éxito educativo y el desempeño profesional, especialmente en los campos STEM (relacionados con la ciencia, la tecnología, la ingeniería y las matemáticas). Se entiende por habilidades espaciales, a la predisposición y capacidad para operar mentalmente con objetos: crear, evocar, almacenar y cambiar sus imágenes en el espacio y las relaciones. El diagnóstico de las habilidades espaciales en contextos educativos permite construir una trayectoria de aprendizaje individual del estudiante en función del nivel de sus habilidades. La investigación sobre enfoques para diagnosticar habilidades es actualmente de mucha relavancia. El desarrollo de nuevos instrumentos, la adaptación psicométrica de instrumentos a grupos específicos, especialmente en el ámbito educativo, es una de las tareas clave en el apoyo psicológico del alumnado con fines de aprendizaje adaptativo y autodeterminación profesional. La recientemente desarrollada Batería de Habilidades Espaciales (OSSAB) ha sido validada, estandarizada y normalizada psicométricamente para la edad adolescente. La batería incluye pruebas de razonamiento mecánico, plegado de papel, ensamblaje de modelos y rotación de formas. La batería ha mostrado buenas propiedades psicométricas (alta confiabilidad y validez, discriminatividad, baja redundancia), está disponible públicamente y es de uso gratuito. La adaptación de la batería a la edad de los estudiantes permite la continuidad en el aprendizaje y elimina el déficit de herramientas de diagnóstico para edades más avanzadas.

Objetivo. El propósito de este estudio ha sido evaluar la estructura y las propiedades psicométricas de la batería al evaluar a estudiantes universitarios y compararlos con los datos obtenidos de la muestra de adolescentes en la que se desarrolló la batería de habilidades espaciales (OSSAB), y examinar las relaciones entre las habilidades espaciales y los resultados educativos.

Metodología, métodos y procesos de investigación. El estudio incluyó a 772 estudiantes universitarios (rango de edad entre 18 a 26 años, edad media (DE) = 19,55 (1,51), 63,1% mujeres). Los participantes proporcionaron información sobre su edad, sexo, especialidad, rendimiento académico y completaron una batería de pruebas, incluido la OSSAB.

Resultados. Los resultados de la OSSAB son similares a los mostrados en estudios anteriores en adolescentes. La OSSAB ha demostrado propiedades psicométricas adecuadas del instrumento en una muestra de estudiantes: sin efectos suelo o techo; baja redundancia; consistencia interna de moderada a alta; alta capacidad discriminatoria por especialidad; alta validez externa. Los resultados indican que alrededor del 6% de los estudiantes demostraron un nivel muy alto de habilidad espacial (más de 1,5 SD por encima de la media), y alrededor del 8% de los estudiantes demostraron un nivel muy bajo de habilidad espacial (menos de 1,5 SD por debajo de la media). Además, las puntuaciones de la OSSAB se asociaron con la elección de la especialidad de estudio y el rendimiento en las evaluaciones con tamaños de efecto de pequeños a medianos.

Novedad científica. Nuestro estudio proporciona normas psicométricas para un instrumento en línea, breve y abierto para evaluar la capacidad espacial en los estudiantes universitarios.

Significado práctico. La batería OSSAB se puede utilizar para preparar recomendaciones individuales para estudiantes (por ejemplo, sobre formación en habilidades espaciales), para identificar a los estudiantes espacialmente dotados y también, al realizar investigaciones en un entorno universitario.

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