Spatial skills of students in new technical degrees. Case study at the University of Granada (SPAIN)

• Published in: EGA : revista de expresión gráfica arquitectónica Vol. 19; no. 24; pp. 264 - 271
• Main Authors: Jesús Mataix Sanjuán, Carlos León Robles, Francisco de Paula Montes Tubío
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Universitat Politècnica de València 01-01-2014
• Subjects: espacio europeo de educación superior; expresión gráfica; habilidades espaciales; titulaciones técnicas; visión espacial
• ISSN: 1133-6137; 2254-6103
• DOI: 10.4995/ega.2014.1767

Spatial visualization and sketching are essential skills for engineers and architects during their training and career. However, successive curricula, in particular those resulting from the European Higher Education Area, have caused a marked decline in spatial skills of students pursuing technical degrees. This paper describes the methodology introduced during the academic year 2012/2013 in several technical degrees at the University of Granada (Spain), designed to enhance the spatial and sketching skills of students by means of a series of complementary activities in Graphic Expression courses. The standardized tests administered to students at the beginning and at the end of the course revealed a major improvement in those who participated in these activities.