Constructing mathematical and spatial-reasoning measures for engineering students

Engineering students sometimes encounter difficulties in classes due to their ability to understand and interpret mathematical and visual representations of a problem. This paper describes tools to assess students' abilities in four different constructs. The two mathematical constructs are: M1. Compare and contrast mathematical operations and M2. Express engineering- and physics- based principles mathematically. The two spatial-reasoning constructs are: S1. Rotate and transform geometric objects in three-dimensional space and S2. Translate two-dimensional images to three-dimensional images and vice-versa whenrepresenting visually engineering- or physics-based principles. Examples are provided for each construct and assessment methods are also presented.