Comparison between sketch map and pointing methods for evaluating spatial cognitive ability of secondary school students with mental retardation

A study was conducted to clarify the spatial ability of secondary school students with mental retardation. Two Experiments-1 and 2-were carried out to test the students' spatial knowledge using a sketch map and a pointing task. In Experiment 1, 14 students (mean IQ and SD, 57.69 and 14.13 respectively) participated and were asked to draw sketch maps of their school, and their route from school to home, and to point to landmarks displayed in photos with their finger. Only five of 13 maps of the school, and four of 14 maps of the route home were drawn without heavy distortion. However, the results for pointing out landmarks were fairly good (mean angular error, 26.86). In Experiment 2, 10 students at a different school (mean IQ and SD, 35.4 and 10.3 respectively) participated and were asked to complete the same tasks. Although the sketch maps and pointing performance were not accurate, the difference in accuracy between landmarks inside and outside the school indicated that the students had a better grasp of spatial representation when space was familiar and limited. The difference in results between the sketch map and pointing tasks implies that the two tasks require different spatial representations and cognitive processes.