| Abstract | The Effects of the LiiNK Intervention on Spatial Memory Aubrey Goodwin, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX The purpose of this study was to compare spatial memory abilities between the LiiNK intervention and control schools. This study compared children by grade level, school, and school district for significant differences. Participants in first (N=100), second (N= 88), and third (N=24) grades from three Dallas- Fort Worth school districts participated in the study. Spatial memory was assessed using a spatial reconstruction task by studying a novel object array for 20 seconds then recreating the spatial layout of the characters on a blank screen. An individual t-test (p = 0.552) showed no significant difference between the LiiNK intervention and control groups. ANOVAs were used to compare the other independent variables which showed no difference between districts (p>0.6), but did show a significant difference (p<0.01) for mean misplacement error by grade. First graders showed more misplacement than second and third grade students over the 20 trials. This finding suggests a child's maturational level may play a bigger part in spatial memory than unstructured play at the pre-test time. Another possibility is there is a large enough gap without multiple play periods during the summer months when children are not in school that the positive changes of the LiiNK intervention will be seen more at the end of the year during the post test than the beginning of the year with the pre-test. |
