Developing Spatial Orientation and Spatial Memory with a Treasure Hunting Game

The abilities of both spatial orientation and spatial memory play very important roles in human navigation and spatial cognition. Since such abilities are difficult to strengthen through books or classroom instruction, there are no particular curricula or methods to assist in their development. Therefore, this study develops a spatial treasure-hunting game to enhance learners' spatial orientation and spatial memory. The game design is based on theoretical principles of spatial orientation and spatial memory. With such a design, the player can practice and learn these two spatial abilities by way of playing the game for a short period of time. This study adopts an experimental approach to test whether the game is effective in facilitating student's development of spatial memory and spatial orientation. The findings show that this computer game is an efficient way of enhancing a learner’s spatial orientation and spatial memory over a very short period. Our research also points out that spatial orientation ability may differ between males and females, but after training through the game, the differences are reduced.