A pedagogical model for developing spatial imagination in primary school pupils: theoretical-methodological, content-activity and reflective-evaluative foundations Factors in the development of spatial thinking and representations in primary school-age ch

Abstract

This paper presents an integrated pedagogical model for developing spatial imagination in primary school pupils, comprising three interrelated blocks: a theoretical-methodological block, a content-and-activity block, and a reflective-evaluative block. It outlines the didactic principles underlying the model — connection with everyday life, learning through play, a multisensory approach, attention to individual and age-related characteristics, and activity and independence — together with the methodological approaches on which it rests: integrative, activity-based, learner-centred, developmental, synergetic, and constructivist. The content block is shown to comprise theoretical-cognitive, geometric, and practical-skills components, while the activity block draws on clustering, INSERT and fishbone techniques, the "observe-and-do" method, and a range of tools including paper-and-cardboard materials, tangrams, mosaics, construction sets, and ICT/multimedia resources such as 3D models and virtual constructors. The reflective-evaluative block is characterised through three assessment criteria — motivational, cognitive, and creative — and three performance levels (high, average, low), together with the feedback mechanism that links all blocks of the model. It is concluded that a genuine pedagogical effect is achieved only when all three blocks operate as a single, systemically integrated whole.