The Role of Cognitive Abilities in Project-Based Teaching: A Mixed Methods Study.

Cognitive abilities are foundational to complex tasks, which may be also important in complex project-based teaching. However, the role of teachers' cognitive abilities in project-based teaching is still unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the relationship between teachers' cognitive abilities and project-based teaching using a mixed methods design. In Study 1, a quantitative regression analysis was conducted with 62 primary school teachers. They completed the project-based teaching questionnaire and performed four cognitive tasks: remote association (creativity), object detail memory (object detail processing ability), paper folding (spatial ability), and sentence comprehension (verbal ability). Regression analysis revealed that spatial ability significantly predicted a teacher's project-based teaching ability, even after controlling for age, gender, teaching experience, and project-based teaching experience. In Study 2, a qualitative exploratory case study was employed to examine how spatial ability manifests in two teachers' project-based teaching plans. The teacher with higher spatial ability used schemata, abstract concepts, a better overall plan, and a deeper understanding of mathematics than teachers with lower spatial ability. This study indicated that a teacher's spatial ability is closely associated with their project-based teaching, and it provides a new perspective for teachers to cultivate project-based teaching.