Art & Science: Visual arts training improves visuo-spatial ability and mediates STEM success

Effects of visual arts training on the visuo-spatial ability of students can inform educational practices that aim to incorporate the visual arts into STEM education. Studies have shown visuo-spatial ability and spatial reasoning to be a critical cognitive domain for scientific thinking and a strong predictor of STEM success. Recent findings show that visual arts practice and training correlates with and could improve visuo-spatial ability. Drawing practice has been identified to be a mediating factor for that connection. Studies that inform the psychological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are discussed and future research avenues are identified based on the challenges faced by current research. The potential advantages of having visual arts training complement STEM education, a practice that has become popular in the US during the last two decades, are highlighted to complement current educational research on the matter.