Cube test applied to the study of orthogonal projections: spatial development promoted by Qubism 3D Modeling

Abstract Education benefits from the globalization of effective tools that facilitate student learning. Education in Mozambique is still traditional without any technological resources, such as computers, data show, applied software and smartphones. This traditional model drives some difficulties in 3D perception in technical drawing (TD) subjects. Technological tools with 3D visualization allow the enhancement of the learning process in an interactive and innovative way, giving the teacher the power to select the most appropriate technological resource for the desired subject. Qubism 3D modeling (Q3DM) and the cube test (CT) are the technological resources selected for this study, as they present usability features capable of promoting 3D spatial skills in the study of orthogonal projections (OP). The research was conducted in a secondary school in southern Mozambique, it is a quasi-experimental case study, supported by a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach. The instruments used were a pre-test and a post-test applied to two groups of students; one experimental and one control. Fifty students solved practical exercises on OP and their level of spatial visualization was measured with the CT. The study aims to investigate whether the use of Q3DM as a teaching-learning tool promotes 3D spatial visualization of objects in the context of technical drawing. From the analysis of the CT results it is inferred that the students who used Q3DM had better results on the cube test.