First-year engineering students with dyslexia: Comparison of spatial visualization performance and attitudes

Student diversity in higher education tends to focus on gender, ethnicity/race, and socio-economic status. However, these factors do not address cognitive diversity. Cognitive diversity, within the context of this study, refers to the varying ability of brain functions such as reasoning and memory, excluding persons with a developmental disability. Students with learning disabilities (LD), specifically dyslexia, contribute to this cognitive diversity. This study aims to initiate scholarly research on academic success factors for First-Year Engineering (FYE) students with dyslexia. FYE student performances on the Purdue Spatial Visualization Test-Rotations (PSVT-R) and Student Attitudinal Success Instrument (SASI) have been found to be predictors of academic success in engineering. A preliminary analysis of entering FYE student performance on the PSVT-R and SASI is conducted for three populations: students with dyslexia, students with a LD, and students without a LD. The anticipated findings will support the inclusion of cognitive ability, with an emphasis on LD and dyslexia, in FYE engineering diversity programs.