Development of spatial ability: practical activities using digital games with students of architecture and urbanism

Abstract

This article discusses one of the possibilities for changes in the teaching and learning process of geometric thinking in the face of the exponential appropriation of digital technology. The objective of the research was to develop activities focused on students of the first period of the Architecture and Urbanism course, using the Minecraft game. The article is the result of both bibliographical and empirical research, of a didactic experience. Through a practical application at the Juiz de Fora Federal University, it was pointed out that the use of games can contribute to the development of spatial skills and geometric thinking of students in the first periods of the Architecture and Urbanism course. In a simulated three-dimensional environment of a digital game, students are encouraged to use geometric reasoning for the composition of architectures, associating space with forms and rationalizing the architectural compositional process.