Studying Science Teaching and Learning Through Drawings
I came across this fascinating study via a tweet the other day. I read many traditional research studies (both quantitative and qualitative) but this one caught my attention because it used drawings as a way of communicating and data collecting. According to the authors (a team form the University of Maryland and other institutions), the study examines “how the science teaching identity of the teacher interns/teachers changed over time” based on their internship experiences. Rather than a traditional questionnaire or observations, this study used drawings as evidence, along with interviews and written responses. Periodically through the study, the teacher-participants responded to two prompts:  Draw Yourself Teaching Science and Draw Your Students Learning Science.
The methodology and the scoring rubric are provided. What’s really interesting are the examples of drawings at the rubric levels and how they represent different levels of the teacher’s self-image and reflections on the teaching and learning processes and the roles of teachers and students in these processes.
Another part of the website is the section for “Educators” with ideas on how the process can be used for lesson plans, action research, and professional development.

• The lesson plans have suggestions for asking students (of any age) to draw their interpretation of science learning. Follow-up discussion questions are included.
• There is a description of the action research process and how drawings can be a data tool. I could see the process used at the beginning and end of the school year to examine an changes in student attitudes and perceptions.
• The “Try It” section has suggestions for exploring our own perceptions as teachers. This could be an interesting ice-breaker activity for a PD session or for personal reflection.

This project focused on teaching and learning in science. You may already be familiar with instruments in which students draw pictures to represent their conceptions and misconceptions about scientists and their work: Draw a Scientist Test (Wikipedia description), Who’s the Scientist, The Scientists and Artist in All.
Graphic: http://drawntoscience.org/index.html