• DOI:10.2505/4/jcst14_043_04_36
• Corpus ID: 6683046

Using the Draw-a-Scientist Test for Inquiry and Evaluation.

@article{Miele2014UsingTD,
  title={Using the Draw-a-Scientist Test for Inquiry and Evaluation.},
  author={Eleanor Miele},
  journal={The journal of college science teaching},
  year={2014},
  volume={43},
  pages={36-40}
}

• E. Miele
• Published 1 March 2014
• Education
• The journal of college science teaching

The Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) is a tool to assess stereotypical imagery of scientists. This paper describes the use of the DAST as both a model for inquiry and as a method of assessing the affective domain. The DAST was administered in a science education methods course for undergraduate students of elementary education, a methods course for graduate students specializing in elementary science education, and a science content course for early childhood teachers. The DAST was used to model data collection and analysis and to increase education majors’ awareness of their own stereotypical images of scientists. DAST results at the end of the semester showed a reduction in stereotypical imagery of scientists and an increase in images of women, teachers, and children and in other nonstereotypical images of people doing science. Graduate students specializing in elementary science view scientists more inclusively than do undergraduate elementary education majors. The DAST can be a useful tool in college science classes to assess the effectiveness of instructional approaches aimed at fostering identification with people who do science. T he majority of elementary school teachers avoid teaching science (Tilgner, 1990). A major goal of courses in science for teachers should be to help them develop enthusiasm for science and science teaching. If changes in the affective domain are major goals of courses in science, end-ofcourse evaluations should assess these changes. The Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) has been widely used for decades to examine, analyze, and evaluate students’ and teachers’ perceptions of scientists (Finson, 2002; Finson & Pedersen, 2009). This study uses the DAST to meet four distinct goals of courses in teaching science for elementary educators. The first goal was to provide practice in doing inquiry-based science through data collection and analysis. The second goal was to reveal common stereotypes of scientists and their implications for teaching science. The third goal was to self-assess changes in imagery to help current and future teachers reexamine their beliefs. The fourth goal was to evaluate whether the course met the goal of helping teachers identify with scientists as real people like themselves.