Portraying Student Understandings

Learning about the different types of scientists can be helpful at the beginning of a school year. This article describes how a teacher draws what a scientist looks like based on suggestions... See More

Learning about the different types of scientists can be helpful at the beginning of a school year. This article describes how a teacher draws what a scientist looks like based on suggestions from the whole class. This then leads into a discussion of types of scientists. The activity culminates with groups learning about types of different scientists by portraying them artistically in their environment to use as pictures hung in the classroom. A sample image and some helpful websites are provided. This is a great way to decorate the classroom with student original work as they extend their knowledge of types of science. This is a win-win situation.

Artistic Skills Not the Point to Draw a Scientist

Using an activity like “Draw a Scientist” is something this author does with her middle school students during the first week of school. If one has never tried this activity, the author pro... See More

Using an activity like “Draw a Scientist” is something this author does with her middle school students during the first week of school. If one has never tried this activity, the author provides some instruction in how to engage students and make this a meaningful activity. The author references the earlier work of Barman (1997), and it has other interesting links about scientists that are listed in the Resources section at the end of the article. The original DAST (Draw a Scientist Test) study found that students had a stereotypical image of all scientists as being middle-aged, male, white Einstein-like individuals. If one is interested in helping change students’ perceptions of what a scientist looks like, there are additional articles available in the NSTA Learning Center that contain information about DAST and using the “Draw a Scientist” activity.