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Running head: TEACHER CANDIDATES’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENTISTS 1

Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions of Scientists: 30 Years After DAST

Deborah [email protected]

Southeastern Louisiana UniversityCollege of Education

Department of Teaching and LearningHammond, LA.

LERA March 2014

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]

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TEACHER CANDIDATES’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCIENTISTS 2

Teacher Candidates’ Perceptions of Scientists: 30 Years After DAST

Introduction

The stereotyping of science as a masculine endeavor engaged in by elderly men in lab

coats and glasses and its effect on attitudes has been recognized since the decade of the birth of

rock and roll, Sputnik, and Eisenhower’s presidency (Blin -Stoyle 1983; Jones, Howe, Rua 2000;

Author 2002). Research says that images of scientists form by second grade and become more

entrenched as students advance in their science education. The researcher examined drawings of

scientists and analyzed attributes listed by 91 teacher candidates in the College of Education in

an American university in south Louisiana. Drawings of participants in two methods courses

were compared to those in a planning/assessment course. Atypical drawings and those

completed by male participants were analyzed separately. According to studies some factors

affecting images are: methods of science instruction, mass media, and progression through

science classes, role models and authentic out-of-classroom activities. Therefore as contributing

data, demographic information, facts concerning science courses and reasons for images

articulated during class discussions were collected.

Literature Review

Meade and Metraux first documented the popular image of scientists held by American

high school students in 1957 by analyzing the essays of 35,000 participants. The image that

emerged was that of an elderly man wearing a white coat and glasses, performing dangerous

experiments in the lab (Narayan, Park and Peker 2009; Narayan, Park, Peker & Suh 2013).

In 1961, Beardslee and O’Dowd surveyed and interviewed 1200 co llege students. The

data painted an image of a person referred to consistently as “he” of high intelligence who

persevered to find truth while neglecting his social life. He had a colorful personality and was

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somewhat radical, “coldly intellectual in his p rofessional area but excitable in the public political

sphere” (p. 998) often out of touch and impulsive. The authors stated to alter this image “would

require a brilliantly conceived long-term campaign of confrontation through mass media and of

educationa l innovation that is not likely to be undertaken” ( p. 1000).

From 1966 to 1977, Chambers (1983) developer of the Draw- a -Scientist Test (DAST)

collected student drawings of scientists in the place of verbal or written descriptions. Using the

analysis of 81 undergraduates of drawings illustrated by 4807 French and English-speaking

children (K-5) across socio-economic levels, Chambers determined seven indicators: lab coat,

eyeglasses, facial hair, symbols of research (lab equipment, etc), symbols of knowledge (books,file cabinets), technology, and relevant captions (formulae, taxonomic keys). Chambers

concluded that by 2 nd grade the stereotype reflecting the seven indicators begins and by the 4 th

and 5 th grade “the image as a rule, has fully emerged” (p. 260). Chambers also reported that even

though 49% of the 4807 participants were girls only 28 women scientists were drawn, all by

females and that socio economics did affect the richness of the drawings. Concerning the

instrument, Chambers proposed, “DAST is probably more useful in identifying than in

measuring attitudes. Therefore, it may ultimately prove more useful in the construction of

hypotheses than in the testing of them” (p. 265).

McDuffie (2001) studied the images and associated attributes of 550 pre-service and in-

service teachers. Roughly 60% of the participants were enrolled in elementary science methods

classes and 80% were women. The participants completed the DAST and listed adjectives

describing scientists and social scientists. The results were that 84% depicted males and 71%

showed scientists as middle aged. Fifty-four percent drew their scientist in isolation surrounded

by lab equipment, 50% were wearing lab coats and 43.7 % were frowning. Attributes were

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categorized as personal or professional. Results were that about 50% described scientists as

intelligent, 25% practical and 13% as “nerds”. McDuffie noted the persistence of the stereotype

and observed that there was virtually no difference between the attributes and sketches of pre-

service and in- service teachers. McDuffie recommended that the study of scientists’ biographies,

speakers, and interviews with scientists, laboratory experiences, discussions about stereotypes in

the media, field trips to show scientists’ work and provid ing career information as possible ways

to change stereotypical images.

What influence do teachers, field experience and instruction have on the scientific images

of students? Miele (2014) conducted a study of undergraduate science methods students,

graduate students in elementary school science and environmental science, and undergraduate

students in an inquiry-based science content course paired with a field-based methods course.

The DAST was administered at the beginning of the semester as a pre-test. Results showed a

marked difference in stereotypical features between the undergraduate method students and

graduate students with every feature occurring less frequently in the graduate students’ drawings.

The authors noted that the graduate students were:

already working in urban settings as elementary school science specialists or as

educators teaching children at informal science institutions such as museums or

zoos…they see science as something that they can do and that their students can so.

This was supported by the results of the DAST…. (p. 37)

Following the pre test, the two groups examined their drawings and recognized the

presence of stereotypical images that excluded females, young scientists and minorities. Both

groups identified print and electronic media as influencers.

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At the close of the semester, the undergraduate methods students repeated the DAST as a

post test. Images were significantly less stereotypical. However, some stereotypical features

remained because the students drew their teacher, the author of the study. They commented that

they felt confident in their ability to teach science and do science. Results of post test drawings

of the graduate students showed a further reduction in stereotypical features.

The undergraduate students in an inquiry-based science content course paired with a

field-based methods course took the DAST at the end of the semester. They reported that their

images after completing the course were substantially different from what they would have

drawn on the first day of class. Three of the 18 participants drew their science education

professors. The researchers concluded,

The results of this study indicate that DAST may be a useful tool to reveal changes in

beliefs about science and scientists (and by inference, the effectiveness of instructional

practices aimed at the affective domain) on completion of college courses in science and

science education. (p.40)

The importance of science course content was investigated in Turkmen’s (2008) study of

287 Turkish 5 th graders. He used the DAST and a questionnaire asking students to explain what

their scientists were doing and how they learned about scientists. The purpose of the study was

to determine if a new science/technology course impacted images. Turkmen reported that male

images (94.1%) that are elderly (69.7%), working in the laboratory (79.8 %), and wearing lab

coats (46.7 %) were predominant. Ethnic diversity was practically nonexistent. Students

reported that the primary source of information influencing their images was their teachers

(61.3 %) with media at 41.8 %. Parents and friends were also named. Turkmen stated that

teachers can identify and modify student images early on. He suggested that teachers introduce

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is taught at all grade levels from one to four times per week at the elementary level (grades K-8)

and more often at the secondary level (grades 9-12). In general, this international study implied

that ‘stereotypes are highly resistant to change” (p.125).

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was two- fold, first, to investigate education majors’

perceptions of scientists in the College of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning at

Southeastern Louisiana University and second, to determine the characteristics they associated

with scientists. The researcher was also interested in the age of the participants, gender, type of

instruction, number of science courses, and reasons given for images as contributing data.

Drawings and questionnaire data of science/social studies/language arts methods students were

compared to planning/ assessment students. Questionnaire data, attributes, atypical drawings and

drawings by male participants were thoroughly analyzed to discover any patterns. Accordingly,

the researcher was curious to investigate if the stereotypical image of scientists identified 30

years ago in Chambers’ DAST is still alive and well in an average college classroom?

Method

Participants

A convenience sample of 91 teacher candidates in the College of Education, Department

of Teaching and Learning at Southeastern Louisiana University were the participants in this

study. Sixty three were enrolled in the course, Instructional Planning and Assessment. The

course objectives are to design assessments and lesson plans in science or social studies

accompanied by 10 hours of direct instruction in the field. Fifteen participants were enrolled in

the methods course, Curriculum and Instruction in the Elementary School (grades 1-5) and 13

were enrolled in the methods course, Upper Elementary Curriculum and Instruction (grades 4-8).

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The methods courses are co-taught concurrently by a language arts instructor and the researcher

who is responsible for the science and social studies components. Methods students create

lesson plans then teach science content for 2 weeks and social studies content for 2 weeks in

local elementary schools. They also design science learning cycles and judge an elementary

science fair.

Eighty three participants were pre-service and eight were earning alternative certification.

The majority were white females in their 20’s who had progressed through four or more science

courses in high school and college. (See Table 1.)

Table 1

Teacher Candidate Demographics (n = 91)

Gender Race * Age Range ** Years Entering H.S. 4 or More Sci. CoursesTaken

Female 94.5% White 92.3% 20- 29 yrs. 89.0% 80’s -90’s. 19 .7% H.S. 68.1%

Male 5.4% Black 7.6% 30- 49 yrs. 8.7% 2000’s 79.2% College 75.8%

______________________________________________________________________________

Note * Age 19 – 1 teacher candidate Age 52 – 1 teacher candidate Note ** - 70’s 1 teacher candidate

I nstrumentation

The researcher utilized the Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) developed by Chambers (1983)

as described in the literature review. The DAST used in this study provided the following

prompt: Below, illustrate what you think a scientist looks like. Place any items that you feel

belong in the illustration with your scientist. The participants were also asked to list attributes

they associated with scientists and be prepared for discussion. This allowed for a more thorough

understanding of the perceptions of the participants. The second instrument used was the Draw-

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a-Scientist Test Checklist (DAST-C) developed in 1995 by Finson, Beaver and Cramond to

quantify scores for drawings. (See Appendix.) “Using ANOVA procedures, Finson (2002)

reported that DAST-C established a high inter- rater reliability of 0.96 to 0.98” ( Narayan, et al.

2013, p.116). The instrument used in this study had 14 indicators associated with the

standardized image of scientists. They were: lab coat, eye glasses, facial hair, symbols of

research (lab equipment, etc), and symbols of knowledge, technology, relevant captions, male

gender, Caucasian, middle age/elderly, mythic stereotypes, indications of secrecy, scientists

working indoors and indications of danger. Two were added by the researcher: smiles and wild

hair. To establish reliability of the data the researcher (Rater 1); a chemical engineer and formeruniversity professor for 10 years (Rater 2); and a 3 rd grade teacher for over 40 years who taught

2nd and 3 rd grade science (Rater 3) analyzed the drawings using the DAST-C. A questionnaire

developed by the researcher was used to collect the information: age, gender, years attending

high school and college, courses taken and methods of science instruction. A class discussion

involving 51 teacher candidates took place regarding the reasons for the images on the drawings.

Procedure

At the beginning of class, the researcher explained the study and requested that the

teacher candidates read and sign a consent form approved by the university’s Institutional

Review Board. The researcher introduced the DAST, citing the publication of the 2001

McDuffie study of 550 pre-service and in-service teachers to emphasize the seriousness of the

task. After distributing the questionnaire and the DAST prompt, the researcher read the

instructions, repeating those regarding the listing of attributes. No time limit was set. Markers

were provided to encourage detail in the drawings. A class discussion involving 51 teacher

candidates followed regarding the reasons for the images on the drawings.

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Data An alysis

Inter-rater reliability using Cohen’s kappa coefficient (K) and Pearson product -moment

correlation coefficients (r) were determined using PASW Statistics 18 software. To score the

drawings, the three raters placed a check next to the items they saw in the drawings and a

question mark if they were unsure. Question marks were considered as unchecked. The data was

entered as zero or one. Total scores of the drawings for the 3 raters were compared and Pearson

product-moment correlation coefficients (r) were generated.

For all drawings, percentages of occurrence indicated by the raters’ check marks were

calculated for each of the 14 indicators plus the additional two. To determine if the perceptionsof teacher candidates in the two methods courses differed from those in the planning and

assessment course, separate percentages were computed.

To begin the cross-case thematic analysis of the lists of attributes, the researcher read the

comments of one class. Categories began to emerge which reflected the repetition of attributes.

Descriptive words were used for coding then percentages were calculated to verify the groupings

as major themes (Creswell 1998). To organize the themes, thematic conceptual matrices were

developed using direct quotes from the teacher candidates.

Using the questionnaire data, the researcher analyzed the demographics, the amount of

science courses and methods of instruction then converted each into percentages. Comments

during class discussions regarding t he reasons for the images were recorded. Methods students’

drawings and attributes were compared to planning/assessment students. Drawings and

attributes of atypical images identified by at least two of the three raters were particularly

analyzed, coupled with questionnaire data to determine any patterns. Drawings by male

participants were also examined separately.

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Results

An alysis of DA ST-C

Inter-rater reliability was established for all items by calculating the v alues for Cohen’s

kappa using PASW Statistics 18. All kappa values were in the moderate to substantial

agreement range with the exception of Item 7 which showed slight agreement between Raters 1

and 3. This could be attributed to lack of clarity concerning what constitutes a caption. Items 3

and 9 were classified as almost perfect and Items 11 and 12 were interpreted as constants. It

appears this occurred because Items 11 and 12 were not checked (0) by any of the raters (Landis

and Koch 1977; Viera and Garrett 2005). (See Table 2.)

Table 2

Kappa Values for DAST-C and Two Additional Items n= 91

Items K values Rater 1, Rater 2 Rater 1, Rater 3

1. Lab coat .533 .652

2. eye glasses .706 .866 3. facial hair 1.000 1.000 4. research (lab equipment) .889 .8625. knowledge .693 .448 6. technology .824 .683 7. captions .740 .013 8. male .446 .693 9. Caucasian 1.000 1.000 10. middle aged/elderly .449 .418 11. mythic stereotypes .a .a (constant)12. secrecy .a .a (constant)13. working indoors .808 .59214. indications of danger .710 .483 15. smile .435 .58416. wild hair .438 .680

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A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was computed to assess the

relationship between the total scores of the 91 drawings examined by Rater 1 (the researcher)

and Rater 2; and Rater 1 and Rater 3 to establish the reliability of the researcher’s analysis. There

was a strong or high positive correlation between total scores for Rater 1 and Rater 2, r = .846.

There was also a strong or high positive correlation between total scores for Rater 1 and Rater 3,

r = .836 indicating an overall strong agreement in the analysis of the drawings (Hinkle, Wiersma

and Jurs 1998). (See Table 3.)

Table 3

Correlation Coefficients for R1, R2, R3 Totals

Analysis of DAST using DAST-C

Percentages were calculated for each of the 14 items plus the two additional indicators for

the three raters. Because of the strength of correlation and kappa values, the researcher was

confident in reporting the average percentages of the results of the DAST-C. Seventy eight

percent of the participants drew their scientists in lab coats; 81.3% surrounded them with lab

equipment and 73.6% placed them in an indoor environment. (See Figures 1 and 2.)

Correlations

R1total R2total R3total

R1total Pearson Correlation 1 .846 ** .836 **

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 91 91 91

R2total Pearson Correlation .846 ** 1 .765 **

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 91 91 91

R3total Pearson Correlation .836 ** .765 ** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000

N 91 91 91

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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Figure 1

Example of a Drawing of a Female Scientist: Female Planning/Assessment Student (Age 27)

Figure 2

Example of a Drawing of a Male Scientist: Male Methods Student (Age 22)

Research (lab equipment) was prevalent as well as glasses/goggles. Facial hair, mythicstereotypes, secrecy, danger and elderly images were barely represented or absent. An

unexpected statistic was the average percentage of participants puttin g a smile on their scientist’s

face (78.3%) although this has been documented in other studies (Narayan et al. 2009; Turkmen

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2008). Because of the large discrepancy between Rater 3 and the remaining raters on Item 7

captions , the researcher omitted Rater 3 ’s percentage from the average. (See Table 4.) A single

drawing portrayed two figures and one depicted a black scientist even though there were seven

black participants. Two drawings illustrated scientists with wily expressions and one included

the capti on ”toxic”.

Since the attribute of gender is salient in most studies, separate percentages were

calculated and undecided genders were omitted rather than reporting for n = 91. Percentages

were as follows: Rater 1 at 65.1%, Rater 2 at 40.5% and Rater 3 at 52.3% with the average being

52.6%. This is an encouraging statistic with regards to stereotypical images and roles based ongender.

Table 4

Average Percentages of Raters for DAST-C and Two Additional Items n= 91

Items Average Percentages

1. lab coat 78.72. eye glasses 60.0 3. facial hair 1.0 4. research (lab equipment) 81.3 5. knowledge 42.0 6. technology 18.2 7. captions 37.3 * 8. male 52.6 9. Caucasian 98.9 10. middle aged/elderly 13.4 11. mythic stereotypes 012. secrecy 0 13. working indoors 73.6 14. indications of danger 4.3 15. smile 78.3 16. wild hair 25.9

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Compari son of Planni ng/A ssessment Students and M ethods Students

To determine if the images of teacher candidates in the science/social studies/language

arts methods courses (n = 28) varied from those in the planning/assessment course (n = 63),

separate average percentages were computed. The major difference between the two groups is

that the methods students planned science lessons and went into local schools to teach science.

The process of designing science lessons and teaching them encompasses three weeks of the

semester. These teacher candidates judged an elementary science fair during which students in

4th – 6th grades explained their projects to the methods students. Methods students also worked in

cooperative groups to develop a science learning cycle which is an inductive, inquiry-based,hands-on instructional strategy and carried out one activity with the methods class. The

planning/assessment students only designed science lessons if they selected science content to

build their lessons around and did not implement them. They were required to teach in local

schools for 10 hours but what they taught was determined by the teacher whose classroom they

were visiting. These students were able to assist at the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center, a

science-oriented hands-on museum. The items with average percentages appreciably different

were Item 8 male gender, Item 13 indoors and Item 16 wild hair . The average percentage of

methods students drawing males was 35.7 while 53.4% of the planning/assessment students

depicted men. For Item 13 indoors , 66.8 % of the methods students drew their scientists inside

versus 77.2 % drawn by the planning/assessment students. Using average percentages, the most

telling difference was that 64% of the illustrations by the methods students depicted female

scientists working outdoors (33.2%). (See Table 5.) The average age of the methods students

was 25; the average age of the planning/assessment students was 22. Methods students

completed an average of seven college science courses while planning/assessment students

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completed five. This is logical, considering that the majority of planning/assessment students are

in their third year of college and the methods students are in their final year. The majority of both

methods and planning/assessment students described the type of science instruction they

experienced as discovery, inquiry-based, hands-on and exploratory including labs and lecture.

Age, type of instruction and advancement through science courses were similar. Research says

that authentic out-of-the classroom experiences influence images of scientists (Christidou 2011;

McDuffie 2001;Miele 2014; NGSS 2011, 2012; NRC, 1996; NRC 2009; NRC 2012). Methods

students planned for a week then taught science content in the field for 2 weeks during the

semester. However, it is speculative to infer that this out-of-the classroom experience encouragedthe depiction of women scientists in the drawings.

Table 5

Comparison of Planning/Assessment Students and Methods Students n= 91

Items Average PercentagesAssessment/Planning n=63 Methods n=28

1. lab coat 78.8

17. eye glasses 61.818. facial hair 0.019. research (lab equipment) 83.020. knowledge 51.821. technology 16.822. captions 38.8 *23. male 53.424. Caucasian 98.425. middle aged/elderly 13.726. mythic stereotypes 0.027. secrecy 0.028. working indoors 77.229. indications of danger 5.230. smile 83.531. wild hair 32.0

78.5

55.93.577.352.321.4

33.7*35.798.612.30.00.0

66.83.5

85.611.8

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An alysis of Attr ibu tes ( n=88)

Of the 91 participants, 88 listed attributes they associated with scientists. After

completing a cross-case thematic analysis, four themes emerged: Appearance, Workplace

Environment, Cognitive Abilities and Personality (Creswell 1998). Of the 88 participants, 37.5%

established the 1 st theme – Appearance . Comments such as “white males”, “old”, “stained button

down shirts”, “eyes are red from lack of sleep” and “women” were noted. Several w rote positive

descriptions like scientists “can dress nice – not have to be dorky”, “clean cut” and “They do not

have to wear big glasses and white coats”.

The 2nd

theme of Workplace Environment was established by 31.8% of the participants.The teacher candidates described the environment as having “black lab tables”, “beakers,

chemicals”, “board with equations”, “posters or models of scientific ideas”, “graphs, test tubes,

charts” and “old books”. Some indicated that the environment can be “both in lab and in the

field”, “laboratory can be anywhere”, including “outside adventures to explore plants and

animals”.

The 3 rd theme was Cognitive Abilities with 82.9% listing attributes associated with

thought processes. Many wrote “smart” or “intelligent”. Some were more specific with

comments like “analytical”, “good in math”, “innovative”, “thinks outside the box” and “creating

hypotheses and theories”, “precise” and “observant”.

The final theme was Personality . Seventy five percent listed attributes that described

perceptions of personality. Some comments were that scientists are “geeky’, “weird”, “strait -

laced”, and “anti -social”, “not compassionate” and “unable to understand others’ ways of

thinking” with a “strange sense of humor”. Many were positive. They described scientists as

being “honest”, “put together”, “brave”, “like any other person”, ”understanding”, “patient” and

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a “good listener”. Some saw scientists as being “passionate” with a “love of science”. Sci entists

“want to help all students to learn and understand the material”. They are “explorer(s)” and are

“okay with their thoughts being disproved even after years of believing in a certain way”. One

20 year old male teacher candidate in the planning/assessment course wrote a very illuminating

attribute. The phrase read “ ‘Typical geek’ – according to society”. (See Table 6.)

The following comments by a 25 year old male teacher candidate from the

planning/assessment course reflected a common perception of scientists with the exception of his

reference to “prank wars”, a recent college phenomenon involving practical jokes.

The student wrote:

When I picture a, ‘scientist’ I automatically think of what our society would label as a, ‘dork’. I

see them as bright! Almost too bright. I’m not beyond thinking of many as being socially

awkward. But I bet they would be great at being in a prank war. They’re smart, yet mostly

likely difficult to understand or relate to.

In contrast to such a stereotypical description, a 21 year old female teacher candidate in

the methods class listed the following attributes: “logical thinke r, wide variety of ethnic

backgrounds, both males and females, intelligent, analytical, many years of education, introverts

and extroverts, curious”. For the researcher, it was encouraging to find that 68 of the 88

participants (77%) attributed positive qualities to their scientists.

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Table 6

Cross-Case Thematic Analysis of Attributes (n=88)

An alysis of Atypical Drawings

Of the 91 drawings examined, 11 were deemed atypical by at least two of the raters, in

most cases by all three. These participants were females ranging in age from 21 to 52 years,

however the majority (8) was in their 20’s. They progressed through two to five high school

science courses averaging three courses and two to 19 college courses, averaging seven. These

teacher candidates listed labs or experiments and several used “hands -on”, to describe their

experiences.

In these drawings, scientists wore regular clothing, had normal hair styles, and were

smiling. A 27 year old female planning/assessment student depicted a black female. (See Figure

3.) One drawing by a 21 year old methods student displayed a girl and a boy in a classroom with

musical notes emanating from a CD player. (See Figure 4.)

THEMES PERCENTAGE EXAMPLES

Appearance

WorkplaceEnvironment

Cognitive Abilities

Personality

37.5%

31.8%

82.9%

75%

normal, skinny, does not fix hair, dress casual

equipment and books, petri dishes, computers, test tubes

deep thinking, solve problems, collects data, analytical

dedicated, weird, desire for the unknown, frazzled, honest

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Figure 3

Example of an Atypical Drawing: Female Planning/Assessment Student (Age 27)

Figure 4

Example of an Atypical Drawing: Female Methods Student (Age 21)

Seven of the 11drawings (63%) depicted females, which is noteworthy. Two were drawn

outside in a marine environment, one by a 52 year old teacher candidate in the science/social

studies/language arts methods course who progressed through 11 college science courses and

another by a 28 year old in the planning/assessment course taking 19 college courses. The

participant who completed 11 courses, specifically mentioned Plant Science and going into the

field at Roan Mountain in Tennessee. She also planned science lessons, taught science during

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field experience, judged an elementary science fair and designed a science learning cycle in her

methods course. The planning/assessment participant who completed 19 science courses

mentioned labs and reported taking courses such as Biology of Marine Mammals, Cetacean

Behavior and Vertebrate Zoology. Additionally, she listed a zoo keeping internship which

implies working with experienced keepers (role models) in an authentic outside-of-the-classroom

environment. (See Figure 5.) A third teacher candidate who completed seven college courses

described her Field Biology course as “It was an outside experience”. For these two participants

it appears that neither age nor advancement through science courses fostered stereotypical

images as suggested in the literature (Christidou 2011; Wallace and Pedersen 2005). Theresearcher realizes that these participants could simply have an innate interest in science. Each

experienced out-of-the- classroom activities. However, it would be speculative to deem out-of-

the-classroom activities as the significant influencer.

Figure 5

Example of an Atypical Drawing: Female Planning/Assessment Student (Age 28)

There were negative attributes on two atypical drawings like: “messy hair”, “semi nerdy”,

and “boring”. However a sizable majority were very positive. Some examples were: “smart”,

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“has a good imagination”, “open -minded”, “wide variety of ethnic backgrounds”, “both males

and females”, “(hopefully) not biased”, “normal”, “ multicultural, men and women, creativity,

intellectual honesty ”, detailed -oriented”, and “openness to new ideas”.

An alysis of Drawings by M ale Parti cipants

Because there were so few male participants (5), the researcher examined their drawings,

attributes and questionnaire data separately. The average age of the male participants was 23

years. The average number of science courses completed was four in high school and five in

college. All described lecture as being the primary method of instruction, with labs provided on

occasion. The drawings were of males wearing glasses or goggles surrounded by lab equipment.

Tests tubes were common, two with smoking chemicals. One depicted his scientist holding a

hypodermic needle and ano ther included the caption “Talk ‘Nerdy’ To Me” on his scientist’s

collar-less shirt. He also used the labels “dork” and “socially awkward” (See block quote.) as

attributes. All acknowledg ed scientists as being “intelligent’ and “smart”. There were negative

comments such as “geek”, “hates being wrong”, “lone star” but positive ones such as

“progressive” , “fearless” and “patient” . One stereotypical drawing in particular from a 21 year

old methods student who had completed six high school science courses and nine college courses

did not match his apparent affinity for science. (See Figure 6.) However, his explanations

painted a scientifically literate picture. He included the light bulb because scientists are

“innovative thinkers, come up with new ideas to better the world around them”. Accordingly, he

asserted that lab coats are normal attire for laboratory work and glasses are associated with

intelligence. The equipment permits scient ists to “experiment to test new ideas”. For this

teacher candidate, progression through science courses did not appear to foster a conventional

description of a scientist even though the drawing was very stereotypical, including the devious

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smile and bald head. A second drawing by a 27 year old planning/assessment student who had

completed four science courses in high school and two in college followed the same pattern.

This scientist had no mouth, wore goggles and was dressed in what appeared to be a hazardous

materials or radiation suit. But his attributes included “dedicated”, “ok with failing” and a

“pioneer”.

Figure 6

Example of Drawing by Male Participant : Methods Student (Age 21)

Class Conversation Regarding I nf luencers

The researcher asked 51 participants to give reasons to support their drawings via a class

discussion. The comments included electronic media like the television shows Bill Nye the

Science Guy, Dexter, NCSI and the Big Bang Theory, movies, textbooks, cartoons, children’s

books, the news, photographs and educational videos. The participants also included science

classes in high school, labs in college, interviews, field trips and personal experience as

influencers.

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Discussion

The purpose of this study was two- fold, first, to investigate education majors’ perceptions

of scientists in the College of Education, Department of Teaching and Learning at Southeastern

Louisiana University and second, to determine the characteristics they associated with scientists.

The researcher was also interested in the age of the participants, gender, type of instruction,

number of science courses and reasons for images as contributing data. From the data collected

using the DAST and DAST-C, it became evident that the participants associated some of the

stereotypical characteristics with their image of scientists. Most drew Caucasian figures wearing

lab coats and eye glasses working indoors, using lab equipment and books. These resultsmirrored McDuffie’s (2001) study which involved pre service and in service teach ers. However,

several were not associated with scientists in this study. Mythic stereotypes like Frankenstein,

signs of danger, indications of secrecy, elderly scientists, and facial hair were either barely

represented or completely absent. Because the researcher assumed that wild hair would be

common in the drawings, it was added to the DAST-C. The results showed that it is still

somewhat common (25.9%).

The participants seldom drew scientists that were obviously elderly (13.4%) or had facial

hair (1%). The average percentage of female scientists drawn in this study whose gender could

definitely be identified (47.4%) was noteworthy. In McDuff ie’s study of 550 drawings, only

16% represented females even though 80% of the participants were women. This suggests that

perhaps some progress has been made over the last 10 years in altering the male stereotype. A

very striking statistic regarding gender came from the science/social studies/language arts

methods students whose drawings using average percentages depicted almost 63% of their

scientists as females.

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As the researcher began examining the drawings, a feature that surfaced almost

immediately was the number of smiling faces. Over 78% of the participants drew a happy

scientist which appears to temper the idea that students still see scientists as menacing, ominous,

unapproachable, serious individuals but instead view them as friendly and rather proud of their

work (Christidou et al. 2011; McDuffie 2001). Another conspicuous finding was the absence of

diversity in the drawings. Even though there were seven black participants in the study, only one

black scientist appeared.

Questionnaire data and DAST images for all 91 participants showed that three of the 11

participants in their 30’s through 50’s produced atypical drawings. Of the nine participants in thestudy who advanced through more than 10 college science courses, two fashioned atypical

drawings. Research says the images of scientists become more entrenched as students age and

advance through their science education (Baker and Leary 1995; Joyce and Farenga 1999; Potter

and Rosser 1992). Contrary to the research, in this study, advancement through science courses

did not result in stereotypical images of scientists for these participants . Also age did not appear

to influence images. Of the 11 atypical drawings eight participants were in their 20’s, two in

their 30’s and one in her 50’s, an age range spanning three decades. The male participants, all in

their 20’s , drew extremely stereotypical scientists. Positive and negative attributes were written

by all age groups. The ages of the 16% who described scientists as nerds or dorks ranged from

19 to 34 years with only one being a methods student; the others were in the planning/assessment

course. However, the researcher realizes that DAST is a brief snapshot of perceptions and other

factors could certainly be involved.

In this study almost 100% of the participants reported in the researcher’s questionnaire

that they participated in labs/experiments combined with lecture. Some described experiences in

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The cognitive abilities were very positive. The participants wrote attributes like “open -

minded”, “skeptical”, “precise”, “observant”, “curious” and “honest”. However, elements

associated with the workplace environment were standard with these few exceptions “laboratory

can be anywhere”, “both in lab and in the field” and “outside adventures to explore plants and

animals”. In general, the attributes associated with scientists were positive. Seventy seven

percent wrote affirmative qualities.

Recommendations

From the results of this study, the researcher suggests that the items of secrecy and mythic

stereotypes could be eliminated from the DAST-C instrument for older students and that facial

expression (smile) be added. Derived from the DAST-CR developed by Matkins in 1996, Jones

and Bangert (2006) omitted these items based on a pilot study they conducted preceding their

research on media’s effect on images. It appears that these features have become much less

significant and could dilute the strength of measuring for stereotypical images (Turkmen 2008).

Even though the researcher was encouraged by the percentage of female scientists, lack

of elderly wild-haired males and numerous positive attributes continuous interventions are

needed to inform images that are more scientifically literate. From experience in teaching science

for over 30 years and based on research (Gelabert 2014; Jeanpierre 2014; Martin 2012; NGSS

2013), the researcher recommends that inquiry-based learning incorporating real-life problems

should be part of every science educator’s peda gogy. Students should continue to engage in

hands-on, inquiry-based lab activities. The researcher recommends that experiences in the field

be incorporated whenever possible even if they culminate in the lab. Teachers should attempt to

teach science as collaborative effort since many of today’s endeavors are team based.

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These recommendations are supported by the former National Science Education

Standards (NSES) now the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The National Science

Education Standards (NSES) were first supported by American President George H. W. Bush in

1989 and further encouraged by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), National

Science Foundation (NSF) and National Education Goals Panel . By 1991 the National Research

Council began to coordinate the effort. Representatives of NSTA, the American Association for

the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Chemical Society (ACS), the National

Science Resources Center (NSRC), the American Association of Physics Teachers, the Council

of State Science Supervisors, the Earth Science Education Coalition, and the NationalAssociation of Biology Teachers were selected to oversee the development of the standards. By

1996, the standards were ready for teachers around the country to apply in their classrooms. The

standards’ mission was to engender scientifically literate Americans, excited about science and

equipped with the knowledge to make informed decisions as voters on matters of science-related

issues. Concepts, student skills and pedagogy necessary to achieve this goal were expressed in

the standards. In 2010, because of the tremendous changes in science and technology and the

lack of American students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)

related careers, the National Academy of Sciences, Achieve, the AAAS, and NSTA orchestrated

the effort to update the NSES. The idea was to excite and prepare American high school

students to enter STEM related careers and become scientifically informed adults. From that

effort emerged the Next Generation Science Standards. The standards represent the concepts and

skills American students of the 21 st Century should develop and do while providing suggestions

to teachers on methods of instruction. The Framework for K – 12 Science Education: Practices,

Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas (NRC 2012) described in the NGSS recommended that

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classroom instruction allow students to plan and carry out investigations and engage in argument

using evidence (p. 42). To improve attitudes and alter stereotypical images, topics that stress

personal concerns or interests, face-to-face interactions with scientists, role models and out-of –

class activities such as field trips and field work were recommended especially for females.

In Appendix H: Nature of Science, the NGSS (2013) specifically recommend the use of

examples from science history in the form of case studies of scientists to develop students’

understanding of scientific inquiry and stress the human side of scientists. (Appendix B) Because

of the lack of cultural diversity observed in the drawings the researcher, based on past studies

(Barton 1998; Galili and Hazan 2001; Hoots 1999; Solomon, Duveen, Scot and McCarthy 1992;)

and personal experience (McCarthy 2002) suggests that science history and biographies be

included in the curriculum to stress the humanistic, multi-cultural aspect of scientific discoveries

(Klopfer 1969; Kuhn 1962; Turkmen 2008).

In closing, the researcher is encouraged by the results of this study. Based on the DAST,

DAST- C and the participants’ lists of attributes, it is the researcher’s assertion that the teacher

candidates in this study continue to dress scientists in lab coats wearing glasses and picture the

laboratory as the usual workplace but perceptions of the personality and cognitive abilities of

scientists are more realistic and humanistic. For education majors, it is imperative that they have

a scientifically literate image of scientists and what scientists do (Christidou 2011; McDuffie

2001; Turkmen 2008). As future classroom teachers, they will have the ability to identify

students’ uninformed images early on and engender valid perceptions of science and scientists as

these girls and boys advance through their science education.

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Appendix ADAST-C

Draw-a-Scientist Test (DAST) Checklist

Student's Name ________________________________________________

Gender (circle): M / F Age __________ Grade level ________

1. Lab coat (usually but not necessarily white)2. Eyeglasses3. Facial hair (beard, mustache, abnormally long sideburns)4. Symbols of research (scientific instruments, lab equipment of any kind)Types of scientific instruments / equipment.5. Symbols of knowledge (books, filing cabinets, clipboards, pens in pockets, and so on)6. Technology (the "products" of science)

Types of technology (televisions, telephones, missiles, computers, and so on):7. Relevant captions (formulae, taxonomic classification, the "eureka!" syndrome)8. Male gender only9. Caucasian only10. Middle-aged or elderly scientist11. Mythic stereotypes (Frankenstein creatures, Jekyll/Hyde figures, etc.)12. Indications of secrecy (signs or warnings that read "Private," "Keep Out," "Do Not Enter,""Go Away," "Top Secret," and so on)13. Scientist working indoors14. Indications of dangerItems added by the Researcher

15. Smiles16. Wild hair

Note: Several images of the same type in a single drawing count as one image (for example, twoscientists each with eyeglasses receive only one check, not two).

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Appendix B

Next Generation Science Standards: Nature of Science Matrix (NGSS: Appendix H 2013)

The basic understandings about the nature of science are:

Science is a Human Endeavor

Understandings about the Nature of Science

Science knowledge is cumulative and many people, from many generations and nations,have contributed to science knowledge.

Men and women from different social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds work asscientists and engineers.

Men and women from different social, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds work asscientists and engineers.

Scientists and engineers rely on human qualities such as persistence, precision, reasoning,logic, imagination and creativity.

Scientists and engineers are guided by habits of mind such as intellectual honesty, tolerance ofambiguity, skepticism and openness to new ideas.

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