Chemistry Reference
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alone in a white lab coat, wears spectacles, and has a weird hairdo like in the world-
famous photograph of Albert Einstein. Test tubes and other glassware are always
scattered on the nearby workbench or are held in the scientist
s hand. Usually there
are containers which are either smoking, boiling, or bubbling. Very few modifica-
tions of these beliefs were found to have taken place after the courses were
completed. The largest change merely featured the inclusion of children in the
overall picture.
Starting with these research projects, Finson, Beaver, and Crammond (
1995
)
developed the “Draw-A-Scientist-Test Checklist” (DAST-C) to more easily eval-
uate and compare drawings concerning scientists. The checklist consists of a list of
indicators for seven stereotypical elements which were identified by Chambers
(
1983
). It also contains eight additional items identified as stereotypical elements
typically found in students
'
drawings. Test objects receive a score of “1” when
indicators exist in the drawing or “0” for nonexistent features. The points are added
together to calculate a final score. Applying this analysis tool has shown that
significant shifts in stereotypical images of scientists occur toward a more realistic
view of everyday people involved in the scientific endeavor as the level of personal
student contact with real-life scientists goes up. This instrument has seen growing
use in educational research since its initial publication. It has been successfully used
for different populations and age groups. A review of the use of DAST and DAST-
C can be found in Finson (
2002
).
Thomas et al. (
2000
) later shifted their focus to the “Draw-A-Science-Teacher-
Test Checklist” (DASTT-C). This tool does not evaluate beliefs about scientists but
rather focuses upon science teachers
'
beliefs about
teaching science. The task was changed to: “Draw a picture of yourself as a science
teacher at work.” This question forces teachers and teacher trainees to deeply
involve themselves in a hypothetical classroom situation while simultaneously
drawing an image of themselves and their students in action. For better compre-
hension of the resulting pictures, Thomas, Pedersen, and Finson (
2001
) added two
further questions about the drawings. These allowed the researchers to pinpoint
additional information and shed light on certain aspects and components in the
drawings. The questions inquire into the activities of the teacher and of the students.
The final version of DASTT-C consists of two pages. The first page contains a blank
square in which the drawing is to be made. The second page presents the two open-
ended questions, which ask about which actions the teacher and the students are
performing in the picture. Thomas et al. (
2001
) have also developed a checklist for
their research tool, which allows them to assess teacher beliefs and pedagogical
attitudes of the participants with regard to the teacher-centeredness or student
centeredness of lessons. The checklist contains three sections for evaluation:
teacher, students
, and
environment
. A total of thirteen attributes have been worked
out. The number of attributes occurring in a drawing allows consideration of the
prevalence of teacher-centered or student-centered personal beliefs among the
participants. Finally, Markic, Valanides, and Eilks (
2008
) developed a broader
and more qualitative application of the idea using DASTT-C as a starting point.
They added two more questions to the second page for an even better and deeper
and science student teachers
'
'
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