Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
3 Evaluating Drawings to Explore Chemistry (Student)
Teachers
'
Pedagogical Attitudes
3.1 The Original Approach to DASTT-C
Thomas et al. (
2001
) suggested using a quantitative approach for evaluating the
DASTT-C drawings of classroom teaching situations in science education.
DASTT-C employs a 13-point rating system in the form of a checklist. This
checklist consists of sections examining three areas: teacher, students, and envi-
ronment. Each section covers a small number of attributes, which are rated as to
whether or not they appear in the drawings. The
teacher
and
student
sections were
both subdivided into items dealing with
activity
and
position
. The
teacher activity
section registers the types of activities and actions which teachers may typically
perform in the science classroom (such as lecturing, using visual aids, etc.). The
division denoting
position
marks the teacher
s location in the classroom and his/her
posture (e.g., centrally located with erect posture). The
student activity
section
records the types of student activities typically present in the classroom (watching,
listening, performing tasks while seated, etc.). The subsection for student
position
notes whether or not the learners are seated in rows. The third and final part of the
checklist,
environment
, lists the circumstances under which science instruction
occurs, for example, whether instruction is carried out indoors or outdoors. Other
factors include the presence of laboratory materials or equipment on desks; the
presence of symbols from science, math, or technology; etc. The entire checklist is
presented in Fig.
3
.
Each of the attributes presented in the checklist is an indicator of a teacher-
centered approach of teaching. It receives a score of either “1” or “0,” which
indicates the presence or absence of the given attribute, respectively. Total scores
range from 0 to 13 with the lowest totals representing more student-centered
teaching situations. Scores falling between 0 and 4 indicate a student-centered
attitude to teaching science and scores landing between 7 and 13 a fairly teacher-
centered attitude. Scores of 5 or 6 allow no decision to be made in any given
direction (Thomas et al.,
2001
).
'
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