MEASURING STUDENT CONCEPTIONS OF EARTH SCIENTISTS AS INTEGRAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE NATURE OF SCIENCE: THE DRAW AN EARTH SCIENTIST TEST

From an integration of science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) address a basic understanding of the Nature of Science. The NGSS Nature of Science matrix recognizes that science is a way of knowing that uses a variety of methods, is based on empirical evidence, and explains natural phenomena. To better understand student conceptions about how Earth scientists do this, we are developing and validating the Draw an Earth Scientist Test (DAEST). To date, we have collected drawings of Earth scientists from approximately 200 undergraduate students before and after completion of an introductory Earth science course. The test asks students to draw an Earth scientist and respond in writing to two questions: Where is the Earth Scientist? and What is the Earth Scientist doing? Through qualitative analysis of the drawings, we created a scoring rubric that captures salient aspects of the drawings, including the Earth scientists’ location, activity, and objects of study. Analysis of data from pre- and post-course drawings show significant shifts away from sketches that include lab scientists accompanied by globes and toward Earth scientists actively collecting data and making observations of Earth processes that include the atmosphere and hydrosphere. The results suggest that these courses are successful in advancing student understanding of the Nature of Science within an Earth science context and that sketching is a productive way to elicit students’ Nature of Science conceptions. We are continuing with validation of the scoring rubric to ensure that the DAEST is a trustworthy and reliable instrument for measuring student conceptions of Earth scientists within a Nature of Science framework. Once validated, the instrument will be available for broad use, including in K-12 classrooms where it can be used to measure and foster student ideas of Earth scientists who use a variety of methods and empirical evidence to explain natural phenomena about the Earth.