A New Approach to DAST

In an effort to have students understand the true meanings of science and scientists instead of having children draw one image of scientists (DAST), students are asked to draw multiple image... See More

In an effort to have students understand the true meanings of science and scientists instead of having children draw one image of scientists (DAST), students are asked to draw multiple images of scientists. This practice is called E-DAST. E-DAST instructions are provided to try this with your students. The article also includes a rubric for scoring the student product. Upon completion of this activity and evaluating the results of what has been drawn the teacher can then introduce scientists in a variety of ways to broaden the students understandings of what scientists look like, where they work, and what they do.

Will the Real Scientist Please Stand

This article addresses the need for finding ways to teach science as a human endeavor in order to broaden students’ understandings of scientists. One study that gained prominence in the 199... See More

This article addresses the need for finding ways to teach science as a human endeavor in order to broaden students’ understandings of scientists. One study that gained prominence in the 1990s was the DAST (Draw a Scientist Test) study. The authors propose an updated version called the eDAST (enhanced Draw a Scientist Test). The original activity did not reflect a range of views that students might possess, nor did it provide an interpretive rubric in order to provide a consistent examination of student drawings. The authors modified DAST to include these two shortcomings. Detailed instructions for implementing eDAST are provided in the article, as is the authors’ rubric. For teachers wanting to examine their students’ perceptions about what scientists looks like, this modified activity will be very useful. The article also provides strategies to help change/improve how students view scientists and their work.