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Science Drawing and notebooking by Cam Thackston

More and more teachers are implementing science notebooking as an integral part of their instructional practice. Since notebooking is based on “doing what real scientists’ do”, it is essential that even the youngest students begin including technical science drawing entries in their notebooks as part of a fully integrated notebooking experience.
The following important points are from the article “Drawing on Student Understanding” by Mary Stein, Shannan McNair, and Jan Butcher. This article first appeared in the January 2001 edition of the NSTA journal Science and Children.

Notebooking Drawing

Notebook Drawing
  • “Art and science have often been viewed as very different-even opposing—disciplines; art being viewed as creative expression, and science being portrayed as a fact-based discipline with a lockstep approach to solving problems. This view of science does not accurately portray the creativity inherent in science, nor does it serve to help students think about science as a human endeavor (Stein and Power, 1996).
  • “Using artistic expression as a tool for learning supports the standards by enhancing students' abilities to communicate science explanations, engage in science as a means for explanation, and communicate their ideas to the public and to their classmates (NRC, 1996).”
  • “Young children can often express their understanding and concept development more effectively through drawings than verbally or in written assignments. They are often more engaged in details of their understanding when they draw.” Examining drawings, their emerging understandings become evident. For example, many young children will place a humanlike face on their animals (See figure at left) that is eventually replaced by a more accurate representation (See figure below). When students draw both before and after an experience, the drawings can serve as an assessment tool for the teacher.”
  • “It is one thing to make close observations in the field and something quite different to record your observations on paper. The drawing and writing process, in itself, encourages students to think more deeply about what they believe. It can be a way for them to continue to explore an idea or concept.”
  • “ Representing something that has been observed involves recalling significant details, thinking about the relative size of  parts and background in the picture, and choosing colors or making patterns that match the model. Students may also use scientific tools such as hand lenses and books with photographs to help them with their work.”
  • “The teacher's role (is) one of modeling through example. When students observe their teacher engaged in the same activity that they are doing, it helps provide assurance that the activity is important and worthwhile and, at the same time, is a learning experience for the teacher.”
  • “Just as an emphasis on "writing to learn" has emerged as a means to deepen understanding, drawing is another tool through which students can be encouraged to think deeply about what they know and have observed. Student questioning that arises during this process also suggests that drawing can be used to encourage inquiry. It is important to view the drawing activity as a student-centered inquiry through which students can express their creativity and find answers to their own questions; otherwise, integrating drawing may be no more useful than having students copy sentences out of a book.”

Whether it is referred to as technical drawing or scientific drawing or just plain “drawing” is not the issue. In drawing for conceptual understanding, just as in writing, the emphasis should be on the modeling, sharing, and reflecting on the process as much as, and maybe more than, the finished product.

Ernest Boyer said ,”Perhaps more than any other form of communication, writing holds us responsible for our words and ultimately makes us more thoughtful human beings.” Adding a scientific drawing to our writing will make that communication even richer.

A fully integrated notebooking experience for all students is possible when teachers place an emphasis on writing AND drawing in science.

  
 
             
             

© 2005, Mathematics and Science Unit, SC Department of Education